CRANBERRY TWP — The board of supervisors last week bought a $200,000 storage system that will become an integral part of the township’s huge computer and data network.

The system will securely store all legal, financial and personnel data for the township and will replace an old storage system from 2008.

The new system, a Hewlett-Packard HP3 Par storage system, also will be used as a backup for township-owned fiber optic lines that link the township municipal center and the public works building.

Adam Osterrieder, the information technology director for the township, said Thursday that the new storage system should be up and running by February.

It will house everything from township e-mails and website data to billing software and GIS mapping data, in addition to more of the township’s most important information.

The importance of keeping that information sound and secure is paramount, Osterrieder said, which is why it took more than six months of planning and research before buying a new storage system.

Osterrieder said township staff knew what they were getting when they decided on the Hewlett-Packard model. That’s because a similar storage system is already in place at Grove City College, and township officials took a trip there.

“We were able to see it in action, which helped,” he said. “We’re very comfortable with what we’re getting.”

He added that the new storage system won’t be something that revolutionizes the way the township does businesses, but it is something that will have a significant influence on behind-the-scenes work with technology.

“Basically everything we do, the storage will contain that,” he said.