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Aug 11, 2020 • 20min

HawkTalk 50 with Russell Cozart, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Product Strategy at Cyxtera

This is an episode of HawkTalk, datacenterHawk’s series of candid one on one conversations with executives and leaders in the data center industry. If you enjoyed this episode, you can check them all out on our blog. If you’d like to know when we release future episodes, please subscribe. We recently hosted Russell Cozart, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Strategy at Cyxtera as part of our HawkTalk series. Russell started in the data center industry 15 years ago with Terramark and has spent time at Dell, VMWare, and prior to joining Cyxtera, managed GE’s cloud hosting portfolio. We covered topics like what it looked like to launch Cyxtera three years ago, the trends that are informing their go to market strategy now, and his read on the challenges enterprise IT leaders are having today. You can check out the full interview in the video above, or if you’re short on time, skim some of our top takeaways below. Focus On Focus After acquiring Century Link’s data center assets, the Cyxtera team focused on how they could make and deliver data center products and services better - and faster. Russell summarized it as the team asking themselves: how do we deliver the core value that we want to deliver with the combination of innovation, stability, and resiliency that customers had come to know with the Century Link data center asset? Part of that required a renewed focus. For example, the data center team spun their cyber security offerings off into separate companies so that they could focus more on delivering a world class experience to their enterprise customers. COVID-19 Has Accelerated, Not Changed, IT Mandates Particularly with COVID-19, the mandates placed upon CIOs and IT teams have remained the same - just accelerated. Everyone is asking how they can get to Point B faster. These leaders are looking for partners that can help them as they start to charge faster down the path of digital transformation. That trend of transformation is likely to hockey stick, especially around people using a hybrid combination of public cloud and colocation. IT Challenges Remain The Same While IT mandates remain the same, so do the challenges of the enterprise data center user. CapEx budgets are shrinking, many are supporting aging legacy infrastructure, and the drive to a hybrid IT strategy has left many with skills gaps and complex solutions. These have historically been challenges in the enterprise IT space, but now with COVID-19 the pressure is heightened. At the same time, leaders are trying to get what they need without sacrificing core tenants of delivering on their own IT strategy, like staying flexible and agile while being fast to market. This flexible and agile environment is top of mind for a provider like Cyxtera as they think about bringing products to market. How To Build Products That Resonate With Customers Maintaining a solid roadmap that leads to successful products across the globe takes work. Cyxtera has a presence across 29 markets globally and has invested heavily in developing an intimate understanding of their customers and their challenges. This enables them to then map out an architecture that will assist their customers in their journeys and ultimately ingest it into Cyxtera’s roadmap to ensure they bring valuable products to market. Looking Forward Looking forward, “the next 3-5 years are going to be game changing for the industry”, Russell says. Data center providers are on the precipice of major changes, driven primarily by the changes we’re seeing in the enterprise. The next 3-5 years are going to be game changing for the industry. Russell Cozart Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Strategy at Cyxtera “[At Cyxtera, we’re] excited to deliver the cutting edge and make sure that’s something that resonates with customers. Their lives are changing and that’s for us and the industry as a whole make sure we’re there.”
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Aug 4, 2020 • 20min

HawkTalk 49 with Todd Cushing, President at 1623 Farnam

1623 Farnam’s president Todd Cushing discusses the importance of carrier hotels and connectivity This is an episode of HawkTalk, datacenterHawk’s series of candid one on one conversations with executives and leaders in the data center industry. If you enjoyed this episode, you can check them all out on our blog. If you’d like to know when we release future episodes, you can subscribe here. On HawkTalk 49 David chats with Todd Cushing about 1623 Farnam and what it means to be a carrier hotel in today’s data center industry. They discuss the importance of connectivity as it continues to be a higher priority to businesses today, and the growth of the Omaha data center as a whole. If you’re short on time, check out a few of our quick takeaways below. The value of the carrier hotel Carrier hotels are places where connectivity lives, whether it’s regional, long haul, dark fiber, or another type, the carrier hotel is a location for it all to aggregate. Connectivity has become an important factor in the last 5-10 years as businesses have learned to create mature IT infrastructure that ultimately allows their business applications to work more efficiently. 1623 Farnam - a rich ecosystem of connectivity 1623 Farnam has become a crucial part of connectivity growth in the Midwest. The company is focused on a better network, lower latency, and faster connectivity. The growth of fiber in Omaha is a big reason why 1623 Farnam has put so much of their focus on connectivity. With the fiber infrastructure continuing to grow they see it as an opportunity to control fiber access in Omaha. The Omaha data center market and why it’s growing It’s not surprising the recent major growth has come from hyperscale users. From social media companies to major search engines, they’ve all established a presence in Omaha which is causing continual growth to the area. We also talked about… The transformation of 1623 Farnam, from a bank building to Omaha’s carrier hotel Todd’s prediction of the creation of data in the coming years The impact of COVID-19 on the data center industry Don’t forget to check out the rest of our HawkTalk's and don’t miss out on our latest release of market data for the data center industry.
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Jul 30, 2020 • 17min

Data center predictions for 2H 2020

In Podcast 31, David and Mike take a quick look back at the first half of 2020 and also take a look forward to discuss what the second half will look like for the data center market. This is an episode of HawkPodcast, datacenterHawk’s viewpoints on the data center industry. If you enjoyed this episode, you can check them all out on our blog. If you’d like to know when we release future episodes, you can subscribe to our newsletter on our site. 2Q has wrapped up, you can read more about it on our 2Q 2020 data center market overview, but we’ve started to look forward to the 2nd half of 2020. Below are a few of the points we discuss in the podcast above. Big demand in 2nd half of 2020 We think the 2nd half of 2020 will look similar to the 1st in that demand will continue to be pushed forward by big buyers all across the industry. The enterprise sector of the data center industry took a bigger hit from COVID-19, but we expect to see those businesses rebound with increased demand in 3Q and 4Q. Markets that will be active in 2nd half of 2020 After seeing the trends from 2Q, we think that there a few markets primed for activity in the 2nd half of 2020: Portland – Though only a handful of providers have a Portland presence, it continues to see healthy growth due to the attractive power costs and connectivity to subsea cables. Chicago – Tax incentives passed in 2019 were a factor in winning opportunities in 2Q. Given the large population and need for companies to be near their users, we expect growth to continue through the second half of 2020. Northern New Jersey – This market had a strong absorption quarter and continues to surprise in 2020 after it’s been quiet in recent years. Northern New Jersey had a lot of activity back in 2011-2013, so we think that there may have been some long term contracts in place that are now starting to expire, and naturally, some companies will be making decisions that could cause activity and movement in this market. Data center growth in Europe The European data center industry has different challenges than the US does, a main one being that the growth is happening in different countries. Even with those challenges, we expect to see hyperscale maturity in the major European markets. This growth should trickle down to the secondary European markets as well. Other things we talked about: • Our 2Q 2020 Data Center Market Overview • HawkTalk 45 with Andy Cvengros about the Chicago market • HawkPodcast 30 with our lead European analyst, Dan Scarbrough Don’t forget to check out the rest of our HawkPodcasts and don’t miss out on our latest release of market data for the data center industry.
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Jul 28, 2020 • 32min

HawkPodcast 30 - European Data Center Markets

In Podcast 30, David is joined by datacenterHawk’s lead European analyst to discuss some of the trends we’ve seen in the European data center market. Check out a few quick takeaways from our conversation below. This is an episode of HawkPodcast, datacenterHawk’s viewpoints on the data center industry. If you enjoyed this episode, you can check them all out on our blog. If you’d like to know when we release future episodes, you can subscribe here. You can also click here if you want to read our 2Q 2020 data center overview for North America and Europe. European Demand Trends Looking back at 2019, the majority of the activity in Europe was seen in a few markets, with Amsterdam receiving most of that activity. So far in 2020, the demand is more even across the five main European markets, including Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin. Growth in Frankfurt, Paris, and Dublin seems to be increasing in 2020. European Hyperscale Growth American data center providers have taken an interest in the five major European markets in the past year. This new interest has attracted more hyperscale users to look at these European markets, which has created more competition for the regional European developers and has caused them to shift their strategy. Emerging European Markets With major European markets receiving increased development interest from US data center operators, regional developers in Europe are expanding in other locations. Areas like Zurich, Warsaw, Marseille, and Barcelona are emerging markets expected to see growth based on that trend. The maturity of the subsea cable industry is also creating interest in these smaller European markets as well. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our HawkPodcasts and don’t miss out on our latest release of market data for the data center industry.
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Jul 7, 2020 • 29min

What is Colocation? - Data Center Fundamentals

Colocation is leasing digital infrastructure from a data center operator. On this podcast, David and Mike go over the second of eight topics on data center fundamentals. We covered this in a blog series as well as an email course. Today, we answer the question “What is colocation?” and discuss some of the defining characteristics of this aspect of the data center industry. What is colocation? One option of having digital infrastructure is to build and operate your own data center, but this is mainly for large scale data center users. Colocation offers the option of leasing data center power and space from a data center provider. Colocation leases can range in size from several servers to an entire data center. Data center providers prefer to structure leases in different ways depending on user needs and lease size. Leases of 50 kilowatts (kW) and less Smaller footprints are usually all-in leases, where the user pays a set price per month with little variation. The price includes both the rental rate and power cost. Leases of 50 kW – 5 megawatts (MW) These leases are often Gross + Electric, where the user pays a set price per kW of data center infrastructure they lease per month, plus the cost of the power they use. Leases of 5 MW and higher Larger leases are often Triple Net (NNN), meaning the user pays the provider to use the space, but manages a larger portion of the operations and utilities themselves. Benefits of colocation vs on-premise data centers 1. Save on outsourcing specialized skill sets Data center operation requires a level of expertise that many companies often lack. While it’s possible for companies to develop a staff to fill this role, it’s often faster, less expensive, and more efficient to outsource the requirement. Data center providers are experts in colocation and can provide specialized solutions that best fit their customer’s needs. 2. Increased flexibility Because IT strategy can change quickly, companies value fluidity with their data center infrastructure. A company’s data center may fit their needs today, but could be inefficient later. Colocating provides flexibility and helps users avoid getting stuck in a solution that doesn’t fit their needs. 3. Cost savings from provider’s scale Data center providers are experts in designing and building data centers and often do it in a more cost-efficient manner. Large providers can also leverage their size to lower construction and power costs, and these lower costs are passed on to the user, creating lower operating expenses than owning the data center themselves. 4. Ease of customization Data center providers offer a variety of services to meet their users’ needs. They can also use their scale to attract third-party service providers, which creates a valuable ecosystem hard for single users to replicate. 5. More fiber connections A colocation data center often has stronger fiber infrastructure and easier access to cloud service providers, giving users low latency to their cloud environments and the end-customer. 6. Easier path for growth Growing your data center presence is easier with a data center provider. The relationship between a user and data center provider is typically seen as a long-term partnership. Should a company need a data center in a new market, they can often deploy infrastructure in their provider’s facility in that region. Providers like Digital Realty, Equinix, and CyrusOne report the vast majority of their customers have deployments in more than one of their data centers and many in more than one country.
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Jun 30, 2020 • 26min

HawkTalk 48 with Aaron Wangenheim, COO at T5 Data Centers

T5’s Chief Operating Officer Aaron Wangenheim gives his input on Los Angeles, one of the most strategic US data center markets. This is an episode of HawkTalk, datacenterHawk’s series of candid one on one conversations with executives and leaders in the data center industry. If you enjoyed this episode, you can check them all out on our blog. Please subscribe to our podcast to be notified when we release a new episode. On HawkTalk 48 David chats with Aaron Wangenheim about the large and strategic Los Angeles data center market. They discuss the history of the market, the reason for the recent growth there, and why the hyperscale user is attracted to this market. Here are a few quick takeaways from our conversation below. The Growth of the Los Angeles Data Center Market T5 Data Centers has been in the LA data center market since 2006, and they’ve lived the growth and challenges that have taken place over the years there. Naturally, the market has always circled around media and entertainment, which is still the case today. But with its high land, power, and tax prices, the providers who have chosen to enter this market are the ones who need to be there from a strategic standpoint. Why 2019 L.A. Data Center Market Growth was at an all-time high Most of the growth that we’ve seen lately in the LA market has been from the hyperscale users. This market has always aimed to serve the media and entertainment industry, and hyperscale users have recently taken an interest in servicing these industry verticals. While that growth is happening, the enterprise user still maintains a strong presence in the LA market. What Hyperscale Users Value in a Data Center Provider One of the main concerns for hyperscale users when making a decision on where they should deploy is they need to know that they can grow if they need to. When a hyperscale user picks a market and a provider to deploy their product in, they know that they’ll need more in time. Often they don’t know how much or by when they’ll need that space, but they do know that they’ll need a partner that will grow with them. We also talked about… Specifics about the T5 facility in Los Angeles How COVID-19 has changed T5’s 2020 plan Work from home trends and how company communication trends are evolving Don’t forget to check out the rest of our HawkTalk's and don’t miss out on our latest release of market data for the data center industry.
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Jun 24, 2020 • 25min

HawkTalk 47 with Randy Brouckman, CEO of EdgeConneX

Life on the edge can be dangerous. Randy saw it as an opportunity to found EdgeConneX, a data center company built to bring speed to the market. He took some time to walk us through his journey and how his experience shapes his outlook on today. This is an episode of HawkTalk, datacenterHawk’s series of candid one on one conversations with executives and leaders in the data center industry. If you enjoyed this episode, you can check them all out on our blog or listen to them in podcast form. If you’d like to know when we release future episodes, you can subscribe here. On HawkTalk 47 David visits with Randy Brouckman and discusses the beginnings of EdgeConneX, how COVID-19 has changed the industry, it's long term effects, and what the future of the international data center markets could look like. Randy gave us some great insights based on his experience starting and leading a top tier data center provider in EdgeConneX. Check out a few quick takeaways from our conversation below. EdgeConneX aims to bring speed to the market EdgeConneX was founded with a goal of bringing speed to the everyday technology user, or in other words “eliminating the spinning pinwheel.” They planned to do this by bringing the data closer to the user. EdgeConneX recently embarked on a data center building blitz to realize this vision, building 23 data centers over 24 months. The effects COVID-19 will have on the data center industry COVID-19 has acted as an acceleration of the digitalization of businesses. Within the first 30 to 40 days of COVID-19, there’s been tremendous growth specifically in the connectivity to the cloud. Users have been moving towards needing more power and more space with the growth of technology usage. The future of the European data center markets In Europe, there will be no slow down in the expansion of the big core markets: Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, & Dublin. While expansion is going to continue to take place, the data sovereignty in Europe could also be driving the opening of new availability zones in new markets. Adding a second availability zone in Germany because Frankfurt isn’t enough could be a possibility, or opening a zone to service eastern Europe. These availability zones could very well be led by edge data centers. We also talked about… How newer technologies such as autonomous cars & 5G affect the edge What Randy is excited about being a leader in the data center industry Don’t forget to check out the rest of our HawkTalk's and don’t miss out on our latest release of market data for the data center industry. ------ Thank you for watching this video. I am appreciative of your thoughts and comments - and thankful for the opportunity to serve the industry through datacenterHawk. ------ Learn more about the data center industry and receive insight to US and European markets at https://www.datacenterhawk.com ------ For more exclusive content with data center professionals, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/datacenterHawk?sub_confirmation=1 ------ Receive the latest information on US and now European data center markets by staying in touch with us here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/datacenterhawk_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidliggitt/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/9488532/admin/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/d_liggitt Twitter: https://twitter.com/datacenterhawk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/datacenterhawk/ SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/datacenterhawk
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Jun 24, 2020 • 50min

What is a Data Center? HawkPodcast 28

What is a data center? We dive into the fundamentals of a data center and give a basic overview for anyone who is looking to get into the industry. On this podcast, David and I are going over the first of eight topics on data center fundamentals. We covered this in a blog series as well as an email course. Today, we answer the question “What is a data center?” and discuss some of the defining characteristics of this real estate class. A data center is a facility that houses digital infrastructure. That’s the most basic definition that we could build to answer that question. Data centers are unique buildings with unique purposes. As such, people care about several unique aspects that you won’t always find in other commercial real estate assets classes. Location & Risk Mitigation A data center’s location is important. Every region comes with its own hazards and data centers are designed to mitigate the risks associated within that region. Most are built to withstand winds of 125+ mph, high scale earthquakes, and are located outside of flood plains. Power Consumption is the Key Metric Data centers consume 3% of our world’s electricity, and the best way to understand a data center’s size is to recognize how much power is being utilized at the site. Data centers can be measured in square footage but are more accurately measured in power. Servers consume power at a relatively consistent rate, meaning the overall power needs of a data center is a more accurate indicator of the size of a facility. A single rack of servers in a data center consumes between 2-10 kilowatts (kW) of power, while the entire data center facility can consume between 5-75 megawatts (MW). Connectivity Matters A well connected data center includes a high number of fiber providers located at the site, which provides a company flexibility with the fiber providers they want to use for the business operations. Cooling Is A Concern Servers produce a significant amount of heat. Temperature control is one of the primary limiting factors on how large a data center can be. In theory, power providers can deliver hundreds of megawatts to a data center, but a data center’s size is limited by the amount of power it can cool. It’s standard for a data center’s cooling capacity to range from 2-10 kW per rack, but new technology is now allowing organizations to achieve higher densities with their footprint. High Availability Through Redundancy Having systems in place to handle a negative equipment event is critical for data center success. Data centers typically have redundant transformers, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), backup generators, and cooling systems to keep the facility online at all times. Meeting Compliance For Multiple Industries Most industries have strict methods, procedures, and standards around operations. This also applies to how they store their data, meaning a data center must meet that industry’s requirements for a company to use it. Data center compliance focuses on a range of subjects, but often involve the security, redundancy, and operational risk of a data center. Top Tier Security Planning to reduce risk also means securing a data center from man-made hazards. Most of these facilities are surrounded by high-grade perimeter fencing with controlled access gates. Inside, 24/7 security personnel, man-trap entrances, biometric scanners, card key access and floor to ceiling steel caging all help to ensure a company’s data center environment is well protected. More Expensive Than Office Space Data centers require a high degree of specialization and design, which leads to a higher cost to build and operate a data center. Traditional estimates are 10 times more expensive than traditional office space. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our HawkPodcasts and don’t miss out on our latest release of market data for the data center industry.
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Jun 24, 2020 • 18min

HawkTalk 46 with Tim Mirick, SVP of Sales & Marketing at Sabey Data Centers

Tim and David dive into the Northern Virginia market and look at how the data center industry has evolved over time, and how COVID-19 has impacted it. ––––––––––– This is an episode of HawkTalk, datacenterHawk’s series of candid one on one conversations with executives and leaders in the data center industry. If you enjoyed this episode, you can check them all out on our blog. If you’d like to know when we release future episodes, you can subscribe here. You can also listen to the podcast version here. ––––––––––– On HawkTalk 46, David visits with Sabey’s EVP of Sales & Marketing, Tim Mirick. Together they discuss the Northern Virginia data center market and how it’s become the largest data center market in the world. Check out a few quick takeaways from our conversation below. Why data center operators are drawn to Northern Virginia There are a multitude of reasons why Northern Virginia has become the largest data center market in the world. The region boasts excellent connectivity, a strong power structure, excellent government incentives, a strong labor pool, good transportation, and close proximity to several major airports. With all of that coming together, it starts to become a cycle that feeds itself, and in turn, becomes what it is today. Data center design has changed over time to fit the needs of end users Especially in the Northern Virginia market, data center operators need to have the ability to respond to their customers' requirements as they get bigger. For example, since Sabey deployed their first facility in Northern Virginia, they've needed to triple the size of their facilities in order to respond to users who required a larger environment. The scale of user requirements is a large reason why facilities have changed over the past 5-10 years. COVID-19 is changing how data center operators prioritize their presence Before COVID-19, the world spent a lot of energy focusing on moving physical objects and people around but now we’ve seen a change where the focus is turning toward moving and manipulating more data. This means that the data center industry will have a larger load to carry. From additional virtual meetings, virtual learning, and even tradeshows and conferences that are turning towards a total virtual experience, the data center industry will continue to be a part of the critical distribution system that allows all of these events to take place. We also talked about… • Renewable power will continue to be a main focus in the data center industry • COVID-19 has been a catalyst in a way to making our world more virtual Don’t forget to check out the rest of our HawkTalk's and don’t miss out on our latest release of market data for the data center industry. ------ Thank you for watching this video. I am appreciative of your thoughts and comments - and thankful for the opportunity to serve the industry through datacenterHawk. ------ Learn more about the data center industry and receive insight to US and European markets at https://www.datacenterhawk.com ------ For more exclusive content with data center professionals, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/datacenterHawk?sub_confirmation=1 ------ Receive the latest information on US and now European data center markets by staying in touch with us here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/datacenterhawk_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidliggitt/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/9488532/admin/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/d_liggitt Twitter: https://twitter.com/datacenterhawk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/datacenterhawk/ SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/datacenterhawk
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Jun 9, 2020 • 26min

HawkTalk 45 with Andy Cvengros, SVP at JLL

JLL’s Senior Vice President Andy Cvengros knows the ins and outs of the Chicago data center market and shares his knowledge with us on the current state of the market. This is an episode of HawkTalk, datacenterHawk’s series of candid one on one conversations with executives and leaders in the data center industry. If you enjoyed this episode, you can check them all out on our blog. If you’d like to know when we release future episodes, you can subscribe here. On HawkTalk 45 David discusses the always interesting Chicago data center market with Andy Cvengros. Andy lives in the Chicago area and is continually active in the data center industry while working from home through COVID-19. Here are a few quick takeaways from our conversation below. Historical growth of the Chicago data center market As a major metropolis, Chicago has always been in a prime location when it comes to being the connectivity hub of the midwest. When the financial market grew so rapidly in Chicago, it brought many other industries up with it, including the data center industry. Now, data center development is spread throughout the city to facilities accommodating both hyperscale and enterprise data center users. Chicago, the tale of two data center markets Chicago can be divided into the downtown and suburban data center markets. The suburban area is composed of larger-scale facilities that attract more hyperscale users, and the downtown area is more competitive at attracting companies with higher latency needs. Recently passed tax incentives expected to boost Chicago interest Chicago was previously known as a market that had higher taxes which made the decision for data center professionals to jump into that market difficult. That changed for last year when Illinois passed a few general infrastructure bills that also included data centers which meant that the industry would receive benefits from these changes. This move made Chicago similar to the Dallas or the Northern Virginia markets when it comes to tax benefits, and has seen a lot of additional activity begin to form since then. We also talked about… •How COVID-19 will impact the Chicago market in the future •What the story of the Chicago market will be for the rest of 2020 •Some of the benefits for Andy since he’s been working from home Don’t forget to check out the rest of our HawkTalk's and don’t miss out on our latest release of market data for the data center industry. ------ Thank you for listening. I am appreciative of your thoughts and comments - and thankful for the opportunity to serve the industry through datacenterHawk. ------ Learn more about the data center industry and receive insight to US and European markets at https://www.datacenterhawk.com ------ For more exclusive content with data center professionals, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/datacenterHawk?sub_confirmation=1 ------ Receive the latest information on US and now European data center markets by staying in touch with us here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/datacenterhawk_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidliggitt/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/9488532/admin/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/d_liggitt Twitter: https://twitter.com/datacenterhawk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/datacenterhawk/ SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/datacenterhawk

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