The cloud continues to drive growth in the data center industry. That’s particularly true for Amazon Web Services, the global leader in cloud computing. The growth of AWS and its hyperscale cohorts was one of the biggest stories in the data center industry in 2017. Over the next two weeks we’ll be looking at the market impact of the four major hyperscale players – Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook.
Several of the top cloud computing infrastructure stories in 2017 focused on Amazon’s spectacular growth in the Northern Virginia data center market. AWS also is pursuing a power deal to expand its presence in the Ohio data center market. This growth comes after announcements made in 2016 that AWS was expanding rapidly in Northern Virginia, adding data centers to boost capacity in its Amazon US East cloud region.
To help you stay on top of Amazon’s data center development, here’s a look at highlights from Data Center Frontier’s coverage of AWS in 2017:
Jan. 16: Amazon Approaches 1 Gigawatt of Cloud Capacity in Virginia: A new data center being built by Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) in Ashburn. The tenant is reported to be Amazon Web Services. (Photo: Rich Miller)
Amazon’s cloud computing operation may soon have more than 1 gigawatt of power capacity supporting its huge US-East data center cluster, according to a Greenpeace analysis of the company’s energy use. AWS had 500 megawatts of capacity in a 2015 analysis, but has since received permission for generators to support another 560 megawatts of data center capacity, Greenpeace estimates. Some of those projects are still in the planning and construction phase. But when they are completed, the new capacity would bring Amazon’s total data center energy footprint in Northern Virginia to 1.06 gigawatts. Read more.
May 17: Looks Like Amazon — More Data Centers Coming to Ashburn: COPT, which is the primary landlord for Amazon Web Services in Northern Virginia, is building two data centers in Ashburn for an unnamed tenant. It looks like AWS is continuing its relentless expansion in Northern Virginia. The cloud computing titan’s primary landlord in the region, Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT), is building two new buildings in Ashburn that are fully leased to an unnamed “investment grade Fortune 500 company.” Read more.
A row of three Amazon Web Services data centers in Ashburn, Virginia. (Photo: Rich Miller)
Nov. 6: Amazon Plans Epic Data Center Expansion in Northern Virginia: AWS is working with a data center developer to build 11 new data centers in Northern Virginia in 2018-19, which would add 2 million SF of cloud capacity. This amounts to nearly 2 million square feet of additional data center space in Northern Virginia, which is already home to the world’s largest concentration of cloud computing infrastructure. Read more.
Nov. 13: Amazon Pursues Power Deal for 12 More Ohio Data Centers: AWS says it may build another 12 data centers in Ohio, and might add more cloud campuses in the state — if it can get discounts on power. AWS also says it could build additional campuses in the state if it can get a deal on its electricity costs. Read More.
To stay current on the latest news from Amazon Web Services and its movements in the data center market, see here.
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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.