Special Report

Dallas Data Center Market

Written by Rich Miller

brought to you by

© 2018, Data Center Frontier


SPECIAL REPORT
Introduction
This report was prepared by Data Center Frontier, in conjunction with datacenterHawk.
ABOUT DATA CENTER FRONTIER
http://datacenterfrontier.com
Data Center Frontier charts the future of data
centers and cloud computing. We write about what’s
next for the Internet, and the innovations that
will take us there. The data center is our prism.
We tell the story of the digital economy through
the facilities that power the cloud and the people
who build them. In writing about data centers and
thought leaders, we explain the importance of how
and where these facilities are built, how they are
powered, and their impact on the Internet and the
communities around them.
Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data
center industry’s most experienced journalist. For
more than 15 years, Rich has profiled the key role
played by data centers in the Internet revolution.
Contents
Introduction................................................ 2
About Data Center Frontier............................ 2
About datacenterHawk................................. 2
Market Overview & Analysis .............................. 3
What’s Hot About Dallas?............................... 4
Background & History................................... 4
Trends in Demand.......................................... 5
Demand Characteristics................................. 5
Trends in Supply............................................ 6
Downtown Dallas......................................... 6
Northern Suburbs ....................................... 6
Other Projects in the Northern Suburbs.............. 7
Fort Worth ............................................... 7
Business Environment..................................... 8
Connectivity.............................................. 8
Power...................................................... 8
Disaster Risk.............................................. 8
Economic Development and Incentives............... 9
Overview of Major Providers............................. 9
Aligned Energy ........................................... 9
Ascent Data Centers .................................... 9
Carrier-1 .................................................. 9
Cologix ...................................................10
Compass Data Centers .................................10
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
ABOUT DATACENTERHAWK
http://www.datacenterhawk.com
datacenterHawk is a convenient “one-stop-shop” for
IT professionals, consultants, data center operators
and investors to find data center and cloud solutions.
Our subscription-based service makes the complex
process of searching and analyzing colocation and
cloud service providers simple and faster than ever.
Our online tools help users compare potential data
center solutions using real-time capacity information,
financial data, and market research; then present the
findings in a sharp, easy to understand report.
For non-subscribers, datacenterHawk delivers hard
to find information on the top Internet exchanges,
cloud computing providers, carrier hotels, and
colocation facilities in North America on a per-report
basis. With a credit card number, IT professionals
can use datacenterHawk to reduce the time it takes
to find data center market information down from
hours to seconds.
CyrusOne ................................................10
Cyxtera...................................................10
DataBank ................................................11
Digital Realty ...........................................11
EdgeCore ................................................12
Equinix ...................................................12
Evocative ................................................13
Flexential ...............................................13
H5 COLO .................................................13
IBM SoftLayer ...........................................13
iland ......................................................14
INAP ......................................................14
QTS Data Centers.......................................14
RagingWire ..............................................15
Skybox Datacenters ....................................15
Stream Data Centers ..................................15
Sungard Availability Services .........................16
T5 Data Centers ........................................16
TierPoint .................................................16
zColo .....................................................16
Customer Search Trends.................................17
About Our Sponsor.........................................18
Methodology...............................................19
Methodology Example..................................19
2

SPECIAL REPORT
Market Overview & Analysis
The Dallas/Fort Worth region is one of the largest and most active data center markets in the United
States. It is currently experiencing a data center building boom, with hundreds of megawatts of potential
capacity in the pipeline. The Dallas market is benefiting from excellent power and fiber infrastructure,
competitive economic incentives and robust competition among service providers.
Dallas is notable for the diversity of its data center
ecosystem, with strong demand for retail colocation,
wholesale data center space, powered shell and
build-to-suit projects. The market is boosted by
its location in the center of the country, and sees
demand for space from multiple business verticals,
including hosting and cloud players as well as
enterprise customers in finance and energy. Dallas
also benefits from the fact that the state of Texas
operates its own power grid, isolating it from power
outages from other regional interconnection markets.
The Dallas area is home to 2.99 million square feet
(SF) of commissioned data center space, representing
334 megawatts (MW) of commissioned power,
according to market research from datacenterHawk.
That makes Dallas the third-largest market for data
center capacity in the U.S., trailing only Northern
Virginia and Silicon Valley, and just ahead of Chicago.
In square footage, Dallas is the second-largest
market, slightly ahead of Silicon Valley. Demand for
space is fairly strong, as reflected in the vacancy rate
of 15.0 percent in the region.
Dallas is currently the focus of a data center building
boom, with most of the industry’s major wholesale
data center providers adding capacity and creating
multi-building campuses for future growth. There
was 50 MW of available power capacity at the
close of 1Q of 2018, with an additional 11 MW under
construction. In addition, there is a whopping
570 MW of additional capacity in the planning stages,
indicating a strong expectation of growth.
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
A key question is whether Dallas will emerge as
a leading market for hyperscale data centers, the
huge facilities that house the IT operations of
the largest cloud platforms, social networks and
Internet companies. Demand in Dallas-Fort Worth
has historically been driven by enterprise customers
and service providers, rather than the huge leases
by cloud providers that have boosted activity in other
major markets, particularly Northern Virginia.
Will Dallas begin winning hyperscale projects?
This is a matter of debate among industry veterans
with experience in the Dallas market, with some
anticipating that larger hyperscale requirements are
coming, while others believe that these expectations
are premature. The answer to the “hyperscale
question” will be a key factor in the data center
absorption rate in Dallas, and the pace of growth
going forward.
The region’s data center capacity is spread across
several sub-markets, including major carrier hotels
in downtown Dallas, a nexus of wholesale data centers
in the “Telecom Corridor” in Richardson and northern
suburbs. The current hot spot for new development is
Garland, where city-owned power and the availability
of land is creating a growing cluster of wholesale
data center providers. To the West, there is a growing
cluster in Fort Worth featuring a Facebook data
center campus and a huge new project led by
T5 Data Centers.
3

SPECIAL REPORT
Over the past two years, the Dallas market has
emerged as a focus of significant investment by
leading players in the data center industry. This
includes new ownership and strategic focus impacting
major carrier hotels in downtown Dallas, the entry
of new players in Dallas suburbs, and significant
expansions by existing providers.
What’s Hot About Dallas?
The Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) data center
market has grown steadily over the past
five years. Demand in this market often
originates from companies with a large
presence in the area. However, many
companies outside the area find the Dallas
market appealing, and service providers
report a growing percentage of requirements
from outside the region. Dallas is emerging
as a data center destination due to five
key attributes:
1. Favorable Business Environment
DFW is home to over 100,000 businesses,
with an economy that expanded 5.7% last
year (the seventh best in the United States).
2. Competitive Colocation/Cloud Ecosystem
A large number of qualified operators
deliver facilities, services, and expertise
to the many companies in the region who
outsource their information technology (IT)
infrastructure.
3. Reasonable Power Cost
Compared to other primary data center
markets, electricity in the DFW area is
relatively inexpensive.
4. R
 obust Infrastructure
The region’s electrical and
telecommunications infrastructure is both
dense and diverse.
5. Tax Abatement Incentives
The State of Texas passed legislation in 2013
to grant tax breaks for large colocation and
enterprise users.
Over the last three years, Dallas/Fort Worth
has drawn large corporate relocations. Most
companies go to Texas due to the state’s central
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
location, affordable real estate prices, and good
tax incentives. The Dallas area in particular has a
diversified labor force, with strong growth recently
from the technology and services industries.
In the first quarter of 2018, the DFW market saw job
growth of 3.7%, slightly ahead of the pace of job
growth across the rest of the state (3.5%) and the
United States overall (2.3%), according to data from
the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In addition, the
Dallas market’s unemployment rate is currently 3.6%
and has been steadily declining since 2009.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY
The early growth of DFW’s data center market was
focused in downtown Dallas. Because the central
business district is rich in telecommunication
infrastructure, several large office buildings were
retrofit for data center use, most prominently the
Infomart Dallas, 2323 Bryan Street and the former
Federal Reserve Building. These buildings typically
attract smaller colocation customers, along with
telecommunications companies.
Most colocation providers in the DFW
market are choosing to construct new
facilities instead of retrofitting existing
buildings worthy of conversion.
As the colocation market grew significantly in
2009 and 2010, these companies expanded beyond
downtown. An obvious expansion route was the
northern suburbs of Dallas, which boomed during the
1990s when the “Telecom Corridor” attracted dozens
of leading companies in the telecom, software and
semiconductor sectors. This area was hit hard during
the dot-bust of 2001 to 2003, but has seen a new
round of growth as Dallas has emerged as a hotbed
for hosting and colocation.
Cities like Richardson, Plano, Carrollton, Allen
and Garland benefited from the growth by offering
sites and buildings with expansion opportunities.
In addition, most colocation providers in the DFW
market are choosing to construct new facilities
instead of retrofitting existing buildings worthy
of conversion.
4

SPECIAL REPORT
Trends in Demand
The Dallas data center market experienced about
5 MW of absorption in the first quarter of 2018. We
anticipate this number will be larger in 2018 on a
quarterly basis, as several transactions are pending
that could take some of the existing commissioned
power off the market.
From a demand perspective, Dallas averages
approximately 20 MW of net new growth per year.
The first quarter results have kept pace, positioning
the market for growth should these larger deals
materialize.
One of the primary factors driving Dallas absorption
is the healthy economy and the growing list of large
businesses, which generates data center demand.
Smaller cloud requirements have also picked Dallas
over the past 12 months because of the competitive
provider market and favorable economic situation,
a key segment of the growing out-of-market demand.
A significant amount of growth in the
region can be directly tied to local business
growth. According to statistics from the
US Census Bureau, companies operating
in DFW’s three largest counties accounted
for 21.6% of all employers in Texas.
DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS
The Dallas market is distinctive for its versatility.
While many regional clusters are driven by one or
two key business verticals, data center demand in
Dallas is fed by a broad range of industries, and a
blend of global and local customers.
Dallas benefits from its location, which is attractive
to companies seeking data center space in the
center of the U.S. to maintain good latency to all
areas of the country. The state of Texas also has
an independent energy grid (ERCOT), which was
attractive to companies seeking disaster recovery
capabilities, especially in the wake of the 2003 East
Coast blackout, which was exacerbated by outages
that rippled across interconnected grids in the
Northeast.
A significant amount of growth in the region can be
directly tied to local business growth. According to
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
statistics from the US Census Bureau, companies
operating in DFW’s three largest counties accounted
for 21.6% of all employers in Texas.
The area is home to the corporate headquarters of
eighteen Fortune 500 companies including Exxon
Mobil, JC Penney, AT&T, Texas Instruments, and
others. A portion of the data center activity in DFW
has come from companies upgrading aged data center
infrastructure within an owned facility. Instead of
reinvesting in the existing operation, many of those
companies have chosen to house their infrastructure
with colocation providers, fueling demand. This trend
is pervasive across all major markets.
Enterprises that have data centers in primary coastal
markets such as Northern California or New York City
view Dallas as a logical location in the center of the
United States. In addition, the steady colocation
supply delivered over the past few years puts DFW
in a position to compete for large, national projects.
Larger colocation providers completed record
transaction sizes in Dallas over the past few years,
including deals as large as 10 MW of critical load.
The DFW market has been the beneficiary from the
growth of cloud computing as well. Cloud providers
like IBM Softlayer, Rackspace, and Verizon Terremark
(now Equinix) have placed their infrastructure with
larger colocation providers. For instance, at Digital
Realty’s 68-acre Richardson campus, more than
20 MW of the delivered 35 MW are apportioned to
growing cloud providers. It’s anticipated this trend
will continue, as data center users further embrace
cloud computing and cloud providers rely on larger
colocation providers for infrastructure support.
The arrival of a massive Facebook data center in
Fort Worth suggests the region is ripe for larger
requirements, as hyperscalers often create clusters
of cloud campuses in regions with favorable
economics. Several providers have landed 2 MW
to 4 MW deals with cloud platforms.
One reason that Dallas has been slow to emerge
as a hyperscale market is the early decision by
Microsoft to focus its central cloud region in San
Antonio, rather than Dallas. Microsoft has deployed
a company-built data center in San Antonio, and
also reportedly signed several large wholesale deals
at CyrusOne facilities in San Antonio.
5
 Dallas Data Center Market
SPECIAL REPORT

Trends in Supply
The data center development activity in the Dallas Equinix with control of the real estate supporting
region suggests growing confidence in the future their growth (something they previously did not
growth of demand in the Greater Dallas market. have), as well as the ability to expand with a new
As we noted in our overview, datacenterHawk building next to the current facility.
is tracking 570 MW of additional capacity in the
Expansion plans were developed by Infomart’s
planning stages in the Dallas market. Only Northern
previous ownership, but Equinix has the capability
Virginia (900 MW) has more capacity in the planning
to deploy capital more aggressively to capture
stages, while about 500 MW of capacity is being
growth opportunities. This brings a new dynamic
planned in Greater Phoenix.
to the Downtown market, where the other leading
It’s important to note that the majority of the active players are the Digital Realty carrier hotel at 2323
developers in Dallas are experienced operators who Bryan Street (also known as the Univision Tower), and
know the market and have experience with phased the DataBank building, the former Federal Reserve
construction projects that manage capital (and risk) Bank site at 400 South Akard. Digital Realty owns the
as they bring new capacity to market. building, where the primary tenant is Digital Bridge,
which acquired DataBank (the service provider)
This is clearly seen in the wave of wholesale
in 2016. DataBank has focused its expansion efforts
campuses that are either underway or in the planning
on the Dallas suburbs.
stages in the northern suburbs of Dallas. RagingWire,
Digital Realty, CyrusOne, EdgeCore, Compass,
NORTHERN SUBURBS
Stream and Skybox all have multi-building campuses
underway. Meanwhile, T5 and IPI are planning a There is a building boom going on in the suburbs,
400 MW project in Fort Worth. led by large REITs specializing in data center
development. These companies have acquired
The region’s data center capacity is spread across
large buildings, campuses and parcels of land,
several sub-markets, including major carrier hotels
providing them with plenty of runway to expand
in downtown Dallas, a nexus of wholesale data
over time through phased construction. This
centers in the “Telecom Corridor” in Richardson,
approach allows them to add capacity to keep
Plano, Garland and Allen. These northern suburbs are
pace with market demand, limiting the scope of
emerging as key to the region’s data center supply,
speculative development.
offering more land for the multi-building campuses
that developers covet. There’s an intriguing new player in town in EdgeCore,
a new wholesale provider led by former CoreSite CEO
Here’s a look at how the supply in the DFW Metroplex
Tom Ray, and backed by GIC, the sovereign wealth
breaks down.
fund for the government of Singapore.
DOWNTOWN DALLAS EdgeCore is preparing to build on a 33-acre site
in the east end of Richardson, in close proximity
The value of data center property in Downtown Dallas
to the RagingWire and Digital Realty campuses
was clearly established with Equinix’s $800 million
in Garland. The EdgeCore campus is designed
purchase of the Infomart building (1.6M SF), the
to accommodate five buildings and an on-site
premier carrier hotel and data hub. Equinix made the
substation. Each facility will include two main data
acquisition at approximately $500/SF. For comparison
halls, totaling approximately 180,000 SF and 32 MW
purposes, GI Partners purchased the One Wilshire
of commissioned power operating at a PUE of 1.25
building for $659 per square foot in 2013.
or better.
The Infomart deal represents not only Equinix’
New players with big plans can sometimes be
largest footprint in the region but the primary
disruptive to a market, creating the potential for
interconnectivity hub for the Southwest. The
oversupply or pricing wars. Ray’s experience at
Infomart houses multiple data center operators
CoreSite offers some reassuring history that the
with retail colocation environments, as well as
EdgeCore team understands these market dynamics.
several large office tenants. The purchase provides

© 2018, Data Center Frontier 6


SPECIAL REPORT
OTHER PROJECTS IN THE NORTHERN
SUBURBS
▶▶ Digital Realty continues to build out its 70-acre
Digital Dallas campus in Richardson, with eight
buildings completed and more on the way. Much
of the space at Data Center Park-Dallas has been
leased by cloud computing service providers.
The newest phase is a multi-story 340,000
square foot structure that will use at least
24 of Digital’s turn-key data center halls (known
as “pods”). Digital Realty has also procured
land in Garland for a $1 billion, 150 MW campus
featuring three 50 MW data centers.
▶▶ CyrusOne purchased land in Allen in 2Q 2017
with grand plans - the campus can hold
three buildings and provide up to 99 MW of
commissioned power. The site provides CyrusOne
with development runway, and the realistic
ability to serve both enterprise and hyperscale
customer requirements. The first 79,000 SF of
commissioned space and 6 MW of commissioned
power is set to go live in 2Q 2018. CyrusOne is
also leasing at the final phase of its huge facility
in Carrollton.
▶▶ RagingWire Data Centers has completed the first
of five interconnected data centers (a 230,000
SF facility called the TX1 Data Center, designed
for large scale deployments) that it has planned
for its new 42-acre Garland campus. Each data
center will offer 16 MW of capacity, for a total
of 80 MW across 1 million SF. RagingWire is
owned by NTT, which has the financial strength,
and the credit rating, to play at scale.
▶▶ Stream Data Centers has acquired 23 acres in
Garland for a new campus that will support
400,000 square feet of space, commencing
with a 140,000 SF first phase.
▶▶ DataBank recently delivered the first data hall
in their Plano Legacy facility, which adds 1.5 MW
of commissioned power to the available market.
DataBank purchased the facility from Stream
in 2Q 2017, and is now marketing the site. The
facility will support 9 MW when fully delivered.
▶▶ QTS Data Centers also has plenty of room to
grow in the DFW market. The QTS Dallas facility
in Las Colinas is a 700,000 square foot former
semiconductor fab, with an 8 MW installation
by a large cloud provider. The company has
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
the ability to add as many as three additional
buildings on the property.
▶▶ Compass Datacenters has completed the first
data center on its campus in Allen, with capacity
for several more. The facility is occupied by
Tierpoint.
In Plano, Aligned Data Centers is continuing to fill
the first phase of a planned 30-megawatt facility,
while Skybox Data Centers has completed the first
building on its Legacy One campus. Equinix opened
its DA7 colocation facility in March, and Ascent just
announced a new wholesale data center.
It’s anticipated that pricing will remain aggressive in
the DFW market given the amount of supply and new
companies that are entering the market.
FORT WORTH
Fort Worth is about 30 miles West of Downtown
Dallas, and has emerged as a sub-market to watch
in the wake of Facebook’s decision to build a data
center campus in the Alliance Gateway business
park. Facebook announced its plans in 2015, and has
gradually expanded its ambitions. The company now
plans five data center buildings, which will make Fort
Worth one of its largest U.S. data center campus.
As often happens, other data center projects have
followed. In early 2017, QTS Data Centers announced
the acquisition of a Health Care Service Corporation
data center immediately north of the Facebook
campus through a sale-leaseback. The QTS property
has space to construct another 300,000 SF and 60 MW
of data center space on the 53-acre property.
In October 2017, T5 Data Centers announced plans
for a 400-megawatt project distributed across parcels
of land north of the Facebook site. T5@Alliance is
being created by T5 and IPI Data Center Partners,
an investment fund backed by the deep pockets of
Silicon Valley wealth management firm Iconiq and
Iron Point Partners. The project will occupy at least
350 acres within the AllianceTexas business park
operated by Hillwood and the Perot family.
The availability of renewable energy options is
crucial to the DFW region’s aspirations to emerge as
a player in hyperscale deals. Facebook’s Fort Worth
data center campus is supported by 200 MW of wind
power generated in Clay County.
7

SPECIAL REPORT
Business Environment
Demand in the DFW market often originates
from companies with a large presence in the
area. However, many companies outside the
area evaluating the DFW market find it appealing.
Data center users find the Dallas/Fort Worth
market attractive for a variety of factors.
Here’s an overview:
CONNECTIVITY
Multiple carriers’ fiber networks blanket the
DFW Metroplex connected to a robust last-mile
infrastructure. Alpheus (a regional fiber provider
based in Texas), CenturyLink, Cogent, EarthLink,
FiberLight (another regional player based in Atlanta,
GA), Level 3, Sprint, Verizon, Windstream, and XO
all serve the Metroplex. Long-haul fiber from multiple
carriers connect the urban centers of both Ft. Worth
and Dallas. Telecom giant AT&T relocated their world
headquarters to downtown Dallas in 2008 and the
company’s long-haul fiber is prevalent in DFW. AT&T
fiber runs through the Alliance Airport area (home to
the new Facebook data center) south to downtown
Fort Worth, then west to downtown Dallas, and
winds up into the northern suburbs of Carrollton and
Lewisville - an area with several large colocation
data centers. To the east in Dallas’ northern suburbs
of Richardson and Plano, enterprise-grade fiber
infrastructure attracted the majority of DFW’s new
data center construction in the past five years.
POWER
Texas is unique in that it is decoupled from the
interconnected power grids serving the eastern
and western United States. Among the contiguous
48 states, Texas is the only one that has a standalone
electric grid entirely within the state. This
means that with few exceptions, Texas produces
the electricity consumed within its borders and
therefore is not subject to the Federal Power Act,
a Depression-era law where the Federal Power
Commission oversees all interstate electricity sales.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT),
a nonprofit corporation governed by a board of
directors and subject to oversight by the Public
Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature,
is responsible for managing 90% of the electricity in
the state of Texas.
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
The State of Texas introduced competitive electric
markets in 2002, creating a system where electric
generation and supply is a retail business competing
for customers while the transmission — often the
incumbent owners of power lines — remains heavily
regulated. The confluence of a competitive market,
the abundance of in-state power sources (notably
natural gas), and a standalone power grid have driven
power costs in the Dallas/Fort Worth market down
over the past few years. This low-cost power makes
DFW more competitive, attracting both regional and
national transactions.
On the renewable energy front, Texas has a
growing supply of wind energy, which accounted
for 18 percent of the electricity generated in Texas
during 2017, up from 10 percent in 2015. The
availability of renewable energy options is crucial
to the DFW region’s aspirations to emerge as a player
in hyperscale deals.
Due to its intermittent nature, wind energy can be
challenging to integrate into power grids. Texas has
some advantages on this front, as it has an abundant
supply of natural gas plants, which can adjust their
power output more quickly than coal-fired plants.
DISASTER RISK
Despite being relatively free of natural disasters,
new entrants to the Dallas/Fort Worth market can
sometimes worry about tornado risk. In addition,
small earthquakes that have rattled the market
recently have raised safety concerns. Data center
providers in DFW know to address these concerns
by designing facilities that meet building codes and
withstand seasonal bouts of high-powered winds.
8
 Dallas Data Center Market
SPECIAL REPORT

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INCENTIVES

Texas legislators passed a bill in 2013 to eliminate
taxes paid on qualifying hardware and software
purchases for data centers. While the exemption does
not cover local sales taxes on purchases, data center
owners/operators/occupants are 100% exempt from
the 6.25% state sales and use taxes for up to fifteen
years on electricity consumption and equipment
purchases. This exemption includes purchases of
servers, generators, storage devices, software, and
other systems necessary for data center operations.
To qualify for an exemption, the data center must:
▶▶ Total 100,000 SF of gross building area
▶▶ Achieve a capital investment of $200+ million
over a five-year period
▶▶ Create at least twenty permanent jobs
for locals
▶▶ Pay wages equivalent to 120% of the
national average

Overview of Major Providers

ALIGNED ENERGY
Aligned Energy offers consumption-based pricing
for on-demand data center capacity to enterprises,
service providers, and governments. The company
operates a 30 MW data center with a total of 300,000
SF at 2800 Summit Avenue in Plano, a suburb north
of Dallas. After completing the initial construction in
November of 2015, the company delivered the first
two 12,000 SF data halls and 5 MW of critical load.
As of Q3 2016, Aligned has completed several large
leases, including a 12-year lease with Cyberverse.
They have also partnered with Plexxi, in order to
increase their flexibility with data center capacity,
as well as networking. In 1Q 2017, Aligned’s Plano
data center was awarded Tier III design and built
certification by the Uptime Institute. Aligned is
continuing to pursue leasing opportunities in the
market today.
ASCENT DATA CENTERS
Ascent is a data center solutions provider located
in St. Louis, MO. Founded in 1998, Ascent’s client
list includes several Fortune 500 companies
and primarily serves the technology, financial,
healthcare, telecommunications, pharmaceutical,
and other industries.
In Q2 2016, Ascent purchased a 45,000 SF data center
in Plano previously occupied by an enterprise user.
The hardened facility is currently equipped with
2.7 MW of commissioned power and can be expanded
to 7.2 MW. Ascent intends to invest $90 million in
the project.
CARRIER-1
Carrier-1 is a colocation company headquartered in
Dallas, TX. The company’s executive team comes
with extensive experience in the data center market,
working with companies like CoreXchange and The
Planet. As of 1Q 2018, Carrier-1 has delivered nearly
30,000 SF data center space with over 2.5 MW of
critical power available. The first 1 MW, 10,000
SF data hall has been fully leased, with another
identical hall and several private suites currently
available. The facility has the capacity to handle an
additional 40,000 SF of data center space and 4.0 MW
of critical power. The UPS infrastructure has been
constructed to an N+1 standard while the generators
are N+2. In addition, the facility provides over 30,000
of office and support space.

© 2018, Data Center Frontier 9


SPECIAL REPORT
COLOGIX
Cologix is a colocation provider with a footprint in
multiple U.S. and Canadian markets. The Denver-
based firm delivers colocation, network, and
interconnection services. The company’s growth
strategy is based on acquiring data centers in
strategic, densely-connected markets. In 1Q
2017, Cologix was acquired by private equity firm
Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners. Stonepeak intends
to invest $500 million to expand Cologix’s presence
in the data center and communications industries.
The Cologix Dallas facility is housed at the Infomart
Dallas, the city’s largest carrier hotel. Their 12,000
SF data center at the Infomart Dallas opened in 2012
and can house up to 300 cabinets. It’s their second
data center within the Infomart Dallas.
Compass Data Centers’ product, which is
typically constructed as 10,000 SF of data
center space and 1.2 MW, can be built
anywhere, delivered in six months, and
is Tier III Designed and Certified by the
Uptime Institute.
COMPASS DATA CENTERS
Compass Data Centers is headquartered in Dallas, TX
and delivers data centers for customers throughout
the United States. Their product, which is typically
constructed as 10,000 SF of data center space and
1.2 MW, can be built anywhere, delivered in six
months, and is Tier III Designed and Certified by the
Uptime Institute. This ensures customers the data
center purchased is the data center delivered.
In Q3 2016, Compass partnered with TierPoint
to construct a new data center in Allen, Texas.
Delivering 16,000 SF of raised floor as Phase I,
the facility will total 90,000 SF at full buildout.
The data center was delivered in Q2 2017.
CYRUSONE
CyrusOne is a global colocation company head-
quartered in Dallas, TX. They have 40 data center
facilities throughout the United States, Europe and
Asia. The company’s strong customer relationships
with Fortune 1000 data center users made them
an attractive acquisition for Cincinnati Bell in 2010
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
for $525 million. CyrusOne went public in Q1 2013,
steadily growing through both construction of new
data center facilities in top markets and strategic
acquisitions of rivals. For example, in July 2015,
CyrusOne acquired Cervalis to gain four data center
facilities serving the New York metropolitan area.
After going public, CyrusOne relocated their
corporate headquarters to Dallas/Fort Worth.
In 2011, they purchased a former warehouse space
at 1649 West Frankford Road in the Dallas suburb
of Carrollton, and have since been developing data
center infrastructure within the massive building.
CyrusOne’s data halls in 1649 West Frankford are
approximately 55,000 SF of data center space with
4.5 MW to 9.0 MW of critical IT load available.
The operator has recently delivered the fifth data
hall at the facility and is actively pursuing tenants
for the new capacity.
In 2Q 2017, CyrusOne announced their purchase of
a 65-acre campus in Allen. The campus will be built
out in phases, with a 350,000 SF Phase I, 620,000 SF
Phase II, and 412,000 SF Phase III, totaling over
1.3 million SF. CyrusOne began site work in 3Q 2017
in preparing to deliver their first facility on the site.
The company is hopeful they can have it online by
1Q/2Q 2018 and is designing the new campus to
attract attention from hyper-scale cloud providers.
Cyxtera offers highly secure solutions
to meet strict requirements such as
those expected in financial and
government entities.
CYXTERA
When private equity firms BC Partners and Medina
Capital acquired CenturyLink’s colocation portfolio
in 2017, they combined the assets gained to create
a brand new company called Cyxtera Technologies.
Cyxtera is a global colocation business with 57 data
centers in more than 30 markets. The company offers
highly secure solutions to meet strict requirements
such as those expected in financial and government
entities. Cyxtera Technologies is headquartered
out of Coral Gables, Florida and is comprised of
Cryptzone, Catbird, Easy Solutions, and Brainspace
to offer a reliable and cloud-ready infrastructure
platform for more than 3,500 customers.
10

SPECIAL REPORT
Originally built for Exodus Communications,
Cyxtera’s Dallas/Fort Worth data center at 14901
FAA Boulevard is a robust facility minutes away from
DFW International Airport. The 265,000 SF building
houses two separate Cyxtera data centers (DL1 and
DL2). Each data center has redundant power feeds
from TXU Energy, with approximately 24 MW total
utility power delivering a minimum power density of
150 W/SF. In 4Q 2017, Cyxtera improved their cloud
connectivity services in Dallas with the addition of
Megaport, providing a private, secure connection
to user’s cloud environments.
In 2016, DataBank was acquired by Digital
Bridge, an investment firm focused on
expanding wireless communications
companies, as their first venture into
the data center industry. Digital Bridge
intends to expand DataBank’s data
center portfolio.
DATABANK
DataBank is a data center company with a presence
in six markets in the United States. In 2016, DataBank
was acquired by Digital Bridge, an investment firm
focused on expanding wireless communications
companies, as their first venture into the data center
industry. Digital Bridge intends to expand DataBank’s
data center portfolio.
DataBank has two facilities in the Dallas/Fort Worth
market. One data center is located in downtown
Dallas in the former Federal Reserve building at
400 South Akard. After recently completing a
transaction downtown, they expanded and now
have 10,000 SF of data center space and 1 MW
of critical power available.
The company’s second DFW data center is a 50,000
SF facility in Richardson with 40,000 SF of data
center space. After success in selling their first three
pods, DataBank announced in 1Q 2016 they are
under construction with their fourth data hall at the
facility. Each pod delivers 1.5 MW in critical IT load.
In 2Q 2017, DataBank announced their purchase of
Stream’s data center currently under construction
in the Legacy area of Plano. The 145,000 SF facility
features 60,000 SF of white space, with the ability
to double capacity in the future.
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
Digital Realty has grown to over
180 locations across five continents
after going public in 2004; leveraging
economies of scale to measurably
benefit customers. Digital Realty delivers
colocation, powered shell, private suite,
and custom data center solutions.
DIGITAL REALTY
Digital Realty (DLR) is a real estate investment trust
(REIT) and the largest wholesale data center provider
in the world. The company has grown to over 180
locations across five continents after going public in
2004; leveraging economies of scale to measurably
benefit customers. Digital Realty delivers colocation,
powered shell, private suite, and custom data center
solutions. In July 2015, Digital Realty acquired Telx,
a New York-based company offering colocation,
interconnection and access, for $1.89 billion. The
Telx acquisition expanded and expedited Digital
Realty’s ability to provide integrated services for
SMB-to-enterprise customers.
Digital Realty is the largest data center provider in
the Dallas/Fort Worth market. While their presence
covers multiple locations, DLR’s Data Center Park-
Dallas facility at 850 East Collins in Richardson,
TX is the biggest. Anchored by an on-site private
substation, this 68-acre campus serves financial,
technology, cloud, and managed hosting companies.
Digital Realty recently delivered and leased all of
907 Security Row, a 138,000 SF, seven-pod data
center. They will increase the density of each
pod up to 1.6 MW. In 2016, Digital announced the
development of 1210 Integrity Way, a 455,000 SF,
three-story data center located directly next to
907 Security Way. The building is master-planned for
36 pods, making it the largest building Digital Realty
has developed in the Dallas market. As of 1Q 2018,
Digital Realty has delivered over 145,000 SF and
12 MW of critical capacity at 1210 Integrity, with
the ability to add 193,000 SF based on demand.
Digital Realty’s ownership of the Convergence campus
in Lewisville, TX offers users an additional land site
development opportunity. In 2012, DLR purchased the
campus for $123 million and operated it ever since.
CyrusOne and several other enterprise users operate
data centers at Convergence.
11

SPECIAL REPORT
Digital Realty’s acquisition of Telx netted an
Internet Exchange at 8435 Stemmons Freeway.
Located on the second floor, Telx operates a
20,000 SF data center in a 230,700 SF eleven-story
building. The N+1 infrastructure was built to support
approximately 1,040 kW of UPS capacity. Digital
Realty also took over a Telx location at 2323 Bryan
Street in downtown Dallas, a building they own.
In 4Q 2016, Digital Realty announced the purchase
of 48 acres of land in Garland. The $17 million
purchase will ultimately support up to 960,000 SF of
new data center space. When the Richardson campus
is complete, Digital intends to break ground on the
new campus. In 4Q 2017, Digital Realty announced
the purchase of a new land site in Garland, adjacent
to their existing Garland site.
In 2Q 2017, Digital Realty successfully executed a
lease from a large cloud provider for the second
40,000 SF data hall at 1210 Integrity. The company
is currently under construction with the third 40,000
SF data hall that will deliver 6 MW of commissioned
power when completed.
EdgeCore is a national provider of Tier III
designed data center solutions. Their
large-scale approach coupled with diverse
cloud connections make their facilities
an ideal candidate for enterprise and
hyperscale users.
EDGECORE
EdgeCore is a national provider of Tier III designed
data center solutions. Founded in 2017, EdgeCore
has plans to develop campuses in Dallas, Phoenix,
and Reno by the end of 2018. Each campus is
designed to accommodate over 100 MW of critical
capacity. Their large-scale approach coupled with
diverse cloud connections make their facilities an
ideal candidate for enterprise and hyperscale users.
EdgeCore’s Dallas campus is located in Richardson,
less than a mile from RagingWire and Digital Realty’s
Garland campuses. EdgeCore plans to build five
data centers on the campus, totaling approximately
160 MW of commissioned power and 700,000 SF of
commissioned space. Each 32 MW, 140,000 SF data
center will be fed by an on-site substation and
operate at a PUE of 1.25 or better.
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
Equinix, a California-based company,
has over 180 data centers in 44 markets
throughout the world, with access to over
450+ cloud providers in their portfolio.
EQUINIX
Equinix is a global data center company providing
colocation, interconnection, and connectivity
services to users. The California-based company has
over 180 data centers in 44 markets throughout the
world, with access to over 450+ cloud providers in
their portfolio. Equinix operates their data centers
under the International Business Exchange (IBX)
product name. The IBX system enables Equinix’s
partners and users to leverage a scalable, globally-
connected technology platform for application,
managed service, and information delivery.
Equinix pricing is typically higher due to the
ecosystems created in Equinix facilities and access
to cloud and connectivity services. In North America,
Equinix revenues come from colocation and telecom
interconnections while a mix of colocation and
managed infrastructure services bring in more
revenues for the rest of the world.
In 1Q 2018, Equinix announced their plans to
purchase the Infomart building in Downtown Dallas,
a 1.6 million SF carrier hotel, for $800 million. The
majority of Equinix’s DFW footprint lies within the
Infomart, where it operates four data halls. Perhaps
the biggest differentiator with Equinix’s Dallas
footprint is they contain over 100 network providers,
offering direct connectivity to quality cloud and
content services. The Dallas Equinix facility is a
major peering network exchange for the southern
United States.
In 3Q 2015, Equinix announced an expansion in
Plano, TX with T5 Data Centers. A lead tenant pushed
Equinix to expand into the large facility and they
will be the only data center colocation provider in
the facility. Both Thomson Reuters and T-Mobile also
have a large presence at the data center. In 1Q 2016,
Equinix delivered DA7, a 38,000 SF of data center
space and 4 MW of critical power. Equinix also holds
the right to develop a larger data center on the land
directly next to the facility, which is currently owned
by T5 Data Centers. This is their first expansion in the
DFW market outside of the downtown Dallas area.
12

SPECIAL REPORT
EVOCATIVE
Evocative is an IT solutions provider based in
Emeryville, CA that focuses on providing colocation
and cloud services to customers in the Western
United States. The company’s roots date to 1996,
with new ownership in 2017. Evocative currently
operates a handful of data centers located in
California, Nevada, Phoenix, and Dallas, and
specializes in meeting the varied infrastructure needs
of small and midsized enterprises. In 2017, Evocative
acquired two California facilities from 365 Data
Centers, increasing its geographical footprint and
pool of available resources. In 1Q 2018, Evocative
purchased Cyberverse, adding three data centers to
their portfolio. Among the purchased facilities was
Cyberverse’s 600 kW leased space inside Aligned’s
Dallas data center in Plano.
Founded in 2000 as Peak 10, Flexential
concentrates on managed cloud services
such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
and disaster.
FLEXENTIAL
Flexential provides cloud computing, data center,
and other scalable technology infrastructure
solutions and managed services, primarily for mid-
market businesses. The company is headquartered in
Charlotte, NC and has a growing data center footprint
in the southeastern corner of the United States.
Founded in 2000 as Peak 10, Flexential concentrates
on managed cloud services such as infrastructure
as a service (IaaS) and disaster. In 3Q 2017, Peak 10
completed their acquisition of ViaWest, giving the
company a portfolio spanning 40 data centers across
20 different markets. In 1Q 2018, the combined
companies rebranded as Flexential.
Flexential has a presence in downtown Dallas and
Richardson, TX. Their downtown facility, located at
the Infomart Dallas, is 100% leased. Flexential data
center in Richardson, located at 3010 Waterview, is
approximately 80% full, with both shared and private
suites available. The building, which Flexential leases
approximately 85,000 SF in, was purchased in 1Q
2016 by GI Partners, a private equity firm out of San
Francisco. There are several other tenants in the
facility as well.
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
In 4Q 2016, Flexential delivered their newest facility
in Plano. The data center will operate 148,000 SF
of high density raised floor at full build, with a
projected PUE of 1.3.
H5 COLO
H5 COLO is a Dallas-based provider of fault-tolerant
IT infrastructure for a wide variety of industries and
clients. The company operates a secure, carrier-
neutral, and purpose-built SSAE 16 Type 2-compliant
facility with an onsite network operations center and
in-house engineering teams.
H5 COLO’s data center on the second floor (four story
building) of 12712 Park Central in Dallas is blocks
from the “High Five” freeway interchange, a prime
location to reach both downtown Dallas and growing
data center clusters in the city’s northern suburbs.
The H5 COLO facility is designed to deliver 200 W/SF
with N+1 redundancy for the UPS, power, and cooling
infrastructure.
IBM SOFTLAYER
SoftLayer, purchased by IBM in 2013, is a Dallas-
based global cloud infrastructure company, which
has focused on high-performance server hardware
and a unified, software-defined networking platform
to provide managed enterprise server hosting,
networking, and cloud computing services. SoftLayer
has a unique pay-as-you-go model, allowing users
to spin up a server for a month for free. Currently,
SoftLayer has 13 North American locations as well as
multiple international sites.
SoftLayer has a unique pay-as-you-go
model, allowing users to spin up a server
for a month for free.
In 2010, SoftLayer consolidated much of their data
center operations in the DFW market into the Digital
Realty Data Center Park campus. The majority of
SoftLayer operates six data centers in DFW: Dallas
01, Dallas 02, Dallas 05, Dallas 06, Dallas 07, and
Dallas 09. All of these high-density data centers are
configured for N+1 power and cooling infrastructure
redundancy.
13

SPECIAL REPORT
ILAND
Privately-owned iland is a global cloud infrastructure
provider focusing on private and hybrid enterprise
cloud implementations. It delivers both colocation
and managed cloud services over their eight strategic
data center locations (five in North America, two in
Europe, and one in Asia).
iland’s DFW data center is a key location
for iland to deliver their VMware-powered
Enterprise Cloud Service (IaaS), private
cloud infrastructure, and disaster recovery
as a service solutions.
The iland cloud data center in DFW is located inside
the CyrusOne-owned 1649 W Frankford facility. This
enables iland to leverage up to 9 MW critical IT load
and N+1 UPS power/N+1 and 2N emergency generator
configurations in the building. Their DFW data center
is a key location for iland to deliver their VMware-
powered Enterprise Cloud Service (IaaS), private
cloud infrastructure, and disaster recovery as a
service solutions.
INAP
INAP, formerly known as Internap, is a colocation
company headquartered in Atlanta, GA offering
colocation, cloud, and managed services in
15 markets.
Their Dallas/Fort Worth facility is located in Plano,
TX. Internap converted the building, which was
previously a call center, into a 55,000 SF data center
at full build. With 10+ fiber providers to achieve
carrier neutrality and 3 MW of critical IT load,
customers looking for colocation and cloud services
continue to view Internap as a logical partner option.
In 3Q 2017, INAP announced the expansion of their
Dallas data center. The addition will add another
1+ MW pod. In 1Q 2018, INAP executed a lease
with an unnamed social media networking group.
The group will lease capacity at INAP’s Dallas and
Northern California data centers.
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
QTS DATA CENTERS
QTS Realty Trust (QTS) has more than 20 data center
properties in the continental United States. The
company traditionally finds large, robust facilities and
transforms them into LEED-certified data centers.
In May 2015, QTS acquired Carpathia Hosting, a
competitor whose secure hybrid cloud solutions
and VMware partnership enhanced QTS’ ability
to serve government agencies. QTS now operates
Carpathia’s eight domestic data centers spread over
five cities. Three cities in Virginia—Ashburn, Dulles,
and Harrisonburg—Phoenix, AZ, and San Jose, CA.
QTS also acquired Carpathia’s five international data
centers located in Toronto, Amsterdam, London,
Hong Kong, and Sydney giving QTS its first globally-
connected network.
QTS also acquired Carpathia’s five
international data centers located in
Toronto, Amsterdam, London, Hong Kong,
and Sydney giving QTS its first globally-
connected network.
QTS is extremely active at their large facility at
6431 Longhorn Drive in Irving, a suburb halfway
between Ft. Worth and Dallas. The company bought
a 40-acre land site with a 700,000 SF semiconductor
manufacturing plant in 2013 and is retrofitting it
in phases for data center use. QTS delivered the
first two data halls of Phase 1 soon after, and one
of which was fully leased by a technology company
before delivery. The facility receives power from
two separate 138 kV utility feeds and has an on-site
substation. In 3Q 2017, QTS began expanding
their campus in Irving. The expansion will include
constructing an additional building on their Irving
site. Because QTS owns all 40 acres of the site,
they can build another 600,000 SF facility.
In 1Q 2016, QTS announced the signing of a 4 MW
customer in their sixth data center hall in the Dallas
facility. The current tenant also has an additional
4 MW in the data center as well.
In 1Q 2017, QTS acquired a data center in Fort Worth
from HCSC in a sale-leaseback transaction. The
purpose-built 260,000 SF data center currently holds
40,000 SF of raised floor space, and is capable of
expanding up to 80,000 SF.
14

SPECIAL REPORT
RAGINGWIRE
Founded in 2000, RagingWire Data Centers was one
of the early entrants in data center colocation and
has earned a reputation for building and operating
mission critical data centers. The company currently
operates over 1.5 million SF of data center space
with 113 MW of power at its campuses in Ashburn,
Virginia; Dallas, Texas; and Sacramento, California.
Over the last three years, RagingWire has doubled
its capacity as its new wholesale designs have
garnered significant market acceptance. The
company is actively building across its data center
campuses and planning for growth in the top US data
center markets.
The majority of RagingWire was acquired in 1Q 2014
by NTT Communications in an effort to expand their
North America footprint. In 1Q 2018, NTT acquired
the remaining portion of RagingWire to achieve
100% ownership. RagingWire remains a separate legal
entity with the financial backing of one of the largest
companies in the world and a global portfolio of
140 data center in 20 countries.
Over the last three years, RagingWire has
doubled its capacity as its new wholesale
designs have garnered significant market
acceptance.
RagingWire is currently developing a large campus in
Garland, TX that can hold five buildings, one million
SF, and 80 MW, on a 42-acre tract. In 2017 RagingWire
opened the 230,000 SF, 16 MW TX1 Data Center, with
customizable 1 MW, 2MW and 5 MW vaults available
for lease. Power is supplied by Garland’s municipal
power company at the city’s cost (approximately
$.04 to $.05 per kW hour).
In 3Q 2017, RagingWire executed a 2 MW lease in
the first hall at their TX1 facility. RagingWire also
announced its new Cloud Connect service, which
gives users a direct, private connection to their
cloud infrastructure.
SKYBOX DATACENTERS
Skybox Data Centers is a data center development
company located in Dallas, TX. Founded in 2013,
the company is delivering data centers designed
for enterprise users, specifically those with high
performance computing requirements. The firm
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
has partnered with T5 Data Centers Facilities
Management, who provides facilities support and
operations management for their Houston facility.
Skybox will continue to grow in other markets.
Skybox has completed a 14.4 MW, 150,000 SF
powered shell in the Plano market, which Skybox
chose due to the amount of corporate growth seen
in the city and its surrounding suburbs.
STREAM DATA CENTERS
Stream Data Centers is a Dallas, TX-based data
center provider specializing in developing secure,
enterprise-grade facilities marketed to Fortune 500
companies. Since its inception in 1999, Stream has
acquired and developed more than 1.5 million square
feet of data center space, representing over 156
MW of power. Stream builds its data centers in three
standard configurations. The private configurations
are purpose-built facilities for either multi-tenant
or single-tenant data centers. The ready-to-fit
configurations are often large powered shell-style
centers, and the build-to-suit configurations are
customizable to meet the needs of the customer.
In 1Q 2015, Stream sold its facility in Richardson to
TD Ameritrade. The facility, in close proximity to a
Bank of America data center, is 73,320 SF.
In 1Q 2016, Stream announced the development of
a 210,000 SF powered shell building in the Legacy
area of Plano. The company purchased 16 acres and
will develop the building to LEED Silver Certification.
Stream previously developed a powered shell building
in Legacy that was purchased by a large enterprise
user in 2016.
In 1Q 2017, Stream broke ground on the Legacy data
center. In 2Q 2017, Stream announced the sale of the
Legacy facility to DataBank. The data center will be
DataBank’s third facility in Dallas.
15

SPECIAL REPORT
SUNGARD AVAILABILITY SERVICES
Sungard AS is a global data center provider offering
disaster recovery, cloud and managed hosting to
customers. The company is also focused on providing
services around application management, security
and compliance, and business continuity.
Sungard’s facility in Richardson, TX is a fully-leased,
75,000 SF building located in the Telecom Corridor.
The facility contains 35,000 SF of data center space
and is SSAE 16 SOC 1 Certified.
T5 DATA CENTERS
T5 Data Centers is an experienced colocation
developer headquartered in Atlanta, GA. T5 delivers
colocation, powered shells, and build to suit data
centers to enterprise clients across the United States.
Backed by solid financial partners, the company
has data centers in the following markets: Atlanta,
Chicago, Colorado Springs, Dallas, Kings Mountain,
Los Angeles, New York, Portland, and Dublin.
T5’s Dallas facility is located in the northern suburb
of Plano in the Legacy Business Park. Purchased
from an enterprise user whose plans to convert the
purpose-built shell into a data center stalled in
2011, T5 leases the facility to users as wholesale
colocation. The largest colocation transaction to date
in the DFW market was completed at this facility in
2012. In August 2015, T5 Data Centers executed a
transaction with Equinix to take the final data hall,
which also included the opportunity to expand on
land directly west of the facility.
In 2Q 2016, T5 announced the purchase of a 9.0 acre
site directly adjacent to their existing Plano data
center. The new 156,000 SF data center will add an
additional 10.75 MW and 94,000 SF of commissioned
space at full build. Construction began in 3Q 2016,
and T5 is currently developing 2.15 MW.
In 4Q 2017, T5 delivered the first phase at their
Dallas III data center. The data center offers 2.15 MW
of critical capacity, with more to be added in phases.
Additionally, T5 announced their plans for a
new multi-building campus on 400 acres in the
AllianceTexas business park in Fort Worth. T5@
Alliance is being created by T5 and IPI Data Center
Partners, an investment fund backed by the deep
pockets of Silicon Valley wealth management firm
Iconiq and Iron Point Partners.
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
TIERPOINT
TierPoint is a cloud, colocation, and managed
services provider headquartered in St. Louis, MO.
The company’s national growth strategy is to acquire
operators of highly-redundant, carrier-neutral data
centers in mostly underserved or secondary markets.
TierPoint’s largest acquisition to date was the
$575 million purchase of an enterprise managed IT
services provider Windstream’s data center assets in
October 2015. The Windstream acquisition increased
TierPoint’s data center footprint in major U.S.
markets and enabled both companies to sell their
respective products and services to each other’s
customers through referrals.
Their facility in Dallas is a 68,000 SF retrofitted data
center to the west of downtown Dallas. TierPoint
announced the delivery of its cloud infrastructure
as a service (IaaS) offering in Q3 2014.
In 3Q 2016, TierPoint partnered with Compass Data
Centers to construct a new data center in Allen.
Delivering 16,000 SF of raised floor as Phase I, the
facility will total 90,000 SF at full buildout. The data
center was delivered in 2Q 2017.
ZCOLO
Boulder, CO-based zColo is a carrier-neutral data
center provider whose parent company, Zayo, is
a publicly-traded global provider of bandwidth
infrastructure services. zColo’s data center footprint
of 34 facilities extends to over twenty United States
markets. In 2015, the company purchased Latisys, a
provider of hybrid Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
solutions for cloud and colocation customers, for
$675 million.
zColo’s Dallas presence (at 2323 Bryan and in
the Infomart Dallas) was increased in 1Q 2014
when they purchased CoreXchange, a colocation
company with facilities at 8600 Harry Hines and
1950 North Stemmons. zColo is continuing to sell
into both buildings.
In 1Q 2016, zColo purchased 1100 Empire from
Stream Data Centers. The 36,000 SF site provides
zColo with additional opportunities to grow in Dallas
while also providing their users with increased
connectivity options tying back to both 1950 N
Stemmons and 2323 Bryan.
16
 Dallas Data Center Market
SPECIAL REPORT

Customer Search Trends

Search trends at datacenterHawk provide insights into customer interest in the Dallas data center market.

The Search Market Graph displays the percentage Dallas is searched by colocation, cloud or site on a quarterly
basis; The search is performed by datacenterHawk registered and unregistered users.

The Market Solutions Graph displays the type of data centers (colocation, cloud or site) searched by percentage
in Dallas on a quarterly basis; The search is performed by datacenterHawk registered and unregistered users.

© 2018, Data Center Frontier 17

 Dallas Data Center Market
SPECIAL REPORT

About Our Sponsor

RagingWire’s Dallas TX1 Data Center, which was a finalist for the “World’s Most Beautiful Data
Center” award in an international contest.

RagingWire Data Centers

www.ragingwire.com
RagingWire was one of the early companies that helped to build what would one day
become a multi-billion dollar global industry — data center colocation.
The company was founded in the year 2000 to solve a problem – currently available
data center solutions were not enterprise grade. The RagingWire team set out to
design, build and operate world-class, cost-effective data centers in which multiple
tenants could have dedicated, secured deployments within a common facility. This
model of companies “co-locating” their computing systems in a data center eventually
became the data center colocation industry.
Over the years, the RagingWire colocation model has been refined and expanded to
deliver large scale, build-to-suit wholesale data center solutions as well as private
vaults, dedicated cages, and multi-rack deployments.
RagingWire is continuing to grow from coast to coast across the U.S. From the tech hub
of Silicon Valley to the fiber rich “Data Center Alley” in Northern Virginia, RagingWire is
planning to build state-of-the-art facilities in the top data center markets.
Currently, RagingWire has 113MW of critical IT load spread across 1.5 million square
feet of data center infrastructure in Ashburn, Virginia; Dallas, Texas; and Sacramento,
California with significant growth plans in these locations and other top North
American data center markets.
As a part of NTT (a $100 billion, 240,000-employee company), RagingWire is one of the
most financially strong data center providers, connecting its clients to one of the largest
data center platforms in the world with 140 data centers in 20 countries worldwide.

© 2018, Data Center Frontier 18


SPECIAL REPORT
Methodology
datacenterHawk continuously monitors data center
development and activity in 35 regional North
American markets. Regional markets are placed
into one of two categories:
1. Primary — Data center markets with larger
number of colocation and cloud providers.
These are in major cities with diverse business
sectors and large economies
2. Secondary — Data center markets with smaller
number of colocation and cloud providers.
These are in midsized cities with small-to-
medium economies
Primary and Secondary data center market sizes are
defined based on the total amount of power and
space in the market. The total amount of power
and space in each market is calculated based on
four key attributes:
1. The amount of commissioned power and space
2. The amount of available power and space
3. The amount of under construction power
and space
4. The amount of planned power and space
METHODOLOGY EXAMPLE
Data Center Provider A builds a 75,000 gross square
foot data center, with three separate data halls of
1,200 kilowatts (kW) and 10,000 square feet (SF)
of data center space each during a phased
datacenterHawk has made every attempt to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information provided.
However, the information is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. datacenterHawk does not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, or reliability of
the information provided.
© 2018, Data Center Frontier
Dallas Data Center Market
construction. Data Center Provider A leases one of
the three data halls (1,200 kW/10,000 SF) to a user
and completes construction on the second data hall
(1,200 kW/10,000 SF) to be ready for the next leasing
opportunity. The third data hall is in shell condition
and therefore considered “planned” space. The
resulting datacenterHawk analysis of Data Center
Provider A’s power and space capacity is shown in
the graphic below.
In addition, the datacenterHawk analysis considers
that many colocation and cloud providers lease
infrastructure from larger data center providers.
In datacenterHawk’s analysis, power, and space
leased from one data center provider to another
is counted only once. As an example, if the lease
completed by Data Center Provider A in the scenario
above was completed with Data Center Provider B
with the intent to lease that 1,200 kW/10,000 SF of
commissioned power and space to smaller customers,
the analysis would only include the 1,200 kW of
commissioned power and 10,000 SF of commissioned
space one time.
These attributes in each market are tracked and
refreshed on a quarterly basis throughout the
year. Through the continuous monitoring of these
components, a baseline is calculated for each market
that is used to measure market growth and deliver
the most current and valuable information needed.
19