IT-services provider EarthLink has launched a new data center at 350 East Cermak Road in Chicago as part of its nationwide expansion program. The company has also opened a new sales office in the Chicago metro area.

Michael Toplisek, executive VP of sales and marketing at EarthLink, said a Chicago location was an important step in the company's strategy to build regionally-diverse footprint. “Chicago is at the heart of the Midwest business market and an important communications hub and distribution point for IP traffic,” he said.

The company has also recently launched data centers in the Dallas, San Jose and Miami markets. In addition to the four new data centers, EarthLink has older ones in Pittsford, New York, Atlanta, Columbia, South Carolina, and Marlborough, Massachusetts.

Rick Kurtzbein, analyst at 451 Research, said that most successful infrastructure providers today became successful by being opportunistic, agile and careful to avoid over-investing. “In plain English, they buy low, sell high and go where the business is,” he said.

“EarthLink's investment in its own network and data center roll-out shows that it understands this.”