The Top 10 Data Center Stories for July 2021

A former data center being marketed on Zillow as “the ultimate safe house?” There’s something you don’t see every day. The internet loves novelty, and this unusual real estate story wound up being the most popular story for readers during July 2021.

The quest to “cloudify” colocation and interconnection services was the other hot topic, especially a profile of Equinix and its growing ambitions in programmable infrastructure, and DCF coverage of similar initiatives at Digital Realty and Evoque also made our top 10 for last month. Other stories of interest featured the effort to develop alternatives to diesel fuel for backup power generation, data center water usage amid heat and drought in the Western U.S., and the growing stream of data traveling from space to the cloud.

Here are the 10 most popular stories on Data Center Frontier in July 2021, in order of article views:

• Data Center Gone Wild: Zillow Listing Captures Internet’s Imagination: House shoppers browsing Zillow seeking homes in the Dallas area are encountering an unusual opportunity: A former data center being offered for sale as the “ultimate safe house.”
• Equinix Steps Up Its Quest to Cloudify Colocation and Connectivity: Equinix wants to increase the speed and breadth of its data center ecosystems. The company recently outlined its expanding vision for “delivering physical infrastructure at software speed” everywhere from the cloud to the edge.
• Beyond Generators: Data Centers Pursue New Approaches to Backup Energy: What comes next after diesel generators? We dive into the future of backup power, as data center operators are test-driving fuels using vegetable oil and forestry byproducts, fuel cells powered by hydrogen and natural gas, and large lithium-ion batteries.
• Digital Realty Enters India Through Data Center JV With Brookfield: Digital Realty is expanding into India through a joint venture with global infrastructure investor Brookfield Infrastructure, a move that will further accelerate the development of digital infrastructure in the world’s second-largest country.
• Digital Realty Partners With Zayo on Vision for Open Interconnection: Digital Realty will partner with Zayo Group to pursue its vision for an open “fabric of fabrics” providing software-powered connections that span the globe’s major data hubs.
• Co-Founder Dave Ferdman Returns to Lead CyrusOne, as Duncan Departs: CyrusOne co-founder David Ferdman will reassume leadership of the company, assuming the posts of interim President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Ferdman succeeds Bruce Duncan, who departs after 1 year as CEO.
• Sabey Lines Up $175 Million for Data Center Expansion: Sabey Data Centers has issued $175 million of securitized notes to fund the growth of its data center operations. The company has now lined up nearly $1 billion in growth capital using asset-backed securities with low interest rates.
• Drought, Extreme Heat Sharpen Focus on Data Center Water Usage: Extreme heat and drought in the Western US is bringing sharper scrutiny of data center water use, and testing assumptions about climate in some data center destinations. The heightened awareness of water constraints is raising the bar for data center developers.
• Big Data From Space: How Satellite Launches Power Cloud Growth: A SpaceX rocket launch conducted on June 30 will conservatively add 30 to 40 terabytes of data per day to cloud services around the world. The SpaceX launch deployed several satellites providing hosted IT services, serving as forerunners to dedicated data centers in the sky.
• Evoque Acquires Foghorn, Looks to Cloud Consulting and DevOps: Colocation provider Evoque is acquiring cloud engineering firm Foghorn Consulting, and launching an “application-first” strategy to help guide enterprise customers as they navigate the growing options for IT infrastructure deployment.

Education is part of our mission at Data Center Frontier. In our Voices of the Industry feature, we share the experience of data center executives on the front lines of innovation. Here’s a look at the most popular Voices columns for DCF readers last month:

• Real-Time Data Demands The Edge (Flexential): There are approximately 10 billion IoT devices in the world, and that number is expected to hit 75 billion by 2025. With so many connected devices, it is no wonder the amount of data created each day continues to spike upward. Jason Carolan, Chief Innovation Officer at Flexential, explores the importance of the edge when it comes to real-time data processing.
• Why Chicago is a GeoStrategic Destination for Data Center Investment (Aligned): Chicago has long served as a major infrastructure hub for the nation’s commerce, whether goods and services were conveyed by rail, road, air, or data packet. Eric Jacobs, CRO of Aligned, discusses the factors that make Chicago a prime location for data center investment.
• Welcome to the Mobile Edge: A Look at the Edger from the Perspective of Network Providers (DataBank): s the promise of 5G and edge computing becomes more and more real, network service providers need to move away from traditional, centralized compute infrastructure and embrace a more specialized, decentralized model. Raul Martynek, CEO at DataBank, examines how wireless edge computing will help network service providers capitalize on 5G opportunities.

Be sure to check out all of our Voices columns, including insights from Nortek Data Center Cooling, Data Aire, phoenixNAP Global IT Services and Vertiv ,

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