The
high tech trend of “big data analytics” on the part of the federal government
and industry is creating demand, especially in Northern Virginia, for data
centers capable of supporting the required mega-storage, higher power, and
cooling densities.
Major
growth drivers for this type of analytics are the proliferation of
government-generated intelligence, the digitization of documents previously on
paper, growth of scientific-research data, mobile devices, and social
networking. According to the latest
Avison Young Data Center Newsletter, “There are 50 wholesale options in the US
that can accommodate [big data needed 1 megawatt plus users] immediately and
those are located in Virginia, Texas and California.” For example, Facebook is currently leasing
big data center space in Ashburn.
The
federal government and a wide variety of industries are investing heavily into
big data analytics. In addition to “big
government,” other private sector major users are:
• Social media and e-commerce, where user behavior is
analyzed to generate marketing intelligence
• Healthcare, where patient data is analyzed to make
diagnosis or treatment decisions
• Financial services, where qualitative analysis of
data is important, i.e., stock-trading trends.
• Manufacturing and design
What all of this will mean is there will be an increased demand in Northern Virginia for powerful data centers AND analysts to read the data being generated. It is the area’s good fortune to already have the necessary work force and culture in place to make “big data” generated meaningful and understood.
