Social networks had a big appetite for server space in 2021, as large leases by Meta, TikTok and Twitter made it another blockbuster year for U.S. data center developers, according to a new report from North American Data Centers.
New Meta Supercomputer Boosts Power for AI Workloads, Future Metaverse
Meta has built a new supercomputer that will likely become the fastest AI system in the world when it is completed later this year, the company said today. Meta says the system will boost its AI capabilities and vision for a future digital metaverse.
Metaverse Platform Roblox Adds Data Center to Address 73-Hour Outage
Gaming and metaverse platform Roblox is expanding its infrastructure to address a 73-hour outage in October that left its 50 million daily users offline. The outage highlights the growing focus on infrastructure complexity and uptime.
Data Center Locations
Power Infrastructure and Tax Incentives Drive Dallas Data Center Market
Once considered an advantage, Texas’ electric power system may impact data center growth in Dallas in light of the 2021 winter storm outages. A new DCF special report courtesy of Digital Realty examines the business environment for data centers in the Dallas area.
Prime Data Centers Continues its Expansion in Santa Clara
Prime Data Centers continues to expand in the capacity-constrained Silicon Valley market. The data center developer this week announced plans to build a four-story, 9-megawatt data center in Santa Clara.
T5 Data Centers Plans Campus Next to Army Cybersecurity Center
T5 Data Centers plans to build a 140-acre, 200 megawatt campus in Georgia, adjacent to Fort Gordon and the U.S. Army’s Cyber Command Headquarters. The new campus taps into a cluster of advanced cybersecurity initiatives based in Augusta,
Cloud Computing
Intel Will Build $20 Billion Chip Factory in Ohio Cloud Cluster
Intel will invest $20 billion to create two cutting-edge chip factories in New Albany, Ohio next to a cluster of hyperscale data centers, including large cloud campuses for Facebook, Google and Amazon Web Services.
Interconnection
Data Centers Must Rethink Interconnection in Order to Evolve
Data centers must evolve to become points of connectivity between cloud servers, endpoint devices and partner ecosystems. A new DCF special report courtesy of DataBank shares shared the organization’s perspective on what will be the hub of the near-term future of software-driven IT infrastructure.
Colocation
DataBank Buying 4 Houston Data Centers From CyrusOne for $670 Million
DataBank has agreed to purchase four data centers in Houston from CyrusOne for $670 million, the company said today. The divestiture of assets comes as CyrusOne prepares for its planned $15 billion acquisition by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners.
8 Trends for 2022
The Eight Trends That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2022
What lies ahead for the data center industry in 2022? We’ve identified 8 themes that will shape the data center business this year. The overarching theme is dealing with the challenges of growth and the data center industry’s vital role in a digital society.
M&A
Digital Realty Acquires Teraco as Africa Data Center M&A Continues
Digital Realty will buy control Teraco Data Environments in a transaction that values the South Africa-based developer at $3.5 billion. The deal is the latest in a series of M&A deals for providers in Africa.
DCF Show Podcast
Helping Veterans Find Purpose Through Data Center Careers
For CEO Kirk Offel, the bottom line for Overwatch Mission Critical is “changing lives and saving people by finding them a sense of purpose.” On the DCF Show, Kirk shares about Overwatch and its mission to train military veterans for careers in the data center industry.
Finance
EdgeConneX Enters China With Strategic Investment in Chayora
Data center developer EdgeConneX has made a strategic investment in Chayora, a leading data center provider in China. The partnership provides EdgeConneX with data center offerings in Beijing and Shanghai.
Iron Mountain Buying ITRenew, Boosting Sustainable Approach to IT Assets
Iron Mountain looks to strengthen its sustainability and asset management operations by acquiring a controlling stake in ITRenew, which decommissions data centers and recycles IT assets.
Equinix Acquires MainOne as African Data Center Market Heats Up
Equinix is expanding into Africa by acquiring MainOne, a leading West African data center operator. The $320 million deal signals a new phase of growth for the data center market in Africa, with the recent market entry of three of the world’s largest multi-tenant providers.
Voices of the Industry
Three Consideration for Planning Your Data Center Design
Proper cable management isn’t an option—it’s a necessity. And it should be planned ahead of time. Shad Sechrist of Belden, presents three considerations for data center design – which is never black and white.
State of the European Data Center Market in 2022
Demand for data centers is exploding in Europe and continues to grow. There has been an influx of global capital investment in large markets like Frankfurt and London. Secondary markets are also growing. Eric Boonstra of Iron Mountain Data Centers Europe explores trends and discusses predictions for the European data center market in 2022.
Edge to Core Networking is Critical for IoT Devices, AI and Automation
Workloads are becoming more distributed to support new generation apps and broader use of Machine Learning and AI to help make real-time decisions. Jason Carolan of Flexential explores why networking from the edge to core (and back to the edge) will be critical for IoT, AI, and automation.
Better Business, Better World: Why Sustainability-Linked Financing Will Influence the Data Center Industry
While a sustainability-linked loan can be used for any purpose, the hallmark of this debt instrument is that the borrower’s performance is measured against predetermined sustainability objectives which affect the interest rate, incentivizing improved performance over time. Anubhav Raj, CFO of Aligned, explores how sustainability-linked financing will influence the data center industry in years to come.
White Papers
How a Digital Twin Platform Streamlines Data Center Design and Operations Management
Data centers need tools that can calculate current data center performance and predict future performance. Future Facilities outlines how a Digital Twin platform streamlines data center design and operations management.
5 Reasons Why the Minneapolis Data Center Market is Growing
Tax exemptions, connectivity, and renewable energy are just some of the factors that make Minneapolis a robust data center market. A new white paper from Stream Data Centers outlines 5 of the top growth drivers this midwestern city.
1U Solution for Smoke Detection and Residue Free Extinguishment
Compute and storage are typically the priority in micro data center racks, so cooling, uninterruptible power supplies, batteries, security, and fire protection must all compete for whatever space is left. In this white paper, Viking Integrated Safety outlines their 1U fire protection solution that provides smoke detection and residue-free extinguishing.
Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data center industry’s most experienced journalist. For more than 20 years, Rich has profiled the key role played by data centers in the Internet revolution.