Spectrum News 1 looks at why Ohio has become one of the country’s fastest-growing data center markets, with roughly 200 facilities operating and dozens more proposed. The report weighs the economic case for development against concerns raised by residents living near proposed sites.

DataBank’s Nick Long, Senior Vice President of Engineering of Operations and Service Delivery, explains what a data center does in plain terms. Every phone call, streamed show, or AI query travels through one, he says, and the concept is far older than today’s headlines suggest.

“I’ve described this as a confluence of the dot-com, the gold rush, and the railroad boom because it has characteristics of all three. It’s really the first time in American history where we’ve seen a boom that has the potential to be so revolutionary.”
Nick Long, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Operations and Service Delivery, DataBank

Long has worked in the industry for 30 years. The article traces the first dedicated data centers to the 1970s, and he notes that the concept has not changed, only the scale and the speed.

Long also points out that the need for precision computing in controlled spaces dates back to the earliest days of modern science, including the first moon landing. Research computing, he says, has been used for decades to tackle some of the hardest problems in science and technology.

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce cites roughly 100,000 jobs and $27 billion in capital investment tied to data centers in the state, while community groups push for a greater say in where new facilities are built.

Read the full article at Spectrum News 1.