It All Begins With Vision
The Information reported Tuesday evening that Meta Platforms is in discussions to build a new artificial intelligence data center campus that “would dwarf anything the company has done to date” and be the largest project of its kind, with costs potentially exceeding $200 billion. Of course, last week, in attempt to set the narrative, MSFT was under the microscope for supposedly ‘scaling back’ leases for data center capacity. Either way you look at it, there is significant investment at stake. Procurement teams at these large tech companies are often the least qualified to explore options, particularly within the context of exploratory discussions with real-estate developers.
There are two extremes to consider: the inner-city ecosystem, where DC capacity is strategically implemented in a dense urban area and the “middle of nowhere,” affordable power and cheap real estate footprint. Despite the hope for the latter by the tech bros, both build outs are a requirement for AI and ML based applications to thrive. For the cities and municipalities there is much to consider.
For the cities, they are still recovering from the Covid-19 diaspora. According to a recent study by Cushman Wakefield “…employee return to WalkUPs (Walk Up Urban Places) is still below 2019 levels.” From the same study, WalkUPs generate ’25 – 50%’ of the city’s GDP and an equally high percentage of fiscal (tax) revenues for the city budget. The mayor in every city in the US is or should be concerned about these trends, and rightly so. Cities have become a dumping ground for migrating homelessness, crime, and low-income residents, completely the opposite of why cities exist in the first place.
On the rural front, the problem is different. Places like Wyoming, North Dakota and Indiana have a large agricultural heritage. They also have the potential to provide vast amounts of affordable energy, particularly natural gas. This land seems attractive, especially if you plan to purchase it by the square mile. With swelling populations, the Governors, and Mayors in charge of these areas are painfully aware of the need to bring in higher value jobs. The fact remains, infrastructure and skills needed to jumpstart a data center ecosystem are nascent at best and will require a significant amount of additional investment to incentivize success. Where is that investment going to come from?
We have built out both types of models in the past 20 years. The better question is how you create a foundation in development, infrastructure, professional talent, and supporting populations, which maximizes the return on investment for everyone. It all starts with an expansive vision that draws everyone in. Fundamentally, it becomes an architecture where multiple disciplines are willing to invest and where more players than just another mammoth tech company can share in the eventual success. If you are a State, City, County or other Municipality, information is power. And of course, if you need a vision for the future, we will help anyone (even the Tech Bros).