Going Global: A Conversation With AJ Byers

The data center industry is now a global business. For developers, this means extending their operations across borders and oceans. As President, International for Compass Datacenters, AJ Byers is heading the company’s push into new markets. On this episode of the DCF Show, Byers talks about Compass’ global expansion, including its growing presence in Canada, new campus in Israel and opportunities in Europe. We also discuss the quest for more clean electricity in Montreal, where cryptocurrency and cannabis firms are also seeking power to expand their operations.

DCF Show 17: AJ Byers on Global Expansion

Listen to today’s show:

Here’s a timeline of topics AJ and I discuss on the podcast:

• 1:30 – AJ’s Career in the Canadian data center market.
• 11:00 – Compass Datacenters’ expansion into Israel.
• 14:30 – Power availability in top European cities, and how it impacts site selection.
• 18:00 – How crypto and cannabis complicate the power market in Quebec.

Here are some resources that tie into our discussion:

• Compass Acquires Root to Enter Montreal Data Center Market: AJ previously headed ROOT Data Centers, which was bought by Compass to gain entry to the fast-growing Montreal market.
• Compass Scales Up For Growth in Top Hyperscale Markets: In 2019, Compass raised $3 billion from RedBird Capital, the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund  and Israeli real estate firm Azrieli Group. The capital gives Compass the capital to build new facilities and expand into new geographic markets.
• Compass Buys Property for $100 Million Toronto Data Center Campus: In early 2020, Compass bought property for a new data center campus in Toronto,. The first phase will be a retrofit of an existing structure and support 27 megawatts of critical IT load. .

Be sure to check our our free Annual Forecast, outlining the DCF take on the most important trends to watch this year:

•  The Eight Trends That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2021

Did you like this episode? Be sure to subscribe to the Data Center Frontier show so you get future episodes on your app. We are on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find quality podcasts. You can also subscribe using our RSS feed, and tell your friends and colleagues about our podcast!

We’ve also just launched the Data Center Frontier Channel on YouTube to showcase our videos, where we explain the infrastructure that powers the digital world. If you like data centers or work in the industry, you’ll want to subscribe!