| | OCTOBER 20209CIOReviewthis specific market attractive for data centers, and why it continues to grow, is primarily because it all began here with a rich history. However, data centers in Northern Virginia benefit from many other assets including: Minimal to no natural hazards Neutral climate Low PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) / low operating expense, the largest neutral network peering points (Equinix and Coresite) Proximity to large dense population centers, an abundance of Federal government and defense contractors Readily available flexible land bays Limited repurposed powered base buildings Large IT hardware depots that allow for fast response time for network equipment replacement Pro-business climate that energizes a robust ecosystem Extensive and numerous lit and dark fiber provider networks with super high count fiber with ultra-low latency that is the catalyst to new technology deployments Aggressive and cost-effective energy provider (Dominion Energy) that has developed the most sophisticated energy deployment network nationally.Smart + Driven WorkforceThe Washington, DC Metro region boasts one of the most highly educated and skilled labor pools in the country. Northern Virginia has the greatest access to the labor pool that is always enduring; the United States Military. They come to the region, work in one of the services and eventually plant roots here by switching over to civilian life or retiring. They bring with them a tremendous work ethic; focus on the security of property and information that can easily be transferred into the data center industry. Other markets do not benefit from the same constant refresh of their labor pool.The Sky's the LimitThe vertical data center is swiftly becoming more in vogue. Northern Virginia has been a market leader in adaptive change and design. The construction of data centers has gone from single to multi-story and from a custom build to a modular build. Digital Realty Trust, for example, was the first to develop turnkey data centers (TKD), which has expedited the entire development cycle, giving rise to even more developments. The region will continue to excel with innovative thought leadership in key tech initiatives such as further forays into artificial intelligence.What's ComingDue to historic demand and absorption, JLL continues to see new entries into the market. In 2018, we witnessed new investments by Align, Cologix, Compass, EdgeCore, Stack, Vantage and Equity Infrastructure Funds. In addition more new entrants in 2019, we will see even more private providers bearing more importance in the market. New and existing enterprises will benefit from competition of new service offerings, competitive rents, fluid timing of available space, power and networks, excellent opportunity to re-structure older lease agreements to improve evolving technology needs, and much more.As the rest of the country braces itself for some potential economic challenges, the level of inventory in Northern Virginia coupled with the strong demand due to its highly educated workforce and excellent location in the Mid-Atlantic does provide for a strong market outlook. For this reason, we continue to see great investment in the data center market in Northern Virginia with no signs of slowing.What This Means for YouAs a CIO / CTO, is your professional strategic goal to manage the enterprise infrastructure or deliver services to the enterprise at a cost-effective solution? Is your organization delivering best in class infrastructure or deployment of services? Can your organization monetize these services better to decrease cost or increase revenues to your organization?Today, we rely on data more than ever before. For an organization to thrive for the long-term, it must provide secure access to 24/7 data. As Northern Virginia's data center market continues to grow at unprecedented rates, so too are colo centers. Colos provide space, cooling, backup power and security for a company's server, but for a more minimal investment. There are currently over 4,400colo centers across the globe and more are in Northern Virginia than anywhere else globally. In 2019 and beyond, we expect the trend for enterprise business to enter the colocation market to continue to rise ­ it's the new frontier for IT ­ are you ready for IT? Allen C TuckerToday, we rely on data more than ever before
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