FBI Building Data Center in Pocatello, Idaho
The FBI and Pocatello, Idaho will be joining together to start consolidating information into a data center located in the city. Eventually, there will be three core data centers the government agency will use in the country. They began looking for contractors several months ago, and the initiative is meant to be an extension of the FBI’s campus already located in the city. It’s expected by Mayor Brian Blad that this will turn Pocatello into a central hub for the FBI.
With a project that’s estimated to be over $10 million, the FBI is looking for 100,000 square feet worth of space with 25,000 feet devoted to a data hall. They want it to be able to handle 5.4MW of IT, and they’re leaving space to upgrade the center in the future. It’s incredibly important to pick a smart location for data centers, given that they’re highly sensitive to even small shifts in the environment. Such a massive amount of information needs to be under the care of a company and staff who will 
devote themselves to giving the center the highest quality of care.
Pocatello, located in the southeastern part of Idaho, has been lobbying to receive this honor and economy boost for the past five years. They predict there will be 300 new full-time jobs and 80 temporary jobs for workers. It’s caused a major stir for the residents of Pocatello, and the benefits are expected to be widespread. This consolidation is not just a trend for the FBI either. In working to consolidate data, the government as a whole has closed 3,100 centers since 2010. While some departments have been more aggressive than others, there has been more attention put on trying to reduce the footprint left by government agencies.
Currently if an agency wants to get a new data center built, they have to show they’ve done everything in their power to exhaust every other option available to them, including outsourcing and teaming up with another agency’s center. The FBI is hoping for three data centers by the end of September in 2019, and they expect that two of them will be run by the bureau themselves.
