Horizon Data Center Solutions continues to add clients to its roster and raise interest inside technology circles for their innovative approach to providing services to customers of all sizes. With years of industry experience, yet less than a year of operation as an important data center entity, the company has landed huge government and business contracts, as well as proved its theory that the under-served market for small and medium-sized businesses offers an untapped frontier.
Case in point: Horizon recently won a contract to provide collocation, disaster recovery and business continuity solutions to Main Event Entertainment for a minimum of five years. Main Event Entertainment is a growing Texas entertainment company that for ten years has been developing and operating large family entertainment centers in major metropolitan areas and college towns throughout Texas. With plans to continue expanding, and the need for high level security of business and customer data, Main Event looked to Horizon for help.
We work with hundreds of big businesses, and they trust us with their personal information and their transaction data. We take that data security very seriously. We asked a vendor about this issue, and they recommended Horizon. Now we and our customers can be sure that every bit of data in our system is secure.
The flexibility we provide is something that has been sorely missing from data center providers. We really like filling the void and are finding a very hungry market for the type of customized service packages we can provide
“Initially we didn’t think that a large data center company would have any interest in working with us, but with the number of transactions we have going on and the extensive customer base that we serve, we take our security and business data very seriously. Horizon offered a flexible package unlike any others we found in the data center industry, and we have since signed a multi-year agreement for our critical data center services and are looking at many of the managed services that Horizon has to offer, ” said Doug Novak, Chief Financial Officer for Main Event.
Horizon opened its doors with an eye on doing things differently, according to Chuck Smith, Chief Marketing Officer, which is why his sales staff didn’t scoff at the idea of providing services to a small (by data center standards) entity that is in the business of providing bowling, laser tag, billiards and video games.
“The entertainment industry is big business, and Main Event is a solid company that is growing and doing exceptionally well. Horizon was established specifically because we didn’t want to do things the same, inflexible way. We are committed to providing solutions that work for every business that needs data security, even if they need just a few servers. No matter what type of business you’re in, your data is the life blood of the business, ” Smith says.
For Main Event, the peace of mind that comes from having access to Tier III security features, and the confidence they find in working with a business led by long time security industry experts is well worth the investment to be in a top level data center that has met the requirements of a SAS 70 audit. The five year contract carries a six figure price tag.
“We work with hundreds of big businesses, and they trust us with their personal information and their transaction data. We take that data security very seriously. We asked a vendor about this issue, and they recommended Horizon. Now we and our customers can be sure that every bit of data in our system is secure, ” Novak says.
Horizon entered the Dallas data center scene in mid-2008 and has quickly grown to provide more than 40, 000 square feet of state of the art data center storage in two Data Centers in Dallas. A Houston data center is scheduled to open in March, with additional facilities currently in the planning phase.
Horizon offers customers a program they call Flex Space®, which provides for a customized contract based on an entity’s specific business needs.
“The flexibility we provide is something that has been sorely missing from data center providers. We really like filling the void and are finding a very hungry market for the type of customized service packages we can provide, ” Smith says.
Main Event Entertainment operates Family Entertainment centers in Austin, Fort Worth, Grapevine, Lewisville, Plano, Shenandoah, Webster and Lubbock. A Frisco center is scheduled to open later this year. The average facility offers more than 65, 000 square feet of bowling, laser tag, billiard and video games. Corporate events, birthday parties, and a calendar of special events keeps thousands of people entertained each week at locations throughout Texas.
Horizon will provide collocation, disaster recovery and business continuity solutions to Main Event for a minimum of five years under the current agreement.
For more information, visit www.horizondcs.com or www.maineventusa.net.
About Horizon Data Center Solutions
Horizon Data Center Solutions is a fast growing data center services company led by experts in the data center industry who made the decision to offer customers a better way to do business. The company’s FlexSpace™ program means that customers of all sizes can receive the top level data security and system back-up services they want, customized in a package that meets their specific contractual needs. Horizon executives are among the most experienced in the industry and are dedicated to setting new standards by which data centers are judged.
About Main Event™ Entertainment
Main Event Entertainment is an expanding, Dallas-based company that was founded in 1998, and currently operates 8 high volume family entertainment centers throughout Texas. Main Event Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Macquarie Leisure Trust Group of Australia. The company will open its ninth location in Frisco, Texas in February 2008. Each Main Event’s family entertainment center is 60, 000-65, 000 square feet and offers high quality recreational bowling and billiards, a unique selection of interactive games, a tempting array of quality food and beverages and flexible meeting and event space for corporate meetings or group gatherings. For more information, visit maineventusa.net
