compassdatacenters

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Building efficiency into everything we do

Compass is known for its fast-paced data center builds. We’re a hyper-speed developer in a hyperscale environment. 

But we know we can’t lead if we’re standing still. To continue building agility and creating advantages for customers we constantly examine how we do what we do to find ways to work smarter.

Having a fine-tuned prototype is the key. Beyond that, as we upturn every stone in search of opportunities to work smarter and meet the demand for additional data center capacity, one avenue of opportunity we found is streamlining our contractor submittal processes.  

Using a standardized design means many aspects of the prototype share the same parts, construction processes and products.  While each facility is tailored to the customer and site, the core elements of each remain the same and are executed in a repeatable manner. Repetition creates opportunity to streamline and prioritize contractor submittals and reviews for Compass hyperscaler, enterprise, and edgepoint data center platforms.

Standardizing specs

As part of the effort to bring uniformity to specs, we grouped required system components by sub-contractor – architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical. For each group, we assessed every submittal type and determined whether it requires full, limited or is no review…meaning it’s pre-approved and a boilerplate specification that will be the same from project to project. 

While time consuming on the front end, this process revealed that almost half of the more than 800 submittals required for one facility fall into the pre-approved or boilerplate category. These are pieces of the puzzle that don’t change from project to project and, therefore, don’t require re-submittal and review with each new build. 

In addition to significantly narrowing down the volume of required submittals, this overhaul has eliminated conflicts, duplications and ambiguity on the specification. Grouping and uniformity also helped organize the submittal and review process, paving the way for submittals to be provided in the manner that projects are constructed. That linear presentation further expedites review.

Going forward

A prepopulated list of submittals for all of Compass’s data center designs will be included on the front-end.  Key items conveyed to the general contractor are: 

How the submittal will be reviewed – whether it’s pre-approved or subject to limited or full review  

Product/assembly sourcing requirements

Substitution parameters

Due dates

The submittal matrix gives the general contractor a jump-start on the submittal process. It also identifies long-lead-time items to assist the contractor in scheduling submittals and ensuring that all products are ordered on time and delivered to the architect for a timely review. The submittal matrix will also distinguish between the core and shell effort or interior fit-up.

Tiered review

Tiering the submittal review process creates less paperwork and administrative headache for both Compass and its contractors. Preapproving, prioritizing, and structuring reviews creates huge efficiency gains.

Based on past projects, Compass has landed on the following review actions.

Boilerplate.  These are pre-approved materials that are standard from one project to the next. These will live in the Compass Submittal Database as approved and not requiring review.  

Limited Review. Pre-packaged and approved submittals that require minor revisions, such as a change in color, will be subject to limited review of changed items indicated by the contractor. These don’t require calculation or onsite measurement but are important to review from a coordination standpoint.

Full Review. These submittals require full review…in the way that all submittals were previously reviewed. Access flooring is one submittal that is dynamic and would be subject to full review.

For Record. This category includes warranties and maintenance data…information that needs to be in the record but not reviewed. These submittals that are required for each job but don’t change from one to the next.  

By standardizing specifications and prioritizing what and how submittals are reviewed, Compass is significantly short circuiting the front-end work to bring data center projects to fruition faster. Feedback from contractors has been overwhelmingly positive…they’re thrilled to be able to dive in and get to work with significantly less likelihood of encountering a red light or roadblock.

This streamlined process will be in full effect at the start of 2021. This is just one of a handful of ways Compass is working to improve construction processes to meet the demands of data center operators, and, generally, improve the construction process.

Nancy Novak

Chief Innovation Officer

Nancy Novak, Compass Datacenters' Chief Innovation Officer, has over 25 years of construction experience and has overseen the delivery of over $3.5 billion in projects during that time. Prior to joining Compass, Nancy was the National Vice President of Operations for Balfour Beatty Construction which she joined after serving in a variety of executive positions for Hensel Phelps Construction Company. Ms. Novak is actively involved in a number of organizations dedicated to the advancement of woman in business including Above the Glass Ceiling (AGC) who are working with Fortune 500 companies to aid in the advancement of women in STEM, Women in Government Relations (WGE), Women Construction Owners and Executives (WCOE), The World Trade Center Initiative, Fortune Media's Most Powerful Women and the National Women's Party. Nancy is a frequent speaker on the topic and has participated in the White House Womens and Diversity in STEM forums. Nancy holds a degree in Construction Engineering and Management from San Diego State University.

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Why a Dallas/Fort Worth Data Center?

The Dallas/Fort Worth region is one of the largest and most active data center markets in the United States; benefiting from excellent power and fiber infrastructure, competitive economic incentives, a tech friendly workforce and robust competition among service providers.

What Makes Dallas/Fort Worth Attractive for a Data Center?

In the five years pre-COVID, the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) data center market grew steadily. A good deal of the demand in this market has been home grown originating from companies with a large presence in the area. However, many companies outside the area find the Dallas market appealing, and service providers report a growing percentage of data center requirements from outside the region. The attractiveness of Dallas/Fort Worth to firms seeking data center capacity is primarily due to five factors:

1.  Competitive Business Environment. DFW is home to over 100,000 businesses and has seen over 75 companies relocate their corporate or international headquarters to the region since 2012.[1]

2. Competitive Colocation/Cloud Ecosystem. A broad array of providers maintain facilities in the area providing prospective customers with a variety of competing alternatives from which to choose.

3. Reasonable Power Cost. Compared to other primary data center markets, electricity in the DFW area is relatively inexpensive.

4. Robust Infrastructure. The region boasts a robust power and fiber infrastructures.

5. Tax Abatement Incentives. The State of Texas passed legislation in 2013 to grant tax breaks for large colocation and enterprise customers.

Long favored by enterprise customers nationwide the Dallas market supports a broad range of industries.

The Customer Make-up of the D/FW Market[2]

Industry Share % Cloud 8% Tech 32% Telecom 4% Healthcare 15% Banking and Finance 15% Retail/Ecommerce 8% Entertainment and Media 3% Energy 3% Other 12%

Dallas’ central location makes it attractive to companies seeking a location that can support all areas of the country. The area also benefits from its attractiveness as a disaster recovery location due to Texas’s independent power grid (ERCOT) that provides a safeguard from the impact in power outages in other areas of the U.S.

Growing Business Environment Suitable for Data Center Location

Dallas/Fort Worth’s high density of major corporations and geographic location has propelled a high level of investment in the area’s infrastructure on a local level, while the state of Texas’ aggressive, business friendly climate has led to a favorable tax structure for data center purchases.

Fiber and Connectivity

The DFW area is blanked by a host of fiber networks from a wide spectrum of providers including CenturyLink, Cogent, Level 3, Sprint, and Verizon. AT&T, headquartered in Dallas, has a fiber backbone that runs between Dallas, the area’s northern suburbs and Fort Worth.

Power

Texas is unique in that it is decoupled from the interconnected power grids serving the eastern and western United States. Texas is the only one of the 48 contiguous states with its statewide power grid. As a result, the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is not subject to the Federal Power Act, a Depression-era law where the Federal Power Commission oversees all interstate electricity sales.

Due the state’s deregulation of the power industry and the abundance of in-state power sources including natural gas and a growing wind industry (providing over 18% of Texas’ electricity generation), DFW boasts some of the lowest power rates in the nation at 4.2 cents/kWh.

Economic Incentives

As a result of a 2013 bill, taxes are eliminated on qualifying data center hardware and software purchases. Although the exemption doesn’t apply to local sales taxes on purchases, data center providers and customers are 100% exempt from the 6.25% state sales and use taxes for up to fifteen years on electricity consumption and equipment purchases including purchases of servers, generators, storage devices and software. To qualify for an exemption, the data center must:

Total 100,000 SF of gross building area.

Achieve a capital investment of $200+ million over a five-year period.

Create at least twenty permanent jobs for locals.

Pay wages equivalent to 120% of the national average.

Summary

Dallas/Fort Worth is the nation’s third-largest data center market and includes proximity to multiple universities and community colleges as well as a large tech-savvy population. The market also benefits from some of the nation’s lowest power rates and an abundance of available fiber making it an attractive market for enterprises and hyperscalers. Compass Datacenters serves the Dallas/Fort Worth market via two data center campuses, offering over 250MW of IT load that are optimized for sustainability through the use of airside economization and the efficient use of all building materials.

[1] HT Group, January 2019

[2] Source: JLL

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An industry roundtable on what’s new and what’s next for the industry

A few weeks ago, I got to join friends in the industry, including Jim Smith from Equinix and Joe Reele from Schneider Electric, on a webinar about data center construction, design and development. A lot of our conversation was devoted to modular design and the implications of it on the future of the data center industry.

For me, in all the trends and challenges discussed, everything came back to the ability to meet the demands of today’s market by being nimble. Compass’s well-honed modular design is an incredible advantage in a time such as we’re in now…one with tremendous growth in new markets.

Our conversation focused on three big areas: demand origins, keeping up with hyperscale growth and direction for the future.

New demand, from and in new places

Right now, we have a lot of the big players looking for ways to capitalize on new opportunities with new customers in new places. Tapping into secondary and tertiary markets will be key to fulfilling that demand. But entering a new or less well-established market can be a huge hurdle, especially if you’re starting from scratch. Further, in both the U.S. and in Europe, there has been no significant investment made in infrastructure in these secondary and tertiary markets, in some cases, since the late 90s.

Compass has spent the last 10 years fine-tuning its ability to serve the needs of today. Compass is in a unique position to deliver projects in these unchartered territories because of our modular approach which makes us more agile and nimble than some other developers. Our fully modularized approach makes it possible to enter new markets and deliver projects quickly.

Another source of growth in the North American market over the past several months has been an acceleration in demand from Chinese providers. To this point, they’ve been able to serve clientele from abroad, but regulation, performance needs and capacity constraints are creating a need for a U.S. presence. If they aspire to capture market share of U.S.-based customers, a local presence is a must.

Keeping up with hyperscale growth

Keeping up with hyperscale growth of the future also demands modularity to execute quickly, and modularity requires a major commitment. There is no dipping your toe in the water or half measures. There are plenty of cadavers on the road to modularity, which can get really complex the further down you go. Many who venture down that road get overwhelmed and give up.

Compass is probably in the minority in the data center sector for having a sizeable R&D budget and a Chief Innovation Officer dedicated to fine tuning the efficiencies and advantages we deliver. That is the requisite level of dedication.

For Compass, a lot of time and capital are invested in innovation. We look at innovation not from the macro level but in a more micro way…getting down to the unit or subcomponent level rather than the system level. We really try to understand the manufacturing nuances within our supply chain in an obnoxiously detailed way. By striving to be fully integrated with our supply chain, at the subcomponent

level, we can more closely control project loads, schedules, and commitments. The closer you are to your supply chain, the more effectively you can, essentially, create a very systematic, almost manufacturing-like approach to data center development and delivery.

Changes going forward

At this point, small, medium, and large enterprises all have some form of a cloud strategy, with implementation a work in progress. It will probably take another couple of years before we see stabilization, standards emerge, harmonization of hardware designs and other things to help customers achieve economies of scale. Along the way, expect to see some level of customization, like specific applications to meet specific niche markets needs where they reside due to regulatory and risk constraints.

But we’re still an industry at its infancy. Some people are still entering, and the pace hasn’t quite been established. No one’s out of breath yet so we’ll continue to chase after opportunity – developing as we have been to meet demand – for the foreseeable future.

Adil Atlassy

Chief Technology Officer

Adil Attlassy serves as Compass’ Chief Technical Officer. Mr. Attlassy is widely respected as a thought leader in IT infrastructure who has been at the forefront of data center trends over the past two decades. Prior to joining Compass, Adil served as the General Manager of Global Site and Network Acquisition for Microsoft. Before Microsoft, Mr. Attlassy held the position of Chief Development Officer for IO. In that role, he was directly responsible for global site selection and development, and he oversaw the company’s data center procurement and supply chain engagement. Prior to IO, Adil held executive positions for Digital Realty Trust in the U.S., UK and Singapore. Mr. Attlassy holds a DUT from Institut de Technologie, Mulhouse, France, a BS in Mechanical Engineering from California State University, Los Angeles and an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management.

The following blog post An industry roundtable on what’s new and what’s next for the industry was originally published on:

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Why a Phoenix Data Center?

In the last few years, the roster of Tier I data center cities has expanded with Phoenix joining the club as a result of escalating demand. In fact, the Phoenix metro area is now the second largest market (after Northern Virginia) in the country (after Northern Virginia) in terms of capacity under construction. The city's emergence as major data center real estate location is based on a preponderance of factors that are especially attractive to hyperscale and cloud companies and the providers that support them, including Compass Datacenters.

Connectivity The Phoenix metro area offers providers a robust fiber infrastructure including both long-haul connectivity via companies like CenturyLink, Electric Lightwave/Integra Level 3, XO, and Sprint and locally focused network availability from carriers such as Windstream and TruCom.

Power Power prices lower than the national average characterize the state of Arizona, and the Phoenix metro area is served by two power providers, the Salt River Project (SRP) the public water and power utility provider, and the privately-owned alternative provider, Arizona Public Service. Both offer renewable sources such as hydroelectric and, as would be expected, solar.

Low Disaster Risk Originally the growth of the Phoenix data center market was a result of the area's low level of disaster risk and continues to add to its appeal. Hurricane damage is non-existent, floods are infrequent, and the area is devoid of any major fault lines.

Economic Development Companies located in Phoenix data centers may take advantage of the state's ten-year waiver on sales taxes on data center equipment and labor services. In addition, organizations that fill at least 50% of a vacant building or achieve either LEED or Energy Star certification are eligible for an additional ten year waiver on sales taxes.

Compass Comes to Phoenix Compass' data center in the Phoenix suburb of Goodyear, was selected based on the attributes that enable us to offer our customizable, move-in ready hyperscale and cloud data centers. Per our CEO, Chris Crosby, "Greater Phoenix is a natural next step for Compass since it's an important location for cloud and hyperscale customers, due to its geographic location, availability of fiber connectivity, affordable cost of data center operations, and the rarity of natural disasters. We have been working closely with a number of cloud, colocation, and hyperscale customers on data center projects on our campuses. The flexibility of our data center design along with our patented delivery methodology enables us to deliver just-in-time facilities customized to their specific requirements. These data centers will allow customers to reduce their on-going operating costs and will provide them with complete control over every element of the building - including security, campus network connectivity, operations and maintenance - all on the aggressive timeline they demand."

Compass' rationale for building our Goodyear data center campus is bolstered by the city's aggressive pursuit of new data providers. In the words of Goodyear mayor Georgia Lord, "Compass Datacenters is a world-class company and a magnificent addition to our growing technology base The city has worked tirelessly with Compass on this multi-parcel, multi-owner land transaction in an effort to provide our community with high-end jobs and high-tech solutions. Goodyear is quickly becoming a dynamic location for tech companies and knowledge workers. We are excited to have Compass as a valued partner in this red hot market."

The area's desire to become a primary data center destination is best illustrated by the efforts of the city of Goodyear, APS, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and Arizona Commerce Authority to work in partnership to assist Compass in bringing its facility to Goodyear. The coordinated efforts that these organizations add to the area's physical attributes are augmented by the understanding of the positive economic impact that data centers can have on a municipality. As expressed by Michael Martin, APS' Director of Economic Development "Data management and storage are critically important in our modern world, and Goodyear is an attractive destination for companies like Compass that provide these vital high-tech services. This shows again what can be done with strong economic development partnerships and access to clean, reliable energy to help our communities grow and prosper."

"Greater Phoenix is rapidly becoming a leading market for data centers in the U.S.," says Chris Camacho, President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. "The region's ideal southwest location offers a very low risk of natural disasters, low latency, robust infrastructure and close proximity to a broad customer base. Data drives innovation, and we're excited that Compass Datacenters selected Goodyear, Arizona as the next step for their strategic company growth."

Compass growth strategy is predicated on having available capacity in the markets most desired by hyperscale and cloud companies. Phoenix's, in general, and Goodyear's physical infrastructure and commitment to data center market development made it the logical destination for our 240MW campus.

Why a Phoenix Data Center? was first published on:

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Dispelling Data Center Automation Myths

With a global pandemic underway and so many of us doing jobs, learning, gaming, and streaming entertainment from home, a lot of attention is being paid to data centers and the need for more of them. High demand will drive growth; growth will demand innovation. All signs point to that innovation coming in the form of advanced data center automation.

Analyst firm IDC recently surveyed 400 data center professionals. About one-third of respondents said they are investing in automation tools to address equipment and application challenges*. Logically, investments in tools like data center infrastructure management (DCIM) and technology asset management (TAM) software would follow a decade of heavy investment in hardware. Taking it to the next level, we're in the early stages of layering on automation and artificial intelligence to support more remote monitoring, improved performance, and more uptime.

Despite these benefits, the words "automation" and "artificial intelligence" set off mental alarm bells for a lot of people. They shouldn't. An automated data center isn't a new concept, it's just evolving to cover more aspects of the data center environment. Here's what to expect and why "automation" is not a thing to be feared, but actually something to embrace.

Myth #1: Automation and artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs.

Automation doesn't mean robots are taking over anytime soon. People aren't going anywhere. Jobs won't be eliminated, though a fundamental shift will occur in how data center folks perform their functions and in management solutions. Data center automation has the potential to make existing jobs more focused, meaningful, and free of tedium and stress over potential, small missteps, or missed opportunities. Automating the boring, repetitive functions so server admins are free to work on more challenging tasks has a lot of upsides.

Advancing technology applied to data centers is most likely going to create more jobs. You still need engineers, technicians, and consultants, and quite possibly more of them, to design the logic, build and install the systems, train operators, fine-tune the programs and, well into the future, service the systems.

Myth #2: We need automation to make up for the dearth of talented people to staff data centers.

Even with automation, we will still need people. (See Myth #1.) And with automation, we have more attractive jobs to offer and new management solutions and applications. Data center automation has the potential to be a huge draw and attract a more diverse group of prospects to jobs that have predominately been filled by men.

The more automation, machine learning, and AI become fundamental tools used in data center careers, the more attractive the industry becomes to young graduates. The same IDC survey of 400 data center IT and facilities professionals found most data center operators (about 35%) are hiring additional IT staff to manage new equipment and application challenges…not the other way around. Advanced technology can be parlayed into a recruiting advantage.

Myth #3: Automation is imminent.

The largest, most competitive players are dipping their toes into the data center automation arena now. These well-funded trendsetters will rely more quickly and more heavily on automation and AI to bring new, hyperscale facilities online and staff them efficiently. Through these deployments, technology will be delivered and tested. Adoption of these data center tools in smaller centers will roll out over 5 to 10 years. This process won't happen overnight. It will take time.

The road ahead

Automation and AI applied to data centers is an exciting prospect with a lot of upsides and potential to improve the way we run data centers today. The pandemic definitely prompted the industry to re-evaluate operational processes and procedures in search of ways to streamline or extend teams to service other functions or facilities, as well as data center management. It has fast-tracked conversations on and adoption of data center automation tools to service more capacity and opened the door to what's next, a future full of expansion with the tools to make it work

* IDC's 2019 Datacenter Operational Survey: Key Findings and Implications for Multitenant and Colocation Datacenter Providers

Sudhir Kalra

SVP of Global Operations

Sudhir Kalra serves as Compass' SVP of Global Operations. Prior to joining Compass, Mr. Kalra served as Executive Director, Global Head of Enterprise Data Centers for Morgan Stanley. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Sudhir was Director, Corporate Real Estate and Services - Global Head of Engineering and Critical Systems at Deutsche Bank where he was responsible for mission-critical support of a real estate portfolio comprised of over 30 million square feet. Mr. Kalra began his career in technical roles at Securities Industry Automation Corporation supporting mission-critical operations for the NYSE and American Stock Exchange. Sudhir holds a BEEE from City University of NY and an MSEE from NYU-Poly University.

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The International Data Center Development Boom

For years, data center development was concentrated in just a few key U.S. markets, as well as a handful of international locations including Singapore, Amsterdam, London, and Dublin, where tax incentives, power supply, building options, and contractors were reliable and accessible. But all of that is changing. Demand for new development is shifting into non-traditional markets where the path to securing permits, land, and power is less clear.

Growth Drivers There is a shifting preference internationally from on-premise data centers to colocation centers and cloud providers. The reallocation of enterprise servers between cloud platforms, colocation facilities, and on-premises data centers is definitely a growth driver. But the larger drivers of data center growth in non-traditional international markets are performance and regulation.

Regulation Most every developed nation across the globe has, by now, adopted data localization or sovereignty laws requiring that a country's citizens' data be stored on physical servers within the country's borders. The EU's general data protection regulation (GDPR) drew a lot of attention when it was enacted two years ago, and other countries have followed suit.

Data sovereignty also makes sure that a country will not lose control or sovereignty over the processing of personal data that concerns citizens of that country. Layer on top of that industry-specific regulations for governments and financial institutions, which dictate that data be stored close to the point of use and companies are scrambling to build or lease space in centers close to their operations.

The Race Is On Data center development is entering new frontiers the world over. Countless announcements this year alone - even in the throes of a global pandemic - prove the urgency with which countries and companies are building data centers.

As we look around the globe, we see governments in non-traditinoal markets making a big push for data center development:

The Middle East - A report released late last year by the Arab Advisors Group found that Middle Eastern data centers are being built more frequently than in previous years, with a preference toward colocation facilities. Increased government support for the digital economy in the region, the growth in cloud adoption, and migration from on-premise infrastructure to colocation and managed services are expected to drive the data center investment in countries comprising the area.

Africa - Africa's Data Centres Association (ADCA) recently released its first research paper in which it notes high expectations for data center development. Data Centers are being positioned as a "catalyst for economic transformation" across Africa, with at least 20 new facilities coming online between 2020 and 2021. Data loads on the continent are growing 100% year over year.

Latin America - The high adoption of cloud computing, big data, and IoT services, along with the growth in social networking and demand for online video services, has prompted the need for more compute power and data storage capacity in Latin America. Brazil dominates the big data market, followed by Mexico and Colombia.

Success in New Frontiers Entering a new country requires a commitment to doing the hard work of understanding each country's means and methods of development. Site selection, site acquisition, permitting, and zoning are more challenging in these new frontiers. Finding the right in-country partner and developing a strategic approach in partnership with in-country experts who are well-equipped to navigate national and local rules and regulations is key.

Success also requires a healthy supply chain that can service your needs beyond the U.S. builders who lean heavily into building information management for two- and three-dimensional planning. Your overseas projects will thus benefit from faster turnaround times and less reliance on in-country expertise.

With a clear model, prefabrication also helps expedite the project delivery timeline as more pieces of the project, from power racks to walls, will be built off-site to accommodate the simultaneous assembly of key elements of the final building. Modularization and prefabrication also decrease the time spent navigating labor laws and the hiring of local crews.

Growth Curve Repeating Itself There is a cascade effect at play here. The data center building boom we've seen in the U.S. over the past 10+ years is unfolding in continents far and wide. According to Synergy Research Group, the U.S. is home to almost 40% of the world's data centers, with the balance distributed among ten or so countries. Let's check back in a year, five years and ten years to see that equation balance out as developers dive in to meet the needs of foreign businesses, consumers and governments.

About the Author: AJ Byers serves as Compass’ President, International. AJ has over 20 years of experience in the data center industry, most recently as the President and CEO of ROOT Data Centers, the fastest growing wholesale data center provider in Canada.  Prior to his tenure at ROOT, Mr. Byers served as the President of Rogers Data Centers, where he led his team in the development of one of Canada’s largest data center service companies with 15 centers nationally. Before Rogers, AJ held the position of executive VP of Primus. In this role, he guided its transition from a legacy telecom provider to a full solution technology services organization. Prior to Primus, Mr. Byers was the COO of Magma Communications, where he was instrumental in building one of Canada’s first internet data centers.

AJ Byers

President, International

AJ Byers serves as Compass' President, International. AJ has over 20 years of experience in the data center industry, most recently as the President and CEO of ROOT Data Centers, the fastest growing wholesale data center provider in Canada. Prior to his tenure at ROOT, Mr. Byers served as the President of Rogers Data Centers, where he led his team in the development of one of Canada's largest data center service companies with 15 centers nationally. Before Rogers, AJ held the position of executive VP of Primus. In this role, he guided its transition from a legacy telecom provider to a full solution technology services organization. Prior to Primus, Mr. Byers was the COO of Magma Communications, where he was instrumental in building one of Canada's first internet data centers.

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Why Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia (NVA) is without question the nation's data center Mecca. The area is home to over 100 data centers representing over 10 million square feet of data center space. With origins stretching back to the late 1960's when the government began developing wide-area fiber optic networking, the counties of Loudon, Prince William and Fairfax all boast highly developed connectivity infrastructures that make them fertile ground for hyperscalers, cloud companies and the data center providers that serve them—including Compass.

The area's desirability as a data center destination was initially fueled by its being the home of MAE-East, the internet's first interconnection point. Since that time Northern Virginia has further capitalized on the region's affordable power costs and data center sales tax exemption that runs through 2035.

Known as "Data Center Alley" due to the sheer density of the corridor, Loudon County's aggressive pursuit of data center companies now serves as the model of municipalities across the country. Under the guidance of its Executive Director of Economic Development, Buddy Rizer, the county has demonstrated the high level of economic impact that data centers can deliver ($250 million in 2018) without overtaxing an area's public infrastructure by having only limited impact on quality of life issues such as traffic and school enrollment.

Loudon County is the home of Compass' 75MW, 100-acre hyperscale campus. To acquire the campus, Compass worked closely with Loudon County officials during each step of the process including initial site selection, acquisition, permitting and master planning—a process made simpler via our low-impact design, construction and operations which all align with the county's land-use goals.

The close collaboration between Compass and the county is evidenced by a statement from Mr. Rizer, "Data centers are a major driver of our economy, and I'm thrilled to see Compass breaking ground on the first building of their Loudoun campus. Compass has been a great community partner and has been a responsible and responsive leader in their approach and design toward development. Compass is a world-class operator, and we're very excited to watch them grow in the world's most dynamic data center market. I also appreciate the lengths they have gone to in order to address the concerns of the local community, and I'm confident that there is not a more responsible or thoughtful commercial developer to act as the steward of this property. Compass is a world-class operator, and we're very excited to add them as a corporate citizen in the world's most dynamic data center market."

The strategic value of Compass' Loudon County campus cannot be understated. As summarized by our CEO, Chris Crosby, "Northern Virginia is one of the most dynamic data center markets in the world. This project in Loudoun County is a great example of our business model in action, which is not only to build exactly where customers want us to but also to acquire sites in strategic markets so that we can respond quickly to future demand. Our land development expertise is second to none in the industry. That is a major reason why so many customers trust us to be a strategic partner for their IT infrastructure needs. Our Northern Virginia data center campus is part of a strategic initiative to develop Compass campuses in high-demand cloud and hyperscale markets," Crosby added. "In addition to construction beginning on our Loudoun campus, we also recently procured land in Phoenix and two other major markets to continue our campus development strategy."

To say that Loudon County is the epicenter of the data center industry is an understatement. Compass' Loudon County I campus in Leesburg enables hyperscalers to take advantage of all of the benefits offered by the area to support their cloud-based applications.

The following article Why Northern Virginia is available on:

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Transmission Cost Savings at the Edge

These days, it seems like every edge computing article you read presents edge deployment as the solution for bandwidth and latency issues. A vast multitude of these articles seem to imply - either directly or indirectly - that addressing bandwidth and latency hurdles will result in satisfied, and presumably more, end-users. On the surface, this is of course, true for the most part. So why, you may ask, is the adoption timeline of edge computing a little slower than what many pundits have been breathlessly expecting? It's been posited that like many of its technological predecessors, the rocket fuel everyone has been waiting for is the coveted "killer app". For the more financially focused organization, this level of edge trepidation is the lack of a compelling business case. But what if the killer app was the primary element of the business case itself? In other words, the holy grail for edge deployment is its ability to dramatically reduce transmission costs.

For many providers of cloud-delivered offerings, gaming companies for instance, the ability of their end-users to instantaneously lay waste to an opponents' fortified stronghold is of obvious importance. The unseen aspect of satisfying thousands of controller-crazed customers is that it costs a lot of money to do so, particularly the cost of transmission. The prevailing mode of delivering an application involves performing all of the required computing in one or more centrally or regionally located data centers with all transmissions back to each locality made via high bandwidth connections. These transmissions, along with their required connectivity, are collectively referred to as "backhaul".

Backhaul, or more specifically, the cost of the high bandwidth transmission lines required, is traditionally the largest cost element when planning for the most effective mode of service provision. Edge computing transforms the planning equation through its ability to offer organizations "backhaul bypass" capability. To demonstrate the massive impact of edge delivered backhaul bypass capability to the traditional transmission cost model, let's take a look at the impact made in a Virtual Reality scenario in a major U.S. market.

As you might have guessed, the number of transmission lines required to support a local application like VR, back to a central or regional data center, is driven by the volume of data that must be transmitted and processed to maintain an acceptable level of performance. And, since transmission lines are not currently available for free, backhaul cost is the aggregate of the number of lines required to provide the necessary capacity.

Using the calculator below, we see that if 25% of New York's population were taking a virtual tour of the Grand Canyon simultaneously, we are talking about a user community of approximately 2.2 million. Assuming that each headset was operating at the recommended level of 25 GBPS our virtual canyon visitors would require enough bandwidth capacity to support almost 14 million GBPS. To determine our backhaul cost, we multiple the number of 100 GBPS equivalent circuits required to support bandwidth requirements by a national average of $1950 per circuit. The end result is a monthly backhaul cost of $536,250. If you're saying "that's a lot of money", you'd be right.

The Impact of Edge Data Centers and Backhaul Bypass Edge data centers substantially alter the cost model for supporting high bandwidth applications. The reason for this equation altering effect is that the number of high-cost circuits leading back to a single data center is reduced by moving the majority of compute and storage closer to the end-user community. The cost benefit of using edge data centers for the purpose of backhaul bypass is considerable for our New York scenario.

By delivering the ability to "localize" a large portion of compute and processing functionality, edge data centers change the economics of our VR application dramatically by reducing the number of 100 GBPS equivalent backhaul circuits by a factor of 10. Using our same figure of $1950 per circuit the total backhaul cost is approximately $26,175 per month (v. $536,250). The backhaul bypass savings make a substantial contribution to a provider's bottom line.

Summary: In accessing the level of cost reduction that can be derived by decreasing the number of transmission circuits it appears that the emphasis on what will drive edge computing has been misplaced. While the emphasis has been placed on the business and lifestyle transforming potential of applications residing within edge data centers and corresponding decreases in service impacting factors like latency, the "killer app" that will drive the edge is actually something a little more mundane—but CFO's will love it. Edge computing's ability to drive down a significant cost element by providing backhaul bypass capability is an immediate, as opposed to envisioned, benefit to cloud and SaaS providers. In other words, the catalyst for the growth of edge computing isn't something we're waiting for, it's been with us the whole time.

If you'd like to see the impact of backhaul bypass using other applications in other major cities use our Backhaul Cost Calculator.

Transmission Cost Savings at the Edge is available on:

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Compass Acquisition

On July 23, 2019, Compass Datacenters announced our acquisition of ROOT Data Center, a leading wholesale data center provider based in Montreal, Quebec. With the final stages of rebranding concluded, we are happy to share that ROOT and Compass are now officially operating as one entity under the Compass banner.

Over the past few months, we've been hard at work integrating the two companies' construction, operations, marketing, and sales teams. We're very pleased to welcome our Canadian colleagues into the growing Compass family, which now stands at over 130 full-time employees across North America.

With the acquisition of ROOT's two data center campuses, Compass can offer our cloud and hyperscale customers access to Montreal's inexpensive supply of renewable power, helping them to expand while achieving their sustainability goals.

The Montreal facilities join a long list of Compass data center campuses in key markets across North America, including Northern Virginia, Dallas, and Phoenix. As part of our recently announced plan to develop up to $3 billion in new data center campuses globally, we're excited to continue growing our presence across North America and beyond.

We look forward to continuing to provide our current and future customers with services that span from the core to the edge in order to meet increasing demand for cost-competitive and energy-efficient data center solutions.

The article Compass Acquisition is available on:

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Necessity is the Mother of Invention: Virtual Commissioning

By Nancy Novak, Chief Innovation Officer, Compass Datacenters

All across the country right now, we are seeing smart, creative people doing ingenious things to provide critical materials and essential services during the COVID pandemic. College kids are 3D printing face shields for healthcare workers. Engineers in fields unrelated to healthcare are coming up with ways to convert devices into ventilators and to re-rig ventilators to support multiple patients at once. Supermarket workers are coming up with ingenious modifications to store layouts to route customers in ways that increase safety—with smart practices that remind me of air flow modelling for data centers.

One things that has become apparent during our current health crisis is just how reliant we are on the internet, and correspondingly, its data center supported infrastructure. Without data centers, many of the things that we are doing collectively- taking care of the sick, continuing our educations, working and staying connected - would not be possible. Each new data center adds to the underlying support structure critical to the delivery of these essential services, and capabilities. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security specifically listed data centers as essential critical infrastructure during the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, continuing to build and deliver facilities at this time is extremely important but also requires providers to become more innovative in their procedures. Our recent experience in commissioning and performing Uptime certification at the expansion facility we built for TierPoint in Raleigh is an excellent example of innovating long-held processes.

The construction process for the data center was completed in the days before COVID-19 had gained a foothold in the country. However, as we were about to begin the final step before facility handoff, Level 5 commissioning, it became apparent the traditional approach to completing all of the associated activities wasn't possible in a time of social distancing. Traditionally, commissioning involves a team of 20-25 people crowded into confined spaces to monitor equipment and sensors - neither of which is possible in the COVID era, especially after a number of contracting personnel were forced to self-quarantine. Perhaps exemplifying that necessity is the mother of invention, the team came up with an ingenious solution that to my knowledge is the first time it's ever been done in the mission critical industry: virtual commissioning using a skeleton crew on-site, a lot of video and sensor equipment, and a larger group working remotely.

Virtual Commissioning required a skeleton crew on-site communicating via radio, video and sensor equipment with a large team working remotely.

Successfully performing "virtual commissioning' required Compass, TierPoint, the commissioning consultants, and the electrical and mechanical contractors to map out a plan to strategically use a set of live-streaming cameras, wireless sensors, and a very small group of on-site people (4 or 5 people) separated by safe distances. All of that data and human observation would then be relayed to off-site personnel via video feeds, sensor readings, cell phone updates, texts, walkie talkies and more. For anyone who has ever done Level 5 commissioning with IST, you know how many moving parts there are to the process. But the team anticipated all of that and successfully completed the IST testing in one day and the Uptime redundancy testing on the following day.

In retrospect, it is conceivable that this commissioning model could become prevalent for data center facilities even after the COVID pandemic subsides. That's because the virtual commissioning ended up providing us far more recorded data than we would have had with the traditional process. I can tell you more about this facility than any other one I've ever been a part of building, and that same information will be invaluable for future training of every professional that will work at this data center in Raleigh. This isn't just a first for the industry. I believe it's a new best practice, and it's all possible because necessity became the mother of invention. In fact, I will be working on a hybrid model for commissioning Compass' facilities going forward that will incorporate virtual elements, even after the social distancing guidelines end.

Nancy Novak

Chief Innovation Officer

Nancy Novak, Compass Datacenters' Chief Innovation Officer, has over 25 years of construction experience and has overseen the delivery of over $3.5 billion in projects during that time. Prior to joining Compass, Nancy was the National Vice President of Operations for Balfour Beatty Construction which she joined after serving in a variety of executive positions for Hensel Phelps Construction Company. Ms. Novak is actively involved in a number of organizations dedicated to the advancement of woman in business including Above the Glass Ceiling (AGC) who are working with Fortune 500 companies to aid in the advancement of women in STEM, Women in Government Relations (WGE), Women Construction Owners and Executives (WCOE), The World Trade Center Initiative, Fortune Media's Most Powerful Women and the National Women's Party. Nancy is a frequent speaker on the topic and has participated in the White House Womens and Diversity in STEM forums. Nancy holds a degree in Construction Engineering and Management from San Diego State University.

The following article Necessity is the Mother of Invention: Virtual Commissioning is available on:

[compassdatacenters]

Sudhir Kalra Joins Compass Datacenters As Senior Vice President Of Global Operations

Kalra Will Oversee Operations of Compass' Fast-Growing Global Portfolio of Properties and Campuses

DALLAS - March 24, 2020 - Compass Datacenters has named Sudhir Kalra as Senior Vice President of Global Operations, a new role responsible for operations of all the company's domestic and international data centers.

Kalra is well known throughout the industry and joins Compass from Morgan Stanley, where he was Executive Director, Global Head of Enterprise Data Centers. Kalra joined Morgan Stanley in 2007 as Global Head of Engineering and migrated in early 2008 to join, and ultimately head, its newly-formed Enterprise Data Centers unit, where his presence was vital for mission critical support of all data centers worldwide - a role that involved leadership of a team with more than 350 people and an annual budget of hundreds of millions. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Kalra was Director, Corporate Real Estate and Services - Global Head of Engineering and Critical Systems, at Deutsche Bank where he was responsible for mission critical support of a real estate portfolio comprised of over 30 million square feet. He began his career in technical roles at Securities Industry Automation Corporation supporting mission critical operations for the NYSE and American Stock Exchange. Kalra holds a BEEE from City University of NY and a MSEE from NYU-Poly University.

"We are extremely excited to bring Sudhir on board. He brings extensive engineering and operational experience in high-growth, global data center environments, which will make his leadership so valuable as Compass continues to add campuses and build data centers in the United States and internationally," said Jared Day, President and CFO of Compass Datacenters. "Sudhir's history of process development and enhancements aligns with our emphasis on continuous improvement to benefit our customers, while his discipline around change management ensures that mission critical remains at the forefront."

"Sudhir's addition to our leadership team is another significant hire for Compass. Our continued growth requires a cohesive, scalable global operations strategy, and there is no better person for that job than Sudhir," said Chris Crosby, CEO of Compass Datacenters. "Under Sudhir's leadership, we intend to expand our leadership in solving issues related to existing industry labor shortages and talent gaps through continuing to combine the use of data analytics, technology and best practices from multiple industries into our operational processes and procedures. Sudhir will be instrumental in our efforts to eliminate the potential for operator error by continuing the enhancement of our automated checklist software, developing new predictive maintenance capabilities and cultivating new sources of talent through our work with multiple organizations representing the veteran community."

"I am excited about joining Compass and working with its well-respected leadership team to help the company realize its vision for global growth. The data center industry is changing rapidly to support what companies and consumers will need over the next decade, and I feel strongly that Compass has the right strategy and the right approach to data center design, construction and operations to be the true market leader," said Sudhir Kalra. "I am privileged to have the opportunity to work with this team and support Compass' vision, and I hope to leave a lasting legacy through the work we are doing at this important moment in the industry's history."

About Compass Datacenters Compass makes lives better by providing the world's technology leaders a secure place to plug in wherever they grow. We provide custom, move-in ready data centers from edge deployments to core facilities serving hyperscale, cloud and enterprise customers. Since our inception, we have embraced sustainability with the efficient use of land, green energy, water free cooling and building materials. Our campus approach empowers customers with easily-scalable capacity, high levels of control and ultimate flexibility with the long-term perspective and financial strength of private investors, RedBird Capital Partners, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and the Azrieli Group. For more information, visit www.compassdatacenters.com.

# # #

Media Contact: Rich Miller Compass Datacenters Phone: 303-877-3966 Email: rmiller@compassdatacenters.com

The following blog post Sudhir Kalra Joins Compass Datacenters As Senior Vice President Of Global Operations is courtesy of: Compass Datacenters

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Keeping Up With Demand

Since most people's understanding of building construction seems to rank up there with nuclear physics, For example, CIOs have traditionally tended to let "other people on the team" deal with the details of their company's data center construction projects. However, due to new technological developments and construction methods, it's time for a little more hands-on participation.

Let me begin by saying I understand why end-users have historically shown a lack of interest in the construction of their data centers. Attempting to decipher blueprints and other design drawings is a lot like trying to read the Dead Sea scrolls without the Rosetta Stone, thereby limiting their input to: "Just make sure it has X amount of power and Y amount of raised-floor square feet." The resulting dissonance between expectation and reality typically results in costly workarounds or less than desirable configurations. That is a big reason why a new model for data center construction is taking hold to enable companies to keep up with demand.

A tale of two construction models

There are two modes of data center design and construction. The first is the old tried and true "build it big, and I'll fill it up someday" model. That model is great for feeding braggadocio ("Look, you can see this data center from space"), but it typically isn't cost or resource-efficient.

The second mode of operation - referred to as Agile Construction - offers new levels of flexibility and precision thanks to a marriage between technology, new materials, and construction methods. Now end-user personnel can be intimately involved throughout the design and construction process. Agile methodology allows you to incrementally expand in the exact configuration required based on your needs at the time.

Construction meets science fiction

A typical Agile project includes three main elements:

3D Modeling to provide more in-depth perspective versus conventional 2D drawings

Off-site prefabrication to compress the delivery schedule

The use of robotics and VR/AR technology to enhance efficiency, quality and safety.

Each project begins by using Building Information Modeling (BIM) to develop a 3D model of the data center. The model's accurate portrayal of the building allows significant design issues to be identified and corrected before commencing any on-site work. Using 3D modeling also enables large portions of the data center (the pre-fabricated walls that will comprise the outer shell or large components of the power distribution, for example), to be built off-site. This can successfully compress the project delivery schedule by as much as 40%.

End-user participation is also enhanced through the use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). Using VR enables you to "walk through" your data center to identify things like the need for a biometric scanner that might not be found or noticed on the drawings. The ability to tour the facility during construction using AR allows the user to see through walls by overlaying the design drawings with real conditions in the field. This capability provides a second mode of identifying design anomalies that can be corrected during the actual construction phase rather than after your data center's completion, maximizing both the efficiency of your data center operations and eliminating costs associated with post-handover modifications.

Another essential element that arises from the use of an Agile process is that it forces you to think about your infrastructure before you begin actual space planning. In most data center projects this process is typically inverted leading to some less than optimal configurations. For example, if you don't think about things like your cabling layout first, you may very well wind up having to force-fit it into whatever space is left over. By starting your design process with infrastructure, the process ensures that your entire facility is optimized to meet your specific requirements. That's because more than 60% of the construction work on a data center build is focused on Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP). By focusing on that critical aspect of these projects first, rather than leaving it until later in the process, your organization will have the ability to deploy modern methods of construction (i.e. offsite manufacturing and prefab) on a more meaningful scale.

Summary

Agile Construction, and its tools, aid in avoiding the issues that typically arise, overbuilding and cost overruns, using historical building methods. Active CIO participation throughout the design and construction process enables you to get a data center optimized for your current requirements with the flexibility to expand incrementally in the future.

Keeping Up With Demand is available on: https://www.compassdatacenters.com/

[compassdatacenters]

Compass Datacenters Launches New Podcast

"Not Your Father's Data Center" Hosted by Chief Revenue Officer Raymond Hawkins

DALLAS - March 4, 2020 - Compass Datacenters announced the launch of its new podcast, "Not Your Father's Data Center," hosted by Chief Revenue Officer Raymond Hawkins. During each show, Raymond and his guests will discuss the data center industry, but from a slightly different perspective. When you eat a meal with friends you might discuss: politics, family, current events or work. "Not Your Father's Data Center" will be like listening in on the "work" portion of your meal.

The series debuts today with Ty Miller, Chief Revenue Officer at Stack Infrastructure, and Joe Goldsmith, Chief Revenue Officer at NTT Data Centers. The conversation centers around the question, "What to expect in 2020?"

"We want the podcast to be informative and entertaining for everyone in the industry. If our peers end up listening in their cars or while they're exercising, we'll have achieved our goal," said Hawkins. "After all, work should be fun."

Future episodes of the podcast will examine topics such as: Markets on the Rebound, The Looming Water Shortage, Technology Journalism and New Faces in the Industry.

Listeners can find the podcast on the Compass Datacenters website at www.compassdatacenters.com/not-your-fathers-data-center-podcast/ and on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

About Compass Datacenters

Compass makes lives better by providing the world's technology leaders a secure place to plug in wherever they grow. We provide custom, move-in ready data centers from edge deployments to core facilities serving hyperscale, cloud and enterprise customers. Since our inception, we have embraced sustainability with the efficient use of land, green energy, water free cooling and building materials. Our campus approach empowers customers with easily-scalable capacity, high levels of control and ultimate flexibility with the long-term perspective and financial strength of private investors, RedBird Capital Partners, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and the Azrieli Group. For more information, visit www.compassdatacenters.com.

# # #

Media Contact: Rich Miller Compass Datacenters Phone: 303-877-3966 Email: rmiller@compassdatacenters.com

Compass Datacenters Launches New Podcast is courtesy of: https://www.compassdatacenters.com/

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The Way to Predictive Analytics: Creating Data Infrastructure

Wendi Runyon, Schneider Electric Adil Attlassy, Compass Datacenters

Paradoxically, data center management to date hasn't really involved data. Maintenance is based on arbitrary schedules, viewed and performed piecemeal at the equipment level and involves human intervention, i.e. the introduction of error. In the data center market, we've reached the point when redundancy only leads to degradation. Understanding the failure point is elusive because failure doesn't actually happen. Getting to predictive analytics requires data infrastructure and a systemic approach.

This is what Schneider Electric and Compass Datacenters are working on. We're considering the data center as a whole - as a complex system - not as individual assets. Individual analytics are overwhelming, and they don't show cause and effect. Let's say the gear fails, for example. What then is the impact on the UPS? Or how does adjusting the ambient temperature impact the performance of the electrical infrastructure?

In other words, what's the cascading effect of any failure? It's unknowable unless the entire system is considered. We're building asset models based on the domain expertise, but as a system. The collective data will drive predictability. We'll connect as many data points as possible, and this data infrastructure will enable accumulation of data to build rules-based models.

Data Infrastructure First The current lack of data infrastructure means there's not enough data to build high performance machine learning. Yet, this is the precursor to AI. The AI conversation tends gets carried away. AI in data centers doesn't really exist at this stage. We have to work on the basics first to deliver advanced analytics.

Creating data infrastructure starts with the cloud. Then comes instrumenting and ensuring the telemetry is in place for the data center to aggregate as much data as possible. Essentially, the result will be a registry of all the assets in one place. A consistent asset model across the system will deliver higher value analytics, and that will allow us to better control the context to gain insight.

Security is always a question when it comes to data, especially when we're talking about more and more data. But we can't let it be an obstacle. Of course, Schneider Electric equipment has been thoroughly cyber-tested at the ground level. A larger focus for building a secure data infrastructure, however, should be around people and processes because the majority of vulnerability falls in these areas.

The Redundancy Dilemma Data centers involve a large footprint of equipment that's often heavily redundant - sometimes triple. That means it never really fails. As the business of data centers ages and continues to expand at the same time, redundancy will become an issue that only analytics can address. In theory, we're talking about the concept of failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA).

This is an approach that's been used in aerospace for years. It basically looks at every component within the system and analyzes what impact it would have in a particular failure mode in the system and what the effect would be on the overall system.

Only a couple of points in any given system are critical to failure. It's not that other parts aren't important, but some things can fail and not affect the overall system performance. This is a novel idea for data centers and exactly what we are doing now.

In data center management, we need the ability to use live data from the data center to understand how individual assets are performing within a system. Then we'll re-rate and create a risk hierarchy within the system against the overall potential for failure.

In most industrial analytic applications, there's room to fail, and you may never see it. All that's apparent is performance degradation. Redundancy obscures how the assets are performing underneath. Data will tell the full story and potentially reduce redundancy, and thereby, capex.

The Benefits of Predictive Analytics Beyond reducing upfront costs and longer-term investment, analytics will decrease failures and interventions too. They'll provide visibility and improve asset performance for higher uptime and longer meantime between failure. Ultimately, risk will be lower and the life cycle optimized when applying data driven asset management, i.e. predictive analytics.

The broader goal is to replicate across multiple locations and geographies. The full value lies in comparing mission critical environments to each other to get benchmarking - that's the eventual goal. The larger the volume of data, the better we'll get at it.

Learn more about Schneider's full portfolio of software and services solutions for colocation providers.

Adil Attlassy, Compass Datacenters

Adil Attlassy serves as Compass' Chief Technical Officer. Mr. Attlassy is widely respected as a thought leader in IT infrastructure who has been at the forefront of data center trends over the past two decades. Prior to joining Compass, Adil served as the General Manager of Global Site and Network Acquisition for Microsoft. Before Microsoft, Mr. Attlassy held the position of Chief Development Officer for IO. In that role, he was directly responsible for global site selection and development, and he oversaw the company's data center procurement and supply chain engagement. Prior to IO, Adil held executive positions for Digital Realty Trust in the U.S., UK and Singapore. Mr. Attlassy holds a DUT from Institut de Technologie, Mulhouse, France, a BS in Mechanical Engineering from California State University, Los Angeles and an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management.

Wendi Runyon, Schneider Electric

As Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Wendi runs strategy and business development for Schneider Electric's Secure Power and Data Center business in North America. Her team is responsible for understanding the NAM market and competitive landscape, developing the strategy, bridging the gap between strategy and execution, and defining metrics of success. Additionally, her team runs the regional business development efforts that clearly defines strategy execution by strategic initiative, develops new routes to market, identifies offers gaps to execute strategy and then liaisons between execution teams and other Schneider Business Units or Lines of Business to drive collaboration and execution. Wendi holds an MBA degree from Emory University and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. She currently sits on the Industrial & Professional Advisory Council (IPAC) Board for Penn State's College of Engineering as well as the Diversity & Inclusion NAM Employee Resource Group Board.

The Way to Predictive Analytics: Creating Data Infrastructure was first published to: https://www.compassdatacenters.com/

[compassdatacenters]

Compass Datacenters Adds Second Dallas Area Campus

New Red Oak Campus Will Deliver 350+MW of IT Load to Hyperscale, Cloud and Enterprise Customers

DALLAS - January 29, 2020 - Compass Datacenters, LLC ("Compass" or the "Company") today announced that it has purchased 225 acres in Red Oak, Texas. Just south of downtown Dallas, Compass Datacenters' customers and prospects value the area as a key growth market The Red Oak Campus will provide capacity to hyperscale, cloud and enterprise customers.

Construction has already begun on the campus. The first data center, a six-megawatt facility, is scheduled for delivery in Q2 2020. The campus is supported by multiple carriers with access to diverse fiber routes and a dedicated high-voltage power substation.

"The Dallas area continues to be one of the most dynamic data center markets in the country. Our Red Oak campus supports customers' current needs while providing clear line of sight to dedicated growth in the future. Red Oak is the latest step in our effort to expand in key markets across the United States and Canada," said Chris Crosby, CEO of Compass Datacenters. "This Red Oak campus will bolster our ability to deliver data centers to our customers exactly where and when they need them."

"Compass is a trusted partner to the hyperscale customers we work with, delivering custom, rack-ready facilities on an industry-leading timeline," said Nancy Novak, Compass' Senior Vice President of Construction. "Customers look to us to accelerate the delivery process in a cost-effective manner. Our Red Oak Campus is another example of delivering what our customers need, when they need it."

About Compass Datacenters Compass makes lives better by providing the world's technology leaders a secure place to plug in wherever they grow. We provide custom, move-in-ready data centers from edge deployments to core facilities serving hyperscale, cloud and enterprise customers. Our campus approach empowers customers with easily-scalable capacity, high levels of control and ultimate flexibility with the long-term perspective and financial strength of private investors Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Azrieli Group & Redbird Capital.

# # #

Media Contact: Rich Miller Compass Datacenters Phone: 303-877-3966 Email: rmiller@compassdatacenters.com

The article Compass Datacenters Adds Second Dallas Area Campus was originally published on: https://www.compassdatacenters.com/

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Looking into the New Year

2019 was a pivotal year for Compass. Successfully completing our third recapitalization effort, establishing our first international location via our acquisition of ROOT Datacenter and erecting new data centers on our Northern Virginia and Phoenix hyperscale campuses are among the milestones achieved by the fantastic team in the last calendar year. This level of activity already is continuing into the new year as 2020 opens with us initiating development and construction on our new cloud campuses in the Dallas-area city of Red Oak and Toronto.

The new year also finds the data center industry continuing its evolution to one largely characterized by cloud-native applications and grappling with the economics, technical considerations and network considerations associated with moving compute and storage closer to end users than ever before. While these situations may not meet the standard definition of chaotic, they do call out for providers that can help end users bring a sense of order to the myriad issues surrounding their data center strategies.

I think that the key word for data center providers, and their customers, in the next 12 months will be "anticipation". Regardless of whose estimate on data generation you subscribe to, the rate of its proliferation only continues to accelerate, maintaining the amount of capacity to meet the demand is always going to be a close race. In this volatile environment "keeping up" will increasingly be not good enough. End users will increasingly pay fealty to providers who are able to anticipate their requirements be they in fiber availability, data center development, or land acquisition and development to reduce the time required for everything from expand capacity at existing facilities to deploying their data centers in new markets or those near capacity. As a result, we can hope that like other tightly integrated industries, the relationship between providers and their end users more closely resembles partnerships than ever before as delivery schedules dictate decisions based on past provider performance and the corresponding level of confidence they provide.

As 2019 ends and 2020 begins, the trendlines for data generation and the need for capacity to house the compute and storage required for its use continue along an upward trajectory. This continues to demands that both end users and data center providers need to strategically address. From a provider perspective having available capacity in a single market may be opportunistic but doesn't constitute a viable long-term strategy. Increasingly, the ability of providers to identify requirements in advance of their customers will constitute a clear line of competitive demarcation.

—

Chris Crosby—CEO Chris Crosby is a recognized visionary and leader in the datacenter space and has served as founder and CEO of Compass Datacenters since 2011. Chris has over 25 years of technology experience and over 15 years of real estate and investment experience. Previously, Chris served as a senior executive and founding member of Digital Realty Trust. Mr. Crosby received a B.S. degree in Computer Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin.

Looking into the New Year is republished from: https://www.compassdatacenters.com/

[compassdatacenters]

Compass Datacenter Sets Record With Transformer Purchase

DALLAS, TX - As work continues on Compass Datacenters' Goodyear Campus in Arizona, delivery of one special component caused quite a stir, in fact, it set a record. The 150MVA-rated FR3-cooled transformer is the largest of its kind in North America. It's that FR3 that really sets it apart. What is FR3 and why is it so important?

FR3, developed by Cargill as a replacement for traditional mineral oil is, according to Cargill "a natural ester derived from renewable vegetable oils - providing improved fire safety, transformer life/loadability, and environmental benefits that are superior to mineral oil and unsurpassed by any other dielectric coolant. Because it is derived from renewable raw materials, it has a very low carbon footprint - unequaled by any other dielectric fluid option. FR3 fluid has been used in more than 1 million distribution and power transformers worldwide and is proven in transformers through 420kV."

Adil Attlassy, Compass Datacenters' CTO added, "The 150MVA transformers can support up to 147MW each. We are planning to install four transformers for a total of 441MW at n+1".

Here's a photo of the RBT (Really Big Transformer) note the people in the lower left of the image for scale:

-- Founded in 2011 by CEO Chris Crosby, ​Compass Datacenters​ provides custom turn-key solutions for companies of all sizes. For more information, visit compassdatacenters.com/solutions or follow @CompassDCS on Twitter.

Compass Datacenter Sets Record With Transformer Purchase is republished from: compassdatacenters.com