Apple plans to build a $1 billion
data center in North Carolina, which comes as welcome news for a state that's been particularly hard-hit by the economic downturn.
To help make Apple's decision easier, the North Carolina government altered its state corporate income tax structure to give tax breaks to companies that have a significant amount of payroll in the state but don't have a corresponding amount of sales. Apple will reportedly qualify for up to $46 million in tax breaks over the next decade.
The data center is expected to provide a much-needed shot in the arm for the ailing North Carolina economy. In addition to providing full-time employment for 50 North Carolina citizens, the data center is expected to create more than 3,000 jobs within the regional economy over the next nine years, according to an official statement from North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue.
In addition, services such as server maintenance and repair, building and HVAC maintenance, landscaping and security could generate between $5 million and $6 million annually and create up to 250 jobs, according to Gov. Perdue.
Apple is moving steadily into cloud computing, despite its early struggles with MobileMe, the subscription-based, cloud-based data synchronization service Apple billed as "Exchange for the rest of us."
The growing popularity of iTunes and the App Store ensures that Apple will require more data center resources in the future, so it makes sense for the company to consider massive data centers on par with what Google and Microsoft are building.
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