2024 was a year marked by significant growth and innovation for all of us here at Lightedge, fueled by a major acquisition that transformed the depth and breadth of its hybrid cloud offerings.
Lightedge Acquires Connectria
In April 2024, Lightedge entered a new chapter by acquiring Connectria, one of the world’s largest cloud hosting and managed services providers for IBM Power Systems, and an AWS Premier Tier Services partner.
In announcing the union, Lightedge CEO Jim Masterson called the acquisition — Lightedge’s fourth since GI Partners’ investment in 2021 — the latest demonstration of the company’s strong and growing leadership role in the data center and cloud infrastructure sector. The Connectria acquisition added six data center locations to Lightedge’s existing footprint of 12 highly interconnected facilities across eight U.S. markets.
“The acquisition extends Lightedge’s colocation and private cloud offering into public cloud services while bringing together two incredibly talented and diverse teams and two highly complementary product suites, geographies, and customer bases,” said Masterson.
Further, he notes, that Connectria’s deep experience in IBM, AWS, and Microsoft Azure public cloud hosting complements Lightedge’s strengths in delivering colocation, enterprise cloud, connectivity, and enhanced network security.
“With this acquisition, Lightedge becomes one of the only secure and compliant infrastructure providers in the country offering both hybrid colocation and tailored multi-cloud solutions,” he said.
Lightedge Launches Innovative IBM IaaS Solution
Lightedge announced the launch of its groundbreaking Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solution designed to meet the growing demand for flexible, scalable, and secure cloud infrastructure worldwide.
The new offering allows businesses to leverage Lightedge’s IBM Cloud, seamlessly integrated and on-net with the world’s leading hyperscale public cloud providers, anywhere in the world, via Platform Equinix®.
By bringing together the robust capabilities of IBM with the expansive reach of leading public cloud providers, the solution ensures that enterprises can deploy, manage, and optimize their cloud resources with unmatched efficiency and control. The service is best suited for businesses seeking a hybrid cloud environment that can scale globally without sacrificing security or performance.
A Next-Gen Suite of Cloud Security & Managed Services
Lightedge unveiled the next generation of its cloud security and managed services, including restructured Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and new LightEdge Cloud Recovery (DRaaS) solutions, as well as a new Endpoint Detection Response (EDR). With new options for comprehensive threat monitoring and alerts, the updated Lightedge Cloud suite offers tailored business continuity services managed by Lightedge’s cloud engineering team.
The upgrade reflects the company’s continued emphasis on giving customers the latest security resources. The solution features a Streamlined BaaS providing higher visibility for customers, with portals providing real-time access to view or co-manage their Veeam BaaS services. Its LightEdge Cloud Recovery solution, a three-tiered Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service offering (Premium, Standard, and Lite), recognizes the varying customer needs, budgets, and requirements. Meanwhile, Lightedge’s Suite of Cloud Security Enhancements includes Identity Access Management, Behavioral AI Technologies, and Endpoint Detection Response (EDR).
“Lightedge’s managed services can be tailored to meet the unique needs of each client and extend their IT teams, providing expertise and services to ensure they have the best protection, data replication, and recovery services,” said Rob Carter, Chief Operating Officer for Lightedge.
Recognized on CRN’s 2024 MSP 500 List
Lightedge proudly announced its recognition on CRN®’s Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Pioneer 250 category for 2024.
The MSP 500 list compiled by CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, serves as a comprehensive guide recognizing the top Managed Service Providers (MSPs) in North America driving growth and innovation in the industry. The MSP Pioneer 250 portion of the list acknowledges companies with business models centered toward managed services and largely focused on the SMB market.
These service providers enable businesses to harness complex technologies and maintain a strong focus on core business goals without stretching financial resources.
Lightedge Acquires Top-Tier High-Density Data Center in Minneapolis
Lightedge announced its strategic entry into Minneapolis with the acquisition of an Uptime Tier III Design Certified 76,000-square-foot, 3.6 MW data center in Chaska, Minnesota. In announcing the move, Lightedge representatives said they are excited to enter the rapidly growing Minneapolis market and to deliver best-in-class IT solutions to a new state.
“We are dedicated to building and supporting tailored cloud solutions delivered from in-market data centers that meet the rigorous demands of enterprise-grade operations and empower local companies with seamless connectivity and the robust infrastructure needed to thrive in today’s digital landscape,” said Lightedge CEO Jim Masterson in the acquisition announcement.
The Minneapolis data center is part of Minnesota’s Data Center Tax Incentive program which offers substantial cost savings and incentives. It also provides a full spectrum of compliance certifications catering to highly regulated sectors like finance, insurance, and healthcare.
Lightedge Maintains Cloud & Data Center Compliance Leadership Position
Lightedge renewed 10 compliance certifications and added three new certifications in 2024, further solidifying the company’s industry-leading standing in cloud, data center, and managed services compliance.
The annual renewal and expansion is notably important for companies that must adhere to strict privacy requirements, such as those operating in highly regulated industries including healthcare, finance, and government.
The 10 recertifications included: HIPAA, HITRUST, ISO 20000, ISO 22301, ISO 27001, NIST, PCI DSS, SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3. The three new certifications are for CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services), ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), and ISO 27701, an extension of the information security management standard ISO 27001 for privacy.
Lightedge Announces Leadership Transition: Rob Carter to Succeed Jim Masterson as CEO
After over two decades at the helm, Jim Masterson announced his plans to step down as Lightedge’s Chief Executive Officer effective December 31, 2024. Rob Carter, the current Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Masterson.
Masterson has served as CEO of Lightedge for 21 years having created the original vision for the company. He led the transformation of Lightedge from a regional internet provider into an industry leader in hybrid infrastructure with 20 data centers across the U.S. and internationally.
Rob, a self-described mentee of Jim’s for the past 15 years, brings extensive operational expertise and leadership to the CEO role. Since joining Lightedge as COO, Rob has been instrumental in driving the company’s operational excellence and positioning it for continued growth.
“I’m incredibly proud of everything we’ve accomplished over the past two decades,” said Masterson. “This journey has been a labor of love for me. Handing the reins to a person of high character, who I trust to carry on Lightedge’s culture, was incredibly important to me.”
Lightedge Embraces Hybrid Cloud
For most companies, the days of going “all-in” on any single cloud strategy are over, according to Lightedge. While the cloud offers incredible agility and scale, many organizations face spiraling costs, performance limitations, and data security risks. The stakes are even higher when legacy systems are involved, as is often the case in industries like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing.
While understanding that no two workloads are exactly alike, Lightedge recognizes that the public cloud is ideal for many workloads and that certain applications perform best in a private cloud or on-premises infrastructure.
Consequently, Lightedge has adopted a hybrid-first philosophy — a mindset that ensures each workload operates where it delivers the most value, whether on-premises, in a private cloud, or across multiple public cloud platforms.
That’s central to Lightedge’s promise to customers in this new era: to deliver unbiased, tailored infrastructure solutions that align with customer applications and business goals, wherever their workloads reside.
Ready for your 2025 Projects!
2024 has been quite the year! As it comes to a close, we turn our sights on the new year ahead. In 2025, we’re excited to grow even more. If you’re searching for a new partner or colocation, managed services, or hybrid cloud support, contact one of our experts today to get started in the new year!
