Webinar Recap | The State of Colocation

Summary

So, just how far has colocation come? And where, exactly, is it headed?

Simply put–it’s not what you think.

The edge is no longer the edge

Bill Thomson, VP of Marketing and Product Management at DC Blox, was the panelist who first introduced the “not what you think” tagline. Thomson began the panel discussion by dismantling terms like “edge” or “edge networking,” stating that smaller-growing cities like Birmingham, AL, and Chattanooga, TN, used to be described by the industry as existing “on the edge.” However, this is no longer the case. Each of these “edge” cities have hospitals, university systems, and local governments that all carry the same ambitions for digital transformation as any enterprise across the globe. Colocation is knocking down “the edge,” Thomson argues, not only providing strong value to these companies and research institutions, but also helping to bridge the digital divide between “NFL cities” like Atlanta and smaller, more underserved communities.

Tony Grayson, General Manager of Compass Quantum, further emphasized this idea of connectivity across disparate communities. Grayson stated that decentralization will continue to occur – with more and more technology like smartphones and smart cars requiring low latency, for example, more and more network nodes must be built and distributed to service upcoming platforms. Other incentives, like the government’s $77.3 billion investment in bringing broadband to rural areas, will only help to spur these decentralization efforts.

Of course, colocation is also uniquely able to accommodate decentralization initiatives because it’s able to offer connections to other networks or cloud providers within the walls of their data centers, as well as enable companies to have physical presences across the nation while saving the necessary capex to build those physical data centers. Ultimately, colocation’s facilitation of this nationwide connectivity is crucial, because, as Grayson argues: “If you put a pin on the map, at the end of the day, we need to be able to service that community digitally.”

Unexpected growth of “in-demand” data

Alan Howard, senior analyst at Omdia, further outlined this rapid growth of colocation and data centers and the subsequent increase in connectivity. According to Howard, the notion that we have “too many” data centers can be easily debunked by their explosive adoption in markets within China and social media, which inherently shows just how “in-demand” data is right now. Furthermore, recent trends in cloud repatriation (which Howard prefers to describe as “cloud rebalancing”), as industries choose to embrace colocation over the unforeseen costs and learning curves of the cloud, have similarly promoted the growth of data centers.

We can’t wait until 2050 for sustainability

However, as data centers have become globally embraced at an unprecedented scale, so too has the need for sustainability. With their unparalleled access to finances and resources, hyperscalers currently lead the pack in terms of sustainability efforts, according to Howard; however, Thomson argues, hyperscalers also consume the most amount of water and power. Meanwhile, many data center companies have updated their ESG initiatives, Thomson stated, only to discover that their own data infrastructure fails to meet their new sustainability goals. So what exactly can be done to increase sustainability in these companies?

Each of the panelists offered different solutions – such as outsourcing, updating old infrastructure with newer, sustainable technology, government grants, or embracing distributed architecture – but everyone agreed: no matter how it’s accomplished, sustainability should become an immediate priority for the data center industry.

“If you say you’re going to be carbon-neutral by 2050, when does your plan officially start?” Grayson asked. “What are you actually doing now?”

AFCOM members are invited to view the full recording of the webinar. To do so, simply click here.