Miles City has been chosen ahead of Billings and Forsyth as the location for a new government datacenter. The new datacenter will serve as a backup site to a facility to be constructed in Helena. Together, the buildings are known as the Enterprise Systems Services Centers, or ESSC.
Opponents of the decision claim that the site in Miles City will cost taxpayers more than the other cities, due to additional operating costs for the first few years of the life of the facility.
State of Montana chief information officer, Dick Clark commented that whilst the added cost was acknowledged, Miles City was less of a terrorist target than Billings, was less prone to power outages and offered good site security.