Data Center Aids Ambitious Google Cloud

Google’s data centers, including the one going up in Lenoir, are central to the company’s bold vision of ‘cloud’ programming. To learn more about what the ‘cloud’ is and how it would use the power of data centers, visit Business Week’s Dec. 13th cover story.

Businessweek, Google and The Cloud

Google AdWords Seminar Aids Local Organizations

Google AdWords, an Internet marketing tool, was the subject of a special community seminar designed to support businesses and non-profit groups in Lenoir and Caldwell County.

Google specialists were on hand at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center on Thursday, Nov. 15 to explain the capabilities available through the online advertising service.

Google's Lindsay Stradley and Matt Dunne presented separate no-cost seminars, one for businesses and one for nonprofits. They surprised business people attending with $100 gift vouchers to use for their AdWords campaigns.

Non-profit groups, as always, are eligible for special Google Grants, a program supporting organizations that share Google's philosophy of community service in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy, and the arts.

"The Google Grants Program is a tremendous opportunity for nonprofit organizations in our community to deliver their messages to the masses," said David Barlow, mayor, City of Lenoir, who addressed attendees at the seminar for non-profit organizations.

Designed for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, Google Grants offers free AdWords to organizations that apply to the program. Google facilitates AdWords seminars in major cities throughout the United States and teaches nonprofits how to apply to the Google Grants program. Google's new data center in Lenoir prompted the company to bring the Google Grants program and AdWords seminar to Caldwell County.

Available to all types of businesses, AdWords allows companies to deliver messages on the Internet to as broad or specific an audience as possible by utilizing Google's search engine—the most popular in the world. For example, American Meadows, a Vermont-based supplier of flower seeds, used AdWords to make sure individuals searching for words like "wildflowers" and "wildflower seeds" saw its advertisement. The company has grown from a local business to one of the largest suppliers in North America.

"We're glad they've taken the initiative to share their ideas with others here in Lenoir and Caldwell County," said Faye Higgins, chairwoman, Caldwell County Board of Commissioners, who briefly addressed attendees at the seminar for local businesses.

As in all of its places of business, Google is committed to giving back to the community in a number of ways, including special events such as the AdWords seminar.

"This community has done so much to welcome Google," said data center manager Tom Jacobik. "It's a pleasure to now welcome community members to learn more about how Google's services can help them."

To apply for Google Grants, non-profit organizations can visit www.google.com/grants. At the bottom of that page, click on 'Program Details.' Please review the 'Who is Eligible' section.

Community and Google Honored for Economic Strides

Google’s data center in Lenoir and Caldwell County was in the spotlight at the annual AdvantageWest banquet at the Grove Park Inn & Resort in Asheville, N.C. on Nov. 1. Rhett Weiss accepted the Golden Eagle award for Community Impact “for [Google’s] positive impact through investments and job creation on behalf of the people of Western North Carolina.” Rhett noted that the project was a team effort and profusely thanked the leaders of Lenoir and Caldwell County.

Rhett was on hand to accept the award and to deliver the keynote address at the banquet. His presentation, “Creating Tomorrow: The Web, The World and Western North Carolina,” highlighted Google’s history, corporate culture and societal impact. In addition to information regarding Google, Rhett explained exactly how the Lenoir/Caldwell County data center fit into Google’s overall Web strategy.

"The AdvantageWest staff and I have received a tremendous response from Rhett Weiss' address. His thoughtful remarks, multi-media presentation and entertaining wit held the attention of our audience of more than 525 citizens from across the region,” said Dale Carroll, CEO, AdvantageWest Economic Development Group. “It was extra special to conclude the evening with Google receiving our prestigious Golden Eagle Award for Community Impact and to have Rhett with us in person to accept on behalf of the new data center in the AdvantageWest community of Lenoir in Caldwell County."

Since announcing that Lenoir and Caldwell County would become the home of a $600 million Google data center earlier this year, the community has seen an upswing in new business and job creation. Working together, Google and the community have created a new buzz about an area once struggling due to the exportation of its established economic engines.

Community Leader, Data Center Manager Share Their Google Stories

Tom Jacobik, Google's data center manager in Lenoir, recently spoke to the Happy Valley Ruritans Club. Tom received a welcoming introduction by the chairperson of the Caldwell County Commissioners, Faye Higgins.

Faye's commitment to the future of her community was instrumental in bringing Google to Caldwell County. She and other local leaders made a strong case that their area was right for a data center. She was tireless in her efforts -- but somehow still made time to be a wife, mother and grandmother.

A native of Caldwell County, Faye just received the Distinguished Woman of the Year award from the Caldwell Council for Women. These excerpts from her introduction of Tom offer a good idea of how she approaches progress and opportunity:

As you all know, the datacenter has been quite the talk in our community and for good reason. Google anticipates hiring up to 100 workers -- direct and contract -- over the first year of actual start up. The plan is to hire approximately 200 people for the Lenoir data center. These employees will get good salaries plus benefits. That's great for the people who'll work at the data center. But it's also good for everyone in Caldwell County. The Googlers of Caldwell County will pay taxes, shop at local stores, eat at local restaurants and contribute in many other ways to the richness of our local life.

Beyond the jobs, the data center diversifies our economy. This organization - the Ruritans - has long championed the economic engines that made our community and our state great. And together, we're keeping those industries strong. Not only that, we're strengthening our overall economic picture by ushering in new business and industries to stand beside those that have served us so well for so long. The data center puts a big piece of the so-called 'new economy' right here in Caldwell County. And that bodes well for our future.

So, in the spirit of the Ruritans' slogan "Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service," I am pleased to introduce to you now, Tom Jacobik. Tom is the site manager for the Google datacenter in Lenoir. Prior to joining Google, Jacobik was director of tactical operations for the Oracle Corporation and has served in IT leadership positions throughout his career and has more than 15 years experience in the technology industry.

Tom is like his colleagues at Google. He's down-to-earth and easy to like. At the same time, he wants to succeed. Not just as an individual, but as a team. And that team includes the people of Caldwell County.

I'd like to also say that Tom's skills as a manager are proven out by the fact that he's the father of seven children, including a set of triplets. The fact that the man could even get up this morning shows just how tough he is.