When it comes to big data, Wyoming typically is not the first location that comes to mind but Microsoft is betting big on the state to the tune of $112 million dollars according to datacenterknowledge.com.
While Wyoming may not be first on your premier locations for a data center, the location does have a lot going for it including redundant fiber optic connections, naturally cool climate and abundant affordable energy.
“Microsoft’s decision recognizes that Wyoming is a hand and glove fit as a leading site for data centers and technology-related companies,” said Gov. Matt Mead. “Wyoming is a perfect fit for data centers. We have abundant, affordable energy. Our naturally cool climate decreases costs for data centers and we have redundant fiber optics.”
No information was given on what the site could be used for but we asked our friends on Twitter, Mary-Jo Foley and Rick Vanover, about what they suspect the site might be used for. MJF took a friendly jab saying that it could be another Azure datacenter to power iCloud (someone tip digitimes!) but on a more serious note, MJF speculates that it could simply be more Azure hosting. Rick Vanonver thought it could be possibly a Cloud/Azure services for mobile/tablets or possibly a large CDN (Content Delivery Network) for multimedia. As for us? We are hedging our bets that it’s Azure hosting but there is a chance it could be used to support Farmville for WOA.
Whatever the new use for the datacenter, Microsoft is pushing $112 million into the Wyoming economy and the state hopes that because Microsoft is operating there, that it will attract other datacenters in the future to make Wyoming a hotbed for data scientists.