This Wednesday, March 22 is International Data Center Day, an effort to raise awareness of the data center industry and to inspire the next generation of talent. The initiative, launched by 7×24 Exchange International, It's part of an ongoing effort to address a looming talent gap for data centers. and cloud computing infrastructure.
The goal is to help the industry connect with future generations, ensure a steady flow of skilled labor, enhance the public image of data centers, and build public understanding of data centers and what they do.
The events objectives include:
- Providing resources to educate people about what data centers are and how they work.
- Illustrate the importance of the data center industry on our daily lives.
- Share information on pursuing a career as a data center professional.
- Create more opportunities for mission critical firms to recruit future employees
The International Data Center Day has created an education center on its web site with content for students in elementary school, high school and college.
"There is a lack of knowledge of the data center industry in educational institutions at all levels, making it extremely important and beneficial to students for industry professionals to get in front of students in person," said 7x24 Exchange International Chairman & CEO Bob Cassiliano.
The 7x24 Exchange is also encouraging data center professionals to join in the celebration by hosting data center tours, going to schools to share information, or filming short videos for social media. It is also providing banners and memes to help share the message across social media.
As Data Center Frontier noted in our 2019 forecast and executive roundtable, finding quality staff is becoming a challenge, and will grow in urgency in coming years with the graying of the existing workforce. We showcase current openings for data center professionals at the Data Center Frontier Jobs site (a partnership with Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting).
As part of International Data Center Day, 7×24 Exchange is inviting data center operators to open their doors and host data center tours for student groups, demonstrating what a data center is, and how it operates. The group has also created an educational presentation titled “What Is A Data Center?” to provide students with a user-friendly explanation of data centers and how they deliver Internet content.
For more information and ways to get involved, visit the International Data Center Day web site. For a list of local events on International Data Center Day, check the 7x24 Exchange web site. To track social posts, follow the #intldatacenterday on Twitter.
