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Apple's data center infrastructure chief Scott Noteboom has left the company to lead LitBit, a startup he founded that plans to build out infrastructure for its clients in emerging markets.

 

The way LitBit describes it, its business model consists of providing infrastructure solutions in emerging markets for customers seeking to enter unfamiliar territories. In addition to the infrastructure itself, the company is offering to help clients navigate cultural and business complexities unique to each emerging market so that the clients can focus on their business models.

 

“LitBit was created to bring next-generation converged infrastructure technology into emerging markets that require cleaner environment, greater efficiency and lower economics,” Noteboom said in a statement. “Our goal is to enable the next billion users of digital technology to emerge with a 10x lower environmental impact than the first billion.”

 

Prior to his two-year stint as Apple's head of infrastructure strategy, design and development, Noteboom spent six years running data center engineering and operations at Yahoo!, kickstarting a global consolidation project and spearheading development of the company's infamous “computing coop” data center design. He came to Yahoo! after about five years as senior director of operations at Abovenet.

 

During his time at Apple, the company announced new data center builds in Reno, Nevada, Prineville, Oregon, and Maiden, North Carolina. It has also made a big push to increase the amount of renewable energy in the mix that powers its data centers.

 

The company has built massive photovoltaic arrays to power the Maiden facility and bought gas-powered fuel cells from Bloom Energy to install at the site. In May 2012, Apple announced a commitment to make the entire facility powered by energy from renewable sources through a combination of the on-site generation capacity and direct purchases of clean energy.

 

We're in the process of getting more details on LitBit' and Noteboom's plans, so stay tuned.