A division of Diversified Information Technology in Scranton is spinning off and plans to move into the former Southern Union building.
Diversified Availability Solutions, DAS, was acquired by two of its executives, Mark Magdon and Marc Gonzalez, who plan to move the business around the corner from its current home on Wyoming Avenue to 417 Lackawanna Ave. The move would also add another tenant to the long-vacant showpiece constructed by Southern Union Corp., which never followed through on plans to house its headquarters there.
The building's owner, a partnership led by Scranton businessman Jerry Donahue, landed Merrill Lynch & Co. as a tenant. DAS is expected to occupy the third floor.
The state-of-the-art building is loaded with technological amenities that make it ideal for DAS, Mr. Gonzalez said. “For a business that needs to be on the World Wide Web, the building has everything,” Mr. Gonzalez said.
Diversified Information Technologies sold DAS to focus more closely on its core business of information management, said Diversified President Scott Byers in a prepared statement. He added that spinning off DAS will allow it to prosper.
DAS specializes in providing disaster recovery services for midsized businesses, backing up sensitive data for financial, health care and legal companies. The company will initially employ two people in Scranton, but plans to move from Altanta to Scranton about a dozen help desk and engineering positions. The company also plans to have an internship program with local colleges through the Northeastern Pennsylvania Technology Institute and add a new service, hosted recovery, which would allow a company hit with a disaster to be back in service instantly.
“Property insurance can replace a company's assets - but not its data,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “Our service is an insurance policy.”
