With six campuses across Central Iowa equipped with computer labs, Des Moines Area Community College has a wealth of computer resources at students’ disposal.

Working with Technology Resources Co., a Cedar Rapids-based information technology company, DMACC has formulated a plan to sell some of that capacity to Central Iowa businesses as a backup facility in the event of a natural or manmade disaster.

“We think of this as being a good corporate citizen to businesses in our area,” said DMACC President Rob Denson, who said DMACC’s board of directors has approved an agreement with Technology Resources to move forward with the service. The community college will be careful to reserve sufficient capacity so any business usage won’t interfere with students’ needs, he said.

Companies would pay between $25 and $50 per month for each computer seat they reserve at DMACC, depending on the level of services they want. A business receiving a complete package would have an Internet Protocol telephone and a high-speed data connection at each desk.

Business continuity planning, which became a high priority for many companies following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has intensified following unprecedented natural disasters last year on the Gulf Coast. In the Midwest, efforts have been focused primarily on hardened data centers in larger cities such as Chicago and St. Louis. Now, companies in middle-tier markets like Des Moines are beginning to see more local alternatives appear.

Among the first of those local efforts is a plan by Des Moines-based LightEdge Solutions Inc. and LBC Technology Inc. to open a $12 million disaster operations center late this year in Altoona. Companies reserving seats in the Edge Business Continuity Center will have access to high-speed Internet and communications protected by backup generators and redundant high-speed data lines, in a structure built to withstand 200 mph winds.

In addition to “strong interest” from Iowa-based companies, LightEdge is also receiving inquiries about its center from companies with operations as far away as Chicago, Milwaukee and parts of Nebraska, said Jim Masterson, the company’s chairman and CEO. Having a similar service offered at DMACC is not a concern, he said.

“From a competitive standpoint, we view the market as large enough,” he said. “We bought enough land out there to do more than just this building. For us, the market is much broader than just Iowa.”

Masterson said LightEdge may decide as early as next month whether to begin construction on a second data center adjacent to the one now being built.

The approach taken at DMACC will be more “distributed,” said Jeff Thorsteinson, vice president of products and services for Technology Resources Co. The company, which has approached 13 of the state’s 15 community colleges with the concept, launched its first center in May 2005 at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo.

“More mid-tier businesses are saying, ‘We have to do something about (business continuity),'” he said. “We’re seeing a vastly increasing marketplace.”

DMACC’s Denson said he wasn’t aware that LightEdge was building a data center that would fill a similar function to what his college will offer.

“As a general rule, we try not to get into competitive situations with businesses, particularly within our district,” he said. “We see this as an opportunity to provide this capability. We are certainly open to discussions with LightEdge or anyone else. Our goal in this is to be supportive of local businesses if and when they have issues.”

TRC, which operates data backup and recovery centers in Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls, Des Moines and Muscatine, views the community college connection as “icing on the cake” for customers that want to add a physical working location to the data services they receive, Thorsteinson said. The company will charge a monthly fee for access to the service, as well as an added fee if the center is actually used in a disaster.

Generally, TRC is recommending to potential clients that they lease a backup site that’s at least nine miles from their primary place of business as insurance that a disaster such as a tornado would not affect the backup site.

Greg Martin, DMACC’s vice president for information technology, said provisions will be built into the agreements that will hold the college harmless if it is unable to provide the services due to its own facilities being destroyed or damaged in a disaster. Because DMACC will not be adding any resources for the service, it won’t require any new outlay of funds, he said. Any usage of the facilities would be less than 30 days, he said.

“It’s meant to be short-term, because it’s in the best interest of the company to get back up as soon as possible,” he said.