A centralized state government information technology (IT) organization, responsible for delivering shared technology services and guiding statewide technology strategy, launched a long-term data center roadmap initiative to align digital infrastructure investments with the state’s strategic priorities. The roadmap would need to anticipate the growing and shifting demands across public health, safety, education, transportation, natural resources, and other constituencies.
The existing data center environments were operating within aging facilities, with increasing maintenance costs, constrained capacity, and limited flexibility to support modernization initiatives. Leadership recognized that without a coordinated, statewide-level data center roadmap, infrastructure risk would continue to increase while their ability to support technology advancements and upgrades would decline.
As a strategic advisor, Leading Edge Design Group (LEDG) performed a comprehensive statewide assessment evaluating:
The assessment process included stakeholder engagement across agencies, technical workshops with infrastructure and network teams, and scenario modeling to compare renovation versus new-build approaches. The resulting roadmap offered clear decision plans to support executive and board-level approvals.
Following formal state approval, LEDG was engaged to design and implement two modernized data center structures with redundant electrical and mechanical systems. The project incorporated phased migration planning to minimize service interruptions throughout the migration.
The design introduced high-efficiency modular POD deployments with InRow cooling systems aimed to optimize thermal performance, support scalable rack density, and reduce energy consumption. Redundant electrical and mechanical solutions, including diverse utility feeds, backup generation, and N+1 cooling systems, were integrated to strengthen reliability and ensure continuous uptime for essential government services.
Beyond facility delivery, the modernization initiative established standardized design criteria, governance processes, and long-term capacity planning tools that positioned the state for sustained digital growth. The result is a resilient, scalable, and energy-efficient infrastructure capable of supporting evolving citizen services for years to come.