Heartfelt thanks to all in the data center industry

Data centers are cool! 

Big ones. Small ones. Modular ones. Old ones. New ones. Soon-to-be ones. Ugly ones. Pretty ones. Smart ones. Not-so-smart ones. I dig’em all! They’re cool! I talk about data centers – what makes them work and what doesn’t. Design, redundancy, resilience, future-proofing, testing, commissioning, fixing, operational excellence, client satisfaction, standards, efficiency, effectiveness, expansion, theories, practicality, risk management, solutions, old technology, new technology, proven technology, pie-in-the-sky, realism, strategy, pragmatism, off-the-wall-ism, successes, failures (yip, that too!), re-birthing the old ones, taking bad ones and helping make them better again. I welcome anybody who wants to talk to me about data centers. Sometimes I talk too much but, hey, data centers are cool. I enjoy sharing my passion for data centers. I enjoy it even more when others share with me, so I can learn more. Engaging with them all. The C-suite. The managers. The experts. The crazy ones. The mavericks. The unbelievably ingenious. The techies. The undeniably committed. The soft-spoken. The loud mouths. I enjoy watching the newbies as they walk into a building with that big-eyed “Bambi-in-the-headlights” look, realizing that it's an industry unlike any other. Data Centers are cool! 

Data center people ARE cool! 

Industry icons, stalwarts, leaders, followers, believers, disbelievers, do-ers, can do-ers, must do-ers, have-donners. I talk to those who dropped their site and need to get it back. I talk to those who got it back and never want to lose it again. I do everything I can to help you NOT lose your site. I listen. I learn. I grow. I share. I do. I love data centers. I help where I can and, if I can’t, I find those who can. I talk to the engineer, the architect, the network guru, the facility technician, the maintenance technician, the electrician, the operator, the trainee, the boss. I talk to him. I talk to her. And, yes, we need more of “her” to join us – those of “him”-type. I know she’ll make it better – without a doubt. I talk about what I know and what I’ve learnt. Learnt from others successes, failures and, of course, my own mistakes. Our mistakes. And if I don’t know then I’ll find out and we’ll learn together. We’ll grow together. I listen. I think. I challenge. I agree. I disagree. I question. I see the likes of Chris Crosby, Heather Dooley, Dean Nelson, Carrie Goetz, Nancy Novak, Joe Kava, Funke Opeke, Rich Miller, Amy Marks, Ayotunde Coker, Kelly Shea, Buddy Rizer and so many others – what they’ve done and continue to do for the industry, making it all possible. And data centers are prominent in what they accomplish – whether on-stage or off-stage. The same goes for all the other unsung heroes who do great things in data centers every day. 

Almost everything we do finds its way into and out of a data center. Device-to-device. Device-to-person. Person-to-person, using a device.

Billions of these "things" communicate with each other and with people every second of the day. Through their mobile phone anybody can gain access to the world! Data centers make this happen. Data centers make it possible. Millions of devices in thousands of data centers flip bits from a one to a zero or, from a zero to a one and, most of the time, the outcome is better. MOST of the time – not always; I’ll admit to that. It’s about the collective benefit and avoiding the zero-sum game. I am blessed to have one of the coolest, most amazing jobs in the coolest industry! I get to be around and associate with professionals who build, design, fix, test, improve, teach, listen, learn – data centers. I am honored to interact with data center people each and every working day! 

Robots, aircraft, ships, cars, people, handhelds, artificial intelligence, water, fuel, buildings, roads, tunnels, dams, logistics, machines, food, sport, construction, hobbies, politics, safety, security, accounting, electricity, finance, schools, people, music, movies, universities, colleges, distance learning, HOSPITALS, people, research, traffic, emergency services, military, parks, wildlife, outer-space, inner-space, knowledge, people… – think about anything and there’ll be at least one data center somewhere that helps to make it happen. How awesome is that?!? 

It's the people who make data centers possible

But, most of all, I want to acknowledge the people who are involved in the data center industry. The unsung. The ones who do what is required to ensure that everybody else gets what they need. Data. Information. Calculation. Results. Connection. Communication. 

During this difficult time – now, more than ever before – data center people are doing what they do best – ensuring the connection for everybody. As a result of COVID-19, people across the world are physically isolated from each other. The world is in lock-down. Data Centers are critical to keeping us all connected, both personally and professionally. Whether you’re Skype-ing with a loved one on the other side of the world, watching a movie on Netflix or sharing critical research data with your colleagues to find a possible cure for this damn awful virus; it’s the people who, quietly, in the background, work in all those data centers who are helping to make it happen. 

Today, on International Data Center Day, to the hundreds of thousands of data center people across the world, I say, “Thank you”. Thanks for your contribution, professionalism and commitment. Many will never know nor appreciate the importance of your work but, today, on their behalf, I give thanks to you.

Data centers are cool and I love data center people.

To all of you, the data center people - THANK YOU!

Stay safe.