Kansas City is more than just a mecca for jazz heritage and barbeque. As the largest city in Missouri, the metropolis is home to close to half a million residents and prides itself on being a leading urban center in the Midwest. It is also a growing hub for economic development and innovation. Kansas City’s expanding business ecosystem outpaces surrounding US cities and is providing its community with exciting opportunities in industries like education, healthcare and engineering. Today we look at the growth across these industries and how interconnected colocation is playing a growing role in supporting the move to a connected economy.
Education
Missouri is a center for academia and research, with anchor institutions such as The University of Missouri, Washington University and Missouri State University. These universities have deployed regional education and research networks, enabling the advancement of research initiatives and elevating the prowess of the institutions. These Kansas City-based networks include:
- The Kansas Research and Education Network (KanREN): KanREN is made up of a host of research and education institutions, as well as public institutions such as the Kansas City Public Library.
- The Missouri Education and Research Network (MoreNET): Based at the University of Missouri, MoreNET is designed to allow researchers to share data, eliminating the need for the physical transfer of information via hard drive.
These consortiums provide access to the Internet2 Network, a high-capacity network for over 200 universities designed specifically for academic and research needs. These networks are critical for the seamless exchange of data necessary for collaboration between universities and research institutions and benefit from the fiber-dense, network-neutral environments of interconnected colocation.
Learn more about how Netrality supports education and collaborative research here.
Healthcare
Kansas City also stands out the in the healthcare industry. With accomplished hospital networks such as Children’s Mercy Hospitals, The University of Kansas City Hospital and HCA Midwest Health System, Kansas City has established itself as a key player in healthcare research and education.
The expanding web of hospitals and a consistent exchange of knowledge between institutions shows that Kansas City is rapidly enhancing its presence in the space. Saint Luke’s Health System, for example, recently launched its virtual hospital, enabling physicians, working alongside IT staff, to diagnose patients remotely. For physicians to effectively communicate with patients, the connection must have zero downtime and ultra-low latency. This modern approach to medicine is best supported by interconnected colocation as it provides direct and resilient connections.
Kansas City is also continuing to grow in healthcare IT, bolstering its innovation prowess. Companies like Cerner and Netsmart are leading the charge and transforming Kansas City into a center for emerging IT technology.
As the healthcare industry in Kansas City becomes increasingly technologically driven, it is important to enable strong points of connection between institutions and businesses that allow fast and accurate data sharing.
Engineering
The Kansas City region is home to industry-leading engineering – from construction to supply chain to automotive – and with the growth of IoT applications, these industries are leveraging technologies that improve business processes.
For example, the engineering technology company Honeywell provides monitoring systems for a wide range of enterprises that demand minimal latency and continuous uptime to maintain security. By leveraging interconnected edge data centers, these monitoring systems could observe and react to security issues in the moment, due to high-speed data delivery made possible by interconnected colocation.
The Role of Interconnected Colocation in Kansas City
Netrality’s highly interconnected data center, 1102 Grand is ideally positioned to enable ultra-low latency and always-on connectivity for every industry. Since the data center is located at the market’s core, allowing for data transmission with the fewest number of hops, enterprises, universities and manufacturers alike can deliver content to the end user faster and leverage real-time analytics of large volumes of data.
Netrality is proud to be a part of the exciting and forward-thinking urban community in Kansas City. Information-sharing is the backbone of the city’s economy and enables local businesses to grow and innovate rapidly. Netrality’s data centers offer the richest ecosystems for connectivity and the most reliable and resilient connections for the industries that converge in Kansas City, enabling them to remain on the forefront of innovation.
To learn more about Netrality’s 1102 Grand, please contact us.
