Jack Henry consolidates data backup in The Mountain

Under a consolidation plan, Jack Henry will move its backup data services to The Mountain Complex, a 3 million-square-foot storage and server facility built inside an Ozarks dolomite mountain on Buena Vista Road.

“We need an improved disaster recovery plan for the data processing centers that we currently operate in six locations around the country,” said Jack Henry CEO Jack Prim. “We want to have everything backed up in one place.”

Prim said Jack Henry will use temporary space in the underground facility until its permanent space is operational in June.

Jack Henry provides integrated computer systems and processes ATM and debit card transactions for more than 8,700 banks and credit unions nationwide. Prim said his company will use the underground facility as an additional storage source for its critical systems, account systems and support systems. He said an important element of the secured data storage is the capability to recover from a manmade or natural disaster. Jack Henry plans to offer disaster recovery services through its new facility at The Mountain Complex to its customers as well.

The Mountain Complex has offered co-location and off-site data storage for about a year through an alliance with CenturyTel.

“It has all the connectivity for voice and data that you would have in a major market,” said Bonnie Snyder, district sales manager for south Missouri CenturyTel.

CenturyTel provides digital, Ethernet and managed data services on an optical fiber network that, if cut, “heals itself without manual intervention,” according to Snyder. “It has a disaster recovery route with multiple paths out,” she said of the system, which is given the term “redundant.”

“Redundant power and redundant fiber optics are what drive this business,” said Jack Harris, one of the partners of The Mountain Complex. Other owners are Gail Hinshaw, Brian Biggs, Don Nicolaus and Bob Womack.

White River Valley Electric Cooperative in Branson provides The Mountain Complex its power source, which is backed up by batteries and a generator fed by underground fuel lines.

Between 300,000 square feet and 400,000 square feet of the 400-acre underground storage facility are under development. Snyder said The Mountain Complex “wants to attract the broadband-width, high-volume user.”

The Mountain Complex also offers record-scanning and storage and warehousing services. Harris said the complex stores art collections, museum artifacts for the Titanic, crime evidence and records for government, medical and financial institutions.[[In-content Ad]]