Still, observers say the Hawai ' i centers have not only drawn millions of dollars in investment and dozens of high-tech jobs, but could also bring multinational client companies to Hawai ' i and stimulate growth in the local technology sector. What's more, such centers could lower Internet costs and increase connection speeds for Hawai ' i residents, observers say. The university has moved into Pihana with an exchange that carries more than half the state's Internet traffic. The other, downtown's NetEnterprise, opened in April and occupies a half-floor of the 1132 Bishop St. office tower. Client companies put their computer networks in data centers to gain easy access to bandwidth providers and eliminate the need to install costly access lines to remote locales.
Some centers also help companies design Web strategies, choose bandwidth providers and store data.
The centers also provide security, power, backup, maintenance and expansion space. Costs vary, but many customers would pay several thousand dollars per month. Business is good Data centers have been in huge demand on the U.S. mainland since the late 1990s, with companies including Exodus Communications, Globix and Equinix building massive multimillion-dollar facilities in dozens of cities that have heavy Web traffic. Many of these centers filled to capacity within months of opening. Market leader Exodus, for example, has 21 data centers, five of them in Silicon Valley alone.