Englewood, Colo.-based Latisys has started the next phase of its Irvine data center expansion, which will add 12,000 square feet.
The growth has been fueled by two anchor tenants and rising demand for cloud storage and IT outsourcing among corporations in the area, according to Tom Panarisi, Western regional vice president for Latisys.
“The demand is more significant than what we thought,” he said.
Anaheim-based Web hosting services provider Lunarpages and a large unnamed local chipmaker will each take 3,500 square feet of the new space to handle added storage needs.
Latisys has not confirmed other tenants but is in the “middle of negotiations with larger companies,” according to Panarisi.
The company runs warehouses full of servers and other data storage gear and contracts with companies to store their databases and programs.
It handles monitoring, cooling, security, and cloud services for the data centers, allowing companies to outsource the work and cut costs.
Monthly services cost anywhere from $700 a month on the low end to six figures for large companies with big storage needs.
Latisys opened its first OC location near John Wayne Airport, with 50,000 square feet of space in 2007. An initial expansion brought 38,000 square feet next door in late 2011. That location houses 17 companies and will see the addition of the latest 12,000 square feet.
Recent new customers include Cypress-based Universal Electronics Inc., which makes universal remote controls and related wireless devices, and Printronix Inc., an industrial printer and printing-supply manufacturer in Irvine.
Latisys is putting some $12 million into the current phase, which is slated to open in May.
The company will spend upward of $60 million on the Irvine data center when it completes the latest expansion.
Latisys has more local space than any other data center operator here, and it recently purchased its first Irvine building after several years of leasing the location.
Arkami Looks for Kickstart
Another OC company has joined the roster of New York-based crowd funder Kickstarter.
Arkami Inc. in Aliso Viejo launched its fundraising campaign last week to boost production of myIDkey, which allows users to access stored passwords and other critical information on a Bluetooth or USB device through a biometric fingerprint.
The startup is seeking $150,000 that will fund final design and engineering. Potential investors, who tend to be early tech adopters and enthusiasts, can prepurchase the device at a discount for a limited time.
Arkami has been funded by founder and Chief Executive Tareq Risheq until now.
Kickstarter can also be an early indicator of success or failure.
Companies get immediate feedback from their target market, can launch their businesses within weeks after approval, and don’t have to give up an equity stake, according to Risheq, an entrepreneur with some successful exits on his resume.
“Kickstarter has many more benefits besides funding the project,” he said.
Kickstarter has helped raise more than $450 million for some 35,000 projects since its launch in 2009, according to statistics on Kickstarter’s website.
MyIDkey captured three innovation and design awards at CES last month.
NYT Ink for Oculus
Other Kickstarter-funded OC companies have included virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR Inc. in Irvine, Huntington Beach-based iPhone camera lens maker Olloclip, and Martian Watches, a company that’s also in Irvine and has made what it bills is the world’s first smart watch with voice activation.
Oculus VR got a kickstart of another sort last week, with a story about the company on the front page of The New York Times business section. The story offered a bullish outlook for Oculus, calling its headset the sort of innovation that “could bring within reach the fantasy of many a video gamer: a virtual reality headset that costs just a few hundred dollars and puts players inside games like no television set can.”
Oculus is getting ready to deliver its headset to game developers.
Blizzard’s Subscriptions Down
Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc. saw online subscriptions plummet in the December quarter. The company finished 2012 with some 9.6 million online subscribers, down 400,000 from the September quarter.
“The majority of the decline came from China, while subscribership in the West was relatively more stable,” Chief Executive Michael Morhaime recently told investors in a conference call.
The setback offset gains fueled by Mists of Pandaria, the latest World of Warcraft installation, which has sold more than 2.7 million copies globally and pushed online subscriptions past 10 million in the September quarter.
“Competition has increased, but I think it’s also important to point out that World of Warcraft is competing against, really, all forms of entertainment for leisure time,” Morhaime said. “That just underscores the need for us to continue creating new content, to keep up engagements.”
The company will release StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm on March 12.
Blizzard posted sales of $1.6 billion in 2012, up 29% from 2011. Operating income topped $717 million, up 45%.
The company released two games last year, including Diablo III, which broke PC sales records.
