The Data Center Frontier Executive Roundtable features insights from industry executives with lengthy experience in the data center industry. Here’s a look at the insights from Phillip Marangella of EdgeConneX.
PHILLIP MARANGELLA, EdgeConneX
Currently serving as the Chief Marketing Officer at EdgeConneX, Phillip Marangella has over 20 years of international marketing, strategy, and business development experience working in the Data Center, Telecom and Technology sectors for leading service providers. Prior to joining EdgeConneX, Phillip most recently worked for Equinix in various capacities in both marketing and business development. In addition, Phillip had stints at Coresite, Verizon, MCI, Nortel and Globalstar. Phillip was also a partner and founder of a tech consulting firm focused on international technology transfer and venture funding of university developed technology. Currently serving as the Chief Marketing Officer at EdgeConneX, Phillip is focused on developing, evangelizing and executing the marketing strategy and ecosystem development for the company. Phillip also serves on the advisory boards for Apomaya and Infrastructure Masons. Phillip holds a Bachelors in Political Science from the University of California San Diego, and a Masters in Multinational Commerce from Boston University.
Here’s the full text of Phillip Marangella’s insights from our Executive Roundtable:
Data Center Frontier: Several hyperscale operators have indicated they expect to boost capital investment in digital infrastructure in coming years. What’s the outlook for hyperscale computing in 2021, and what will this mean for data center developers and service providers?
Phillip Marangella: I think all providers across the digital infrastructure supply chain will be investing in build-outs next year and for the coming years. In particular, we are seeing surging demand in more distributed edge infrastructure at one end of the spectrum and hyperscale capacity expansion in more and more international markets.
Data Center Frontier: Enterprise IT spending appears to be rebounding after subdued spending in 2020. What are the most important trends you’re seeing in enterprise demand, and how might they impact the data center business in 2022?
An example of a hyperscale data center developed by EdgeConneX. (Image: EdgeConneX)
Phillip Marangella: With digital transformation initiatives accelerated during COVID and cloud migration increasing, enterprises want the flexibility of both hybrid cloud and multi-cloud solutions. Depending on the application and the workload the type of cloud and type of provider might vary. They want a more proximate and secure cloud as well and they are leveraging 3rd party expertise to help architect and integrate these solutions.
All of this is driving the growth of hybrid, multi-cloud solutions at the Edge with an ecosystem of providers integrated by MSPs for enterprises. It’s a win-win for enterprises and service providers, and data center providers are the key interconnection point for both in that scenario.
Data Center Frontier: Cooling is a hot topic, as data center operators seek to balance growing use of AI hardware with commitments on sustainability and water use. What do you expect will be the key themes in data center cooling in the next several years?
Phillip Marangella: Sustainability is becoming stable table stakes for every provider and a mantra for the data center industry as a whole. More than just carbon or water, it’s thinking about sustainability holistically. We are all sourcing and implementing technologies and solutions that are environmentally sustainable. We are also collaborating and sharing best practices, which is exciting to see.
Data Center Frontier: What might increased adoption of “metaverse” virtual worlds mean for digital infrastructure and the data center industry?
Phillip Marangella: In a recent article I wrote in Data Center Frontier I talked about how the metaverse can’t thrive without the physical universe. The infrastructure to support a concept as bold as the Metaverse cannot be limited to a small number of physical locations. It needs to be extensive even as it needs to feel local and exhibit ultra-low latency.
The Metaverse may very well revolutionize how people socialize, how they transact business, how they share knowledge and experiences, how they travel, and much, much more. But if it can’t be available to everyone everywhere, if it causes damage to the planet, or if it can’t deliver a smooth, seamless user experience, it will not thrive.