Disruptive technologies have always emerged through a combination of innovation and speed, but the emergence of AI has pushed the boundaries of speed past precedent and comprehension. Recent forecasts project the U.S. data center market to grow by a multiple of 2-4x over the next 4-6 years, due largely to insatiable demand for AI-related development.
It’s one thing to forecast that type of growth on paper, but it’s a different challenge entirely to execute the buildout needed to accommodate such demand. In some ways, this environment creates a “perfect storm” for the data center industry. Demand is immense, but availability of resources is limited.
Scaling in this environment requires a specific combination of resources and conditions: the building blocks for density. Only by getting these factors right can disrupters achieve the certainty of capacity and confidence they need to meet demand in the age of AI.
When considering a data center development partner, keep these five essential components in mind:
Land and Power
The ability to scale starts from the ground up—literally. Across the country, a modern-day land grab is taking place in the hopes of procuring the best-growing conditions for AI workloads. Success relies on a critical pairing: strategic geography to serve high populations with limited latency, combined with reserved power capacity through a local utility provider. Both pre-secured capacity and deep utility partnerships are critical. Evaluate a data center developer’s existing resources and ensure that future commitments are solidified before assuming availability.
Design
Meeting demand starts with available land and power, but not all data center campuses are created equal. The best are guided by one key principle: density. Campuses that once accommodated capacities of 25-50 MW are now being retrofitted to 100 MW or more. In the case of EdgeCore, we are building campuses that accommodate a minimum of 300 MW of capacity, often for a single tenant, and making design and construction decisions to ensure customers experience maximum efficiency as they scale their deployments.
Financial Backing
Building modern data centers requires significant investment due to both their sheer size and the need for expensive raw materials and equipment. As such, it’s critical that data center providers are backed by billions of dollars in capital. Because financial stability matters, be sure to “look under the hood” to get a better handle on a provider’s long-term capability for growth.
Experience
Expanding a data center footprint requires nuanced business strategy that’s unique within the technology industry. EdgeCore’s executive team has deep institutional knowledge and expertise across design, construction, finance, operations, utilities and government. Those skillsets breed confidence, which ultimately creates an environment to scale and execute with certainty.
Relationships
It’s critical that providers cultivate an ecosystem of trusted partnerships with construction, facilities, utilities, and community organizations as well as local and state governments. These relationships are essential for ensuring the necessary access to land, power, supplies and permits. In this time of accelerating change, it’s imperative to select a data center developer that’s focused on building and nurturing relationships throughout the lifecycle of data center development.
Conclusion
These are times of aggressive growth and intense competition. The amounts of available investment and resources are finite, and attention to detail is critical. Not all providers and environments are created equal, and these five fundamental components can determine success or failure.
EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure has the building blocks to scale with certainty in the age of AI. Talk to us if you’re looking to grow.
