Executive Insights: Steven Lim of RagingWire/NTT

STEVEN LIM, RagingWire/NTT

Steven Lim is responsible for the strategic direction of the company’s Product Management and Marketing teams. Over his career, Steven has led marketing teams to generate significant revenue growth and enterprise value. He has built corporate brands, shaped the customer experience, and structured unique go-to-market solutions. Prior to joining RagingWire, Steven served as a Customer Marketing Leader at LinkedIn and Vice President/Head of Marketing at Vantage Data Centers, where he was part of a senior executive team that increased the company’s valuation five-fold. Previously, Steven had management responsibilities at Equinix, McAfee and Cisco. He earned an MBA from the Graziadio Business School at Pepperdine University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Here’s the full text of Steven Lim’s insights from our Executive Roundtable:

Data Center Frontier: What is the one trend you believe will be the most significant in shaping the data center industry in 2020, and why?

Steven Lim: In 2020, the sense of urgency toward supporting a sustainable future for our planet will be front and center in every industry, especially data centers. Some ways we can improve sustainability within our industry include:

• Partner with your utility – As we build new data centers around the country, we are working with local providers such as Dominion Energy, Garland Power & Light, Portland General Electric and others to provide renewable energy options. This approach worked well in Sacramento, where our Northern California data center clients receive 100% renewable energy at stable prices that are the lowest in the state, without being exposed to market fluctuations. This renewable energy package came about from a partnership we forged with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), with whom we participate in their Greenergy and Large Commercial SolarShares programs. Greenergy allows business customers to purchase up to 100 percent of their electricity from renewable resources such as wind, water, sun and biomass. Large Commercial SolarShares allows large businesses in the Sacramento region to purchase solar energy directly from SMUD. We’re quite proud that our renewable energy agreement is the largest with a private sector company in SMUD’s 70-year history.
• Run all data center operations at peak efficiency – By implementing a wireless environmental monitoring system to provide a detailed thermal map of the data floor, we can make precise temperature and humidity adjustments to save cooling energy. We carefully increased chilled water temperatures from the initial plant design temperature of 45°F to about 60°F, which resulted in energy savings of as much as 30%. In addition, after being permanently loaded just one time, water in this closed loop does not need to be refilled. We leverage the right technology for a given environment, which enables us to go 100% waterless where possible. For instance, at our Dallas TX1 Data Center, we have installed one of the largest water-free mechanical systems in the U.S., which leverages cool air from outside and does not stress local water supplies.
• Look at all sustainability opportunities – Find ways to use more recycled materials, such as buying carpet from recycled fishnet. We recycle 100% of the cardboard, steel, copper, glass, plastic, aluminum, and other eligible materials, and we recycle 100% of our lead acid and VRLA batteries, and all the electronic waste from our own company use and as a free service to our clients.

Data Center Frontier: After several years of robust growth, leasing in the hyperscale data center market moderated in 2019. What do you foresee for the hyperscale market in 2020?

Steven Lim: We don’t foresee any significant slowdown in the hyperscale market. Some consultancies such as Synergy Research have tracked what they see as a steady, constant growth in hyperscale deployments. Synergy counted 390 hyperscale data centers worldwide at the end of 2017, and more than 500 today, with another 150+ in construction. More than 70 percent of that current hyperscale footprint is at commercial data center operators.

Some explanations for the perception of a hyperscale slowdown include:

• More competition slows down the deal flow – We didn’t see a modulation in the hyperscale market as much as we saw competition increase as more companies are chasing this attractive market sector. There are now more than a dozen data center providers in many metro areas. With so many data centers for hyperscalers to tour, evaluate and negotiate with, the sales process has become longer than before.
• Hyperscale spending has been inconsistent – Some of the largest hyperscalers have had somewhat unpredictable levels of infrastructure spending, leading to everyone’s favorite term – “lumpiness” – in leasing. The perception of a slowdown all depends on the parameters of the time period you are examining. If you look at a period from several years ago through today, you can still see a steady upward tick in hyperscale spending. But if you stay within a year or even smaller time frames, the data may not show a continuous upward movement.
• Hyperscalers are becoming more selective – More data center clients are interested in leveraging technology to connect with customers in new markets around the world. The best fit for these companies are data center providers with a global presence that support and enable end-to-end solutions. This option also offers flexibility for clients to balance their critical IT load across various locations.

The RagingWire VA3 data center in Ashburn, Virginia at sunset. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Data Center Frontier: Is the data center industry making progress on its staffing challenges? What are the most important steps to ensure a vibrant future workforce?

Steven Lim: Staffing continues to be a challenge in certain markets, but there are solutions, including:

• Offer a range of career options and locations — Having a diverse national and global footprint is a big plus, as that creates attractive opportunities for candidates to move into regions that have attributes which are appealing to them. Also, offer ways for a candidate to begin a career in one department and train to transition to a different department if they wish.
• Look far and wide – While targeted needs can be filled by recruiting companies, part of the process to find the best candidates is to broaden your scope to look for the right candidates. We have found that a very important quality in candidates is aptitude, not necessarily technical ability. People outside the data center industry, sometimes from the military or law enforcement industries, can often learn data center tasks quickly.
• Don’t be fooled by job titles – Be mindful that job titles and descriptions vary by company, so just because someone doesn’t currently have the exact job title you’re trying to fill, they may be doing the same tasks under a different job title. If candidates have worked in high-value, three-phase power, they have the background to work in data centers. They know more than they think, particularly if they’ve worked with generators, AC, etc.
• Find ways to engage with students – Develop a team to engage with middle schools and high schools to educate students about what data centers are, and the career opportunities within them. Reach out to a university to propose a program like the data center operations specialization that we helped pioneer at Northern Virginia Community College.

Data Center Frontier: There’s been intense interest in edge computing, a trend which spans multiple technologies, scenarios and use cases. How would you assess the current state of edge computing, and what developments lie ahead in 2020?

Steven Lim: There is no question that the demand for edge computing, as well as state-of-the-art data center colocation facilities, will increase as more data is created. These needs will be driven by technology including artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, machine learning, 5G wireless, and so on. Some other thoughts about where edge computing is headed in 2020:

• Edge deployments are moving closer to cell services — The increased interest in edge computing seems to be coinciding with deployments near cell networks. Many companies are trying to put micro data centers at the base of cell towers, since cell service is really data and text more than voice these days, so that trend is driving more interest in edge computing.
• Security must be tighter than ever at the edge – The rise of edge computing to handle more IOT applications does come with some points of concern however. As Forrester points out in its “Predictions 2020” document, “The adoption of emerging technologies like the internet of things is creating a larger attack surface that’s often built with only a few security controls, exposing enterprises in never-before-seen ways.”
• A strong core will still be essential – Even with a surge in edge deployments (which we may see more of in smart cities deployments), the core data center is where the heavy lifting resides, and will continue to be so in our estimation.