DeKalb may become a major center of data storage in the future.

NIU’s fiber optic network, NIU-Net, makes DeKalb a viable option for companies looking to build data storage facilities.

Additionally, companies may consider DeKalb for its low land prices, educated work force and geographic location.

Educause, a nonprofit company that advocates technology as a means to improve education, highlighted NIU as a potential home to large-scale facilities that would offer high-paying jobs in the fields of management, information technology and engineering, programs that NIU has.

Data centers traditionally are located near the companies they serve, but the distribution of high-speed networks has led to companies seeking to place data storage facilities in rural areas where land is cheaper than urban areas.

NIU-Net is close to completing a loop that links the DeKalb campus with its satellites in Rockford, Hoffman Estates and Naperville.