The Top 10 Data Center Stories for June 2021

The top data center story for June was an easy call – the $10 billion acquisition of QTS Data Centers by Blackstone Infrastructure partners. It was the biggest deal in the history of the data center business, and just about all of you wanted to read about it.

But there was plenty of other news in June, with the unveiling of huge developments and investments across the sector. This included huge new campuses for Yondr, Switch and newcomer Quantum Loophole, and a $3.9 joint venture by Equinix and GIC to build hyperscale data centers all over the place.

Here are the 10 most popular stories on Data Center Frontier in June 2021, in order of article views:

• Blackstone to Acquire QTS in Blockbuster Data Center M&A Deal: Blackstone Infrastructure Partners will acquire QTS Realty Trust for $78 a share, valuing QTS at approximately $10 billion, the two companies said today. QTS operates more than 7 million square feet of data centers across North America and Europe.
• Equinix Plans Global Hyperscale Building Binge: Equinix plans a dramatic expansion of its xScale hyperscale data center program. Backed by a new $3.9 billion joint venture with GIC, Equinix will expand its global xScale operation to 32 data centers and more than, 600 megawatts of capacity.
• Quantum Loophole Plans 2,100 Acre Data Center Campus in Maryland: Quantum Loophole has teamed with TPG Real Estate Partners to develop a 2,100-acre site in Adamstown, Maryland as a gigawatt-scale data center campus. The venture seeks to extend the massive Northern Virginia data center market across the Potomac into Maryland.
• Microsoft Begins Using Eco-Diesel in Data Center Generators: Microsoft will begin using lower-carbon renewable fuel for data center generators at its cloud region in Sweden, advancing Microsoft’s goal of ending its reliance on diesel fuel by the year 2030.
• Yondr Enters Northern Virginia Market, Plans 500 Megawatts of Data Centers: Yondr Group has big plans in Northern Virginia. The developer has acquired 270 acres of land, and plans to build 500 megawatts of data center capacity across Loudoun and Prince William counties.
• Nautilus Comes Ashore With Water-Cooled Data Center in Maine: Having launched its first floating data vessel, Nautilus Data Technologies is moving ashore with a $200 million data center project in Maine that taps a reservoir to create a gravity-fed cooling system.
• Switch to Build Huge Data Center Campus at Dell HQ Near Austin: Switch has unveiled plans to build a 1.5 million square foot data center campus adjacent to the Dell Technologies global headquarters in Round Rock, amplifying its recent entry into the Texas market with acquisition of Data Foundry.
• More Than $8 Billion in Subsea Investment in the Pipeline: Demand from hyperscale data center operators will be a key driver in $8 billion in new investment in subsea cables over the next three years, according to research firm TeleGeography, which says “the submarine cable market has never been so dynamic.”
• Holograms in the Data Center: Cutting-Edge 3D Studio at Sabey Ashburn: A cutting-edge studio to create “digital human” holograms has launched inside the Ashburn campus for Sabey Data Centers, which is the lead investor in Avatar Dimension. The facility illustrates how data centers play a key role in the next-generation technologies.
• The State of Edge Computing in 2021: How is edge computing evolving, and what use cases and applications are gaining the most traction with customers? Informed takes from 7 thought leaders in digital infrastructure in our DCF Executive Roundtable.

Education is part of our mission at Data Center Frontier. In our Voices of the Industry feature, we share the experience of data center executives on the front lines of innovation. Here’s a look at the most popular Voices columns for DCF readers last month:

• How Private/Public Partnerships Will Drive the Next Big Wave of Government Data Center Optimization (BCS Data Center Operations): Craig Harris of BCS Data Center Operations says the next wave of government data center optimization will be more targeted and outcome oriented, driven largely by new public/private partnerships that will leverage industry best practices to drive innovation and achieve dramatic optimization targets.
• The State of the Colocation Data Center Industry (QTS Data Centers): COVID has created a global remote workforce that is accelerating interaction with digital services in all forms, consumption of video and social media. QTS Realty Trust’s Sean Baillie discusses what this means for the colocation and data center sector.
• A Look at the Edge From the Perspective of Hyperscale Cloud Providers (DataBank): Raul Martynek, CEO at DataBank, refines the definition of edge computing. This is the first of a series looking at the edge from the multiple perspectives of enterprises using and driving edge development: hyperscalers, SaaS application/ content developers, and network providers. In this article, we examine how hyperscale cloud providers see the edge and the role they are playing in its development.

Be sure to check out all of our Voices columns, including insights from Stream Data Centers, Flexential, ProLift Rigging, and Service Express,

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