Pensacola Based GridSouth Networks Awarded $100,000 WIRED Grant by Florida's Great Northwest

Grant to Be Used For High Wage Job Creation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Pam Tedesco
Director, WIRED Northwest Florida Initiative

October 6th, 2006

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS – Florida's Great Northwest held the fourth meeting of its WIRED Northwest Florida Initiative Governance Council on Tuesday, September 26. The Council approved the entrepreneurship grant application from GridSouth Networks, LLC of Pensacola with a grant award of $100,000.

“GridSouth is breaking new ground by offering a level of service that has not been available previously in Northwest Florida,” said Mike Murdoch, the company’s chief operating officer. “This grant gives us a running start, enabling us to recruit and train the high-tech employees who will make us successful.”

GridSouth Networks is a newly formed company that arose from a unique partnership between AppRiver, LLC and Creative Data Concepts Limited, Inc. The company was formed in response to an increasing demand for high-availability, co-located and dedicated servers, along with Metro Ethernet bandwidth backed by superior technical expertise and intensive care customer support. GridSouth’s goal is to provide customers with 100-percent uptime and an infrastructure that protects the business from losses typically associated with most major disasters.

Although the types of services to be offered by GridSouth might not be considered totally unique to the market, the company takes an innovative approach to delivering those services. The formula for success is to use only high-end, ultra-reliable carrier-grade equipment and related services which will reduce customer service issues. In developing its product and service options, GridSouth used extensive business interviews to ascertain the needs of the business community.

Through the WIRED grant, GridSouth will be able to grow its business in general and cover some of the personnel expenses associated with the newly created, high-level technical positions it offers.

Florida’s Great Northwest, Inc. is the administrator and facilitating organization for the U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Grant. The grant is to fund regional partnerships aimed at expanding employment and advancement opportunities and catalyzing the creation of high-skill, high wage opportunities in regional economies.

Florida’s Great Northwest is a regional economic development organization serving 16 counties in Northwest Florida from Pensacola through Tallahassee. Its primary mission is the creation of high-wage, high-skill jobs, branding and marketing, as well as support of the local economic development organizations in the region.

Florida's Great Northwest web site.

For more information, please contact GridSouth Networks, LLC at www.gridsouth.com or 850-434-7645.