Southern Farm Bureau Signs Data Center Contract with C Spire

Southern Farm Bureau has signed an agreement with telecom provider C Spire to use the latter's data center operations as part of its business continuity plan.

C Spire is opening a new data center in November, the companies noted in a release, the location and capabilities of which were cited by Southern Farm Bureau as crucial to the selection.

“Our employees and 3,800 agents are committed to meeting the financial service needs of families across the Southeast with superior products and services,” said Southern Farm Bureau VP and CTO Charles Allen, in a statement. “This means investing to ensure that in times of greatest need, our customers can rely on us to continue to provide the highest quality services and support without interruption by the most advanced technology and information services infrastructure.”

C Spire clams its new data center will be "one of only 52 in the U.S. with a Tier 3 or 4 rating" from the Uptime Institute, and the only one with such a rating within 250 miles of its Mississippi location.

“The data center industry and computing solutions have grown and advanced at a staggering pace. Unfortunately, the industry has also grown further and further away from its customers,” said Kevin Hankins, COO for C Spire, in a statement. “Our center and the solutions it houses will be world class. What’s more important is that we will know our customers intimately, we will be highly flexible in tailoring services to meet their needs and the level of attention and support they will receive will be unmatched.”

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Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio