CyrusOne, the data center solutions unit of Cincinnati Bell, has hired industry veteran Kevin Timmons as its new chief technology officer (CTO), the company said today.
Timmons has led data center teams at Microsoft and Yahoo, focusing on building efficient Internet-scale data centers on a budget. He left Microsoft earlier this year, reportedly to take a position at Apple. Today's announcement made no mention of Timmons and Apple, which rarely discusses its data center operations.
CyrusOne in Expansion Mode
But there's plenty of activity to keep Timmons busy at CyrusOne, which has been in expansion mode since being bought by Cincinnati Bell in 2009. The high-density colocation specialist, which has built a major footprint in Texas, recently unveiled plans to build an enormous data center in Phoenix, which will reach 1 million square feet of space upon completion. The announcement marks the most ambitious expansion yet
“We are really excited that Kevin has decided to join our team," said Gary Wojtaszek, President of CyrusOne. "As we build out our facilities and launch new projects like our recent Phoenix acquisition, Kevin will provide the insight necessary to ensure CyrusOne incorporates the latest data center design technologies in the next phase of our development plans."
Timmons joined Microsoft in June, 2009. Prior to that he was vice president of operations at Yahoo, where he oversaw the build-out of their data centers and infrastructure. Before that he was a director of operations at GeoCities, and also served as a senior software engineer at Marconi Dynamics.
A "Unique Opportunity"
While Timmons was at Yahoo, the company's data enter team developed the Yahoo Computing Coop design and led the site selection process that led Yahoo to build its flagship facility in Lockport, New York, where it runs on hydro-electric power and can use fresh air to cool servers.
“I am excited to be joining an organization like CyrusOne which currently is a hidden secret in the data center industry,” said Timmons. “After spending a considerable amount of time understanding the company’s strategy and customer-centric focus, I believe that we have a tremendous opportunity for growth and disruption of the data center landscape. This is a unique opportunity to help define and transform an industry that is decades behind the work that has been going on in the web community.”
