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Data
center location searches begin with an unrelenting list of requirements,
including robust and reliable infrastructure, low cost power, minimal risk of
natural or manmade disaster, favorable tax structures, and lucrative economic
development incentives. Vetting potential sites against such a long list of
criteria is time-consuming, and time is something that most companies lack. Data center operators want fast answers and a
high level of confidence there won’t be any deal-crashing surprises during the
due diligence phase.
In
response, some economic development organizations and utilities have begun proactively
identifying and vetting potential data center sites. To assist in this process
and provide an independent review of a site’s potential to house a data center,
Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Co. (BLS), a
consulting firm specializing in location economics, has established a data
center site qualification program, recently qualifying
nine data center sites for one of the nation’s largest utilities,
American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP). (More
details about the sites and the criteria used can be found at www.aepdatacenters.com.)
In
addition to looking for ways to condense the time required to identify a site,
new location trends include:
Increased
power requirements: Today’s
data centers are looking for more power, frequently as much as 200W and 300W
per square foot. This presents problems
for existing facilities built for lower power densities.
Microwave
technology:
Microwave and millimeter wave technology are being deployed to move data faster
to transmit data point-to-point, allowing companies to consider locations once
thought too distant or too remote for a data center.
Need for IT
talent: Increasingly organizations are co-locating
more staff with the physical data center.
This trend, combined with today’s shortage of certain IT skillsets, is
causing data center operators to place greater emphasis on labor considerations
when siting and designing data centers.
About the authors:
Tracey Hyatt Bosman, managing director
and Midwest practice leader of Biggins Lacy Shapiro, develops and executes incentives and location selection strategies
for BLS’ corporate and institutional
clients.
Timothy R. Comerford, senior vice
president, Biggins Lacy Shapiro and principal, Sugarloaf Associates, leads a
specially designed interdisciplinary affiliate of BLS & Co., with a special
focus on mission critical facilities.
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