DataBank - June 2023

DataBank fuelling tech growth by taking data to the edge

DIGITAL REPORT 2023

IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

DATABANK FUELLING TECH GROWTH TAKING DATA TO THE EDGE

GROWTH BY EDGE

It might seem odd that, in a world in which technology companies are laying off workers in their thousands, a company such as DataBank – which helps fuel tech consumption – is continuing to expand at a steady pace.

DataBank's managed data-centre services are anchored in world-class facilities, and the company currently boasts such centres in locations including Dallas, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, and Atlanta –managing or operating major network facilities in each of these regions.

These facilities provide uninterrupted access to customer data, applications and IT equipment. DataBank’s services provide business solutions for corporate enterprises, including hybrid cloud services, customised IT deployments, and industry compliance, to meet the outsourcing needs for IT management, maintenance and operations.

The company serves a wide range of customer verticals, including media and content distribution, cloud infrastructure providers and telecom networks.

DataBank has been expanding its size and reach for years. In September 2017, it acquired cloud hosting company, Edge Hosting, which specialises in designing, operating and simplifying secure and compliant IaaS and PaaS Managed Cloud Hosting. The acquisition provided both market expansion and extra expertise in the delivery of cloud solutions and

Tony Qorri is VP of Construction with DataBank, and explains how the business continues to expand strategically in testing economic times

Technolog ies for Better Data Center Ef ficienc y

Today, there’s more than 18 million servers running in more than 2,500 data centers all across the globe to support everything from our global economy to our increasingly remote workforce. As we continue seeing more demand for ecommerce, artificial intelligence, streaming video, virtual reality/augmented reality applications, smart systems, and Big Data analytics, we expect these numbers to climb drastically. This unprecedented demand for digital services has made the case that data centers have become as essential as public utilities such as electricity, gas, and water. Below is an overview of some of those technologies, according to the guide:

Intelligent Power Management

Intelligent equipment and new controls enable data center operators to improve the utilization and efficiency of the critical power systems required to achieve high levels of data center availability. One strategy we’re seeing used by organizations is utilizing the overload capacity designed into some UPS systems to handle short and infrequent demand peaks rather than oversizing equipment based on these peaks.

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Renewable Energy

Renewable energy can be a great tool for reducing carbon emissions. Numerous ways to leverage renewable sources include purchase plan agreements, renewable energy certificates, and migrating loads to cloud or colocation facilities committed to carbon-free operation. Some operators are looking at opportunities to power data centers through locally generated renewable power, which can be accomplished by matching renewable energy sources with fuel cells, systems that can produce clean hydrogen from renewable energy, and UPS systems with dynamic grid support capabilities.

First Steps for Data Center Sustainability Strategy

For organizations in the initial stages of planning long-term efficiency and sustainability goals, beginning such a journey can be daunting. Fortunately, Vertiv’s guide offers valuable first steps for reducing environmental impact, including:

y Establishing Goals: Data center operators are embracing goals based on the vision of the net zero data center or adopting several of the pillars that make up that vision. According to Vertiv’s guide, a net zero data center typically encompasses:

• Zero losses: Eliminating inefficiencies and maximizing utilization in data center systems.

• Zero carbon: Eliminating carbon emissions from the power consumed by data centers.

• Zero water waste: Eliminating the waste of water for data center operation.

• Zero waste: Eliminating the e-waste created by data center operations.

y Defining Frameworks and Metrics: Emissions will often be the primary target when establishing measurable goals for reducing environmental impact.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol provides standardized global frameworks that industry organizations and their value chain partners can use to understand, aggregate, quantify, and reduce emissions. Find more metrics and frameworks Online

y Prioritizing Opportunities: Organizations looking to build out their sustainability approach can begin by evaluating existing data center systems and prioritizing opportunities based on goals and available technologies. As plans move forward, operators should continue to prioritize solutions that can achieve desired levels of continuity. Some priorities include increasing asset utilization, decreasing data center water usage, reusing data center heat, and reducing e-waste.

The path toward a more sustainable data center is not paved by a single strategy or piece of technology and implementing these changes will be no easy feat for most organizations. The reduced costs, progress toward corporate goals, limited dependence on utilities, and lessened environmental impact from these initiatives can help create significant long-term value for an organization.

managed services, especially for clientele requiring comprehensive operational controls for a number of commercial and government compliance standards.

zColo acquisition brought Qorri on board

Then in September 2020 it acquired zColo’s data centre assets from Zayo Group Holdings, with these located in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Denver. The deal means DataBank now offers secure colocation, connectivity, cloud, and managed services in 60 data centres in 28 key markets in the US and UK.

Such structured, strategic growth has put DataBank at the forefront of the edge

“I stick with the same principles in my work as I did in my sports career: keep learning, keep improving”

TONY QORRI VP CONSTRUCTION, DATABANK

infrastructure wave, enabling enterprises, hyperscalers, cloud, content, and software customers to move their mission-critical workloads and platforms closer to end-user populations in second-, third-, and fourthtier markets.

Crucially, these deals have seen DataBank acquire expertise along with infrastructure. One such addition is VP of Construction, Tony Qorri, who joined the company as part of the zColo deal.

So how does Qorri explain DataBank’s growth in the face of a shrinking tech market?

“Tech companies might be cutting their staff, but it's not because people aren’t using technology,” he says. “In fact, people’s

TONY QORRI

TITLE: VP OF CONSTRUCTION

COMPANY: DATABANK

EXECUTIVE BIO

Tony Qorri joined DataBank as Vice President of Construction in December of 2021 with the responsibility of overall construction efforts on large construction projects as well as customer fit-out projects. Qorri came to Databank as part of the DataBank acquisition of Zayo's colocation division, zColo, where he served as Director of Construction for 7 years. Prior to Qorri's tenure at Zayo, he worked for a General Contracting / Construction Management firm in New York City where he served as Senior Vice President of Operations for 7 Years. Qorri has been in the mission critical industry for 15 years where he has built multiple Enterprise data centers for many of the financial institutions as well as the top 5 colocation companies on a global perspective. His time spent on both the contractor side as well as the end user side makes him a very well-rounded individual that understands all aspects of engineering, building, and operating a data center.

Databank and Hitachi Energy: Building bridges to success

When core values are shared, co-creation will thrive over for a real sustainable success. A shared cognizance of the customer needs allows Hitachi Energy to foster seamless collaboration to deliver impactful Data Center solutions.

Transformers for Data Centers

Learn more

The Data Center industry has witnessed exponential growth that resulted in a focus on increased speed-to-market by leveraging standardized designs. As a pioneering technology leader, Hitachi Energy plays a crucial part in bridging the gap between the grid and this critical infrastructure.

Tony Qorri is the visionary Vice president of Construction at Databank, the US Data Center giant. He believes that donning his partner hat produces win-wins when forging strategic alliances. This aligns with the tenet of Hitachi Energy, which values are focused on fostering relationships with partners for long-term value creation.

That’s why when Qorri was looking into power solutions for backing up his mission-critical projects, he was confident in the expertise of Hitachi Energy. Unintuitively understanding the unique needs and aspirations, a standardized transformer design with an extended tap arrangement was envisioned to operate at any DataBank’s location.

Collaboration was crucial to anticipate Databank’s project needs. Design standardization and Hitachi Energy’s global footprint helped to secure the construction

schedule, mitigating potential delays due to the post-pandemic world and the high demand for transformers triggered by the energy transition.

The bond built on trust and commitment has made DataBank select Hitachi Energy as its trusted partner. At the core of this synergy is a unique understanding transcending mere transactions, becoming a catalyst for innovation, resilience, and collaboration.

“Standardization was critical to supporting the fast-paced growth of Databank within today’s growing need for scalability; thankfully, due to open and transparent collaboration between our companies, we were able to iterate upon the transformer design, ultimately resulting in a repeatable and, more importantly, scalable solution”

Logan Howell, Product Manager for Distribution Transformers at Hitachi Energy - North America

DataBank fuelling tech growth by taking data to the edge

hunger for technology is growing, and data centres are the infrastructure that fuels that.

“So whenever you pick up your phone or click on an app you are firing three pieces of infrastructure. The cell tower that's capturing your signal, the fibre through which the signal travels and the data centre, where everything ends up.

“You have to remember our business is about serving customers of tech companies. We go where the customers are.”

And where DataBank always goes is to the ‘edge’, says Qorri.

“You always want to place your data as close as possible to those who use the data. So you are at the edge of the network.

And also where land is more affordable, which is why Salt Lake City and Atlanta have become focal points for the company.

“Those locations have been two we've chased pretty aggressively,” says Qorri. “We've got a lot of additional builds throughout the nation, but we've got quite a bit of capital being spent in those markets.”

DataBank projects include greenfield and brownfield sites

Qorri’s role is to run and manage DataBank’s expansion and development builds,” including greenfield and brownfield retrofits, and expansions in any of the existing sites”.

He explains: “We've got three models of construction. One is brand-new developments – so a greenfield ground-up building. Second is a brownfield site, where we buy a shell – some type of building, could

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Delivering a better world.

AECOM Tishman is one of the world’s leading builders. With more than 120 years in business, we’ve been responsible for the construction of more than 600 million square feet of space. A part of AECOM, our construction management business line is supported throughout the entire project lifecycle – from planning, design and engineering to program and construction management.

have been a distribution centre or an office building – and we retrofit that.

“The third is an existing facility that has maybe one to five data halls. We'll go in and expand that building over the course of time.”

From front-end to back-end, Qorri and his team hires and manages design consultants, contractors and the commissioning firms that ensure the data centres are functional. For good measure, he also runs the procurement arm of the organisation, an area that in recent years has been pivotal to the continued growth of the company.

Just over a year ago, DataBank hired a strategic sourcing manager who works for and closely with Qorri.

TONY QORRI VP CONSTRUCTION, DATABANK

“We have built scalability into the business by creating a forecast that shows, quarter over quarter, what the market looks like”

“As the construction project management team continued to grow we wanted to take some of the sourcing workload off those guys, because they had challenges of their own,” he says. “Together, we’ve been doing all of the sourcing. We try to forecast at least two years ahead, and we’ve got to continue evolving that because we're still seeing supply issues and challenges.”

Being able to source strategically has allowed DataBank to avoid costly supply chain delays.

“It’s enabled us to quickly deploy and to not lose six months to a year on deliverable timelines, which would've lost us customers,” he says. “We're actually growing quite rapidly. We've scaled over the past few years and I think we're going to continue to

scale over the next few years. Continuing to develop the teams we need has been quite a challenge and will continue to be so, but it’s proved very important.”

DataBank’s growth has been consistent and strategic. It’s been facilitated by smart procurement but also many other factors, says Qorri.

“We have built scalability into the business by creating a forecast that shows, quarter over quarter, what the market looks like, and from this we created a stocking programme.

“We bought everything from transformers to generators, and also downstream. But we didn't want to over-buy, so we were strategic about it, and it’s the best thing we ever did because it has allowed us to grow at a sustainable rate.”

As well as growing its infrastructure, DataBank has been adding to its knowledge base with strategic new hires, including experienced project managers (PMs).

“As we’ve scaled, we’ve taken on more PM,” says Qorri. “This has allowed me to get out of the trenches, because I have been project managing as I was leading a group. As we continue to bring more people on board I can focus more on managing downstream, and helping the organisation grow from a future planning perspective.”

Strategic advantage, not price, key to winning contracts

Planning for growth has different drivers in the post-pandemic world, it seems –particularly when it comes to winning new contracts.

TONY QORRI VP CONSTRUCTION, DATABANK

“Taking a project from the front-end to the back-end is a challenge but a hugely rewarding one”

Qorri says: “Back in the day, the most competitive bid was nearly always the winner. Those days have changed a bit. Now it's not always the most competitive bidder, it's the most strategic bidder in specific markets that wins.”

“Strategic often comes down to 'how well you know a given market, and how strong your relationships are with the downstream folks in that market'.

He adds: “This is why I tell my guys to come in not with their client hat on but their partner hat. I ask them to make our partners their friends. People always want to work with their friends, right? Friends are going to have your back and will help you execute.”

Taking a project from the front-end to the back-end – “where we're meeting specific customer needs” – is a challenge, says Qorri, “but a hugely rewarding one”.

TONY QORRI VP CONSTRUCTION, DATABANK

“You always want to place your data as close as possible to those who use the data – at the edge”

Highland Associates is an Architectural and Engineering firm focusing on the design of mission critical facilities for Enterprise, Co-Location and Hyperscale clients throughout the United States.

LGA3 Orangeburg, NY

Proud to be a Strategic Design Partner for DataBank

IAD3 Ashburn, VA

He adds: “It involves supply chain, contractor availability in certain markets and taking a task from A to Z in a very tight timeframe and bringing it in on time and on budget.

“Myself, my team, the organisation, we get a rush out of that. There are competitors that are able to do it but there are also a lot of folks who are not able to accomplish this, and it day-in, day-out – especially over the past few years, with the pandemic and multiple supply chain constraints – is a major achievement.”

He reveals that, post-pandemic, “we’ve had to micromanage down to a level that was not needed before”, and that there is another big difference to the way his team operates.

“The customer is not always right any more,” he says. “Instead of demanding something and getting it, we now have to work more as partners – with our vendors, contractors and subcontractors.”

And, of course, there are other changes and challenges in expanding a business in a post-pandemic world, not least of which is labour problems, Qorri explains.

“There's not enough workers to cater to all the projects going on. Bringing in the right subcontractors to build-out a facility is a challenge. Unlike in warehouse environments, automation is not an option. You need physical labour. Technology is advanced – you need guys in the trenches to be able to execute.”

But whatever the challenges that DataBank faces, it does not face them alone; its ecosystem of partners is crucially important, says Qorri.

“DataBank has a slew of different partners,” he says. “We've got vendors that

we partner with from both thermal and power sides. Vertiv and Powersmiths are very strong partners of ours on the power side, and Toshiba and Cummins with regards to support on the generators and UPS side.”

Hitachi is another “huge partner of ours”, from a transformation perspective, says Qorri.

"Our most strategic partners are our general contracting partners. HITT in Northern Virginia, Tishman in New York, Layton in the Southwest, and Brassfield and Gorrie in the Atlanta market.”