The Super Bowl is Over, But Data Centers Remain a Political Football

After a terribly boring Super Bowl (last year’s was 10,000 times better for those of us here in Eastern Pennsylvania) the football season is over.  Filling the gap created by the conclusion of action on the gridiron is the political football of data centers. 

We’re all used to reading surveys of IT executives and thought leaders, but this latest poll is something different. It was NOT a tech or business publication that surveyed 2,093 people nationwide for their thoughts on data centers.  No, it was Politico, a media outlet favored by political professionals and highly engaged news consumers, which commissioned such a poll. 

The Politico data is unique in that it is rare example of a widespread survey not of those in the industry, but just of the general public being asked about potentially having data centers in their area.  As data center development continues to ramp up, with mega developments announced seemingly every week, we’re seeing our industry news move from the back of the Business section to the front page.

The Politico survey shows that the general public are still trying to understand this new development phenomenon.  25% of respondents did not know what a data center is, so it is safe to say that the remaining 75% includes people who are also new to the issue, and all opinions may not be fully formed nor fully informed. But it is still helpful to know what the public at large is thinking.

There is a good chunk of people, 37% of those surveyed, who would support a data center being built in their area.  But even those supporters start to get wobbly if their electric bills are to go up because of the project. Politicians in our Commonwealth are well aware of voter outrage created by soaring utility bills, having already pledged to prevent data center development from creating power rate hikes . 

The best news is that the general public understands the importance of the data center industry. Those who responded positively to data center development as an issue referenced data being stored in the US (33%), job creation (32%), and US tech growth (27%) as among the considerations that shaped their opinion.  

The data also suggest that data centers are NOT seen as disruptive by those who live nearby one.   People who currently live within three miles of a data center in their area are MORE willing to have another one built in their area than those who don’t have a data center within 20 miles of their home.

The full report on the survey includes a lot more data that may interest you and is worth a look if you follow issues related to data centers and the tech sector as a whole. 

We’re not building a data center, we’ve already got one, a world-class colocation facility that serves not a single tech giant, but Pennsylvania enterprises of all types.  We’ve gotten along just fine with our neighbors over the past two decades.  We’d welcome an opportunity to inform businesses and groups on what a state-of-the-art data center looks like with a tour, which you can arrange for by emailing strategy@DirectLTx.com.