Facebook: “Our data centers make the world a better place”
It is not surprising that the governments of many countries are fighting for the economic well-being of their citizens, for the organization of new jobs, for the development of infrastructure in remote regions. In times of global economic downturn, these issues are even more acute. What changes for regions in this aspect bring big data centers with them? Facebook recently published a report on ECONorthwest. Let's look at it in more detail.
Facebook began the construction of its data center in 2009 in the city, and it lasted until 2011. In 2012, the creation of the second phase of this complex started, which has led to the appearance of a data center with an area of just over 30,000 sq.m.
Statistics on an object in Prinville may become interesting. Here you can see the basic principle of Facebook engaging human resources in the construction and operation of data centers. The principle boils down to the fact that at the stage of creating a data warehouse, a huge amount of labor resources is involved, while directly during the operation of the site, the number of employees drastically decreases.
The report at the same time shows that even after the completion of the main costs for the construction of the data center, revenues to the local budgets of the district did not stop.
Facebook spent on the data center project in Princeville for about $ 450 million, (capital investments excluding server costs). Actual costs for the entire project from 2009 to 2013 have already approached the figure of $ 573 million. The data center also provided the creation of an additional 1,500 jobs (including temporary). According to estimates, about 3.6 thousand workers from the entire region directly or indirectly benefited from the construction of the data center. The report also shows that out of the amount mentioned above, $ 25 million went through various channels directly to the state budget, and $ 272 million was spent on remuneration of employees and local business owners.
“The costs of maintaining the work of the data center in Prinville in 2013 amounted to $ 65 million. This amount included the costs of ongoing work and the payroll for 266 employees from the state of Oregon, ”- stated in one of the reports.
Another striking example of how the newly created data center can transform the surrounding territories is the brainchild of Facebook in Luleå, Sweden. At a recent conference there, led by the development company Node Pole DC, much was said that Facebook’s decision to host a data center near the city - a high-tech complex that was completely harmless to the fragile northern nature - literally helped revive the city. All kinds of IT companies began to deploy their representative offices within the city boundaries. In turn, increased business activity began to stimulate the opening of new hotels and restaurants. Many years of decline in the depressed region gave way to economic growth.
Most entrepreneurs - heads of territorial entities - are clearly aware of the benefits that the mere mention of the names of their cities and towns can bring in a single context with the flagships of the IT industry. This will attract even more companies. Facebook’s decision to host a data center for Luleå has already been reflected in the rapid development of local business and, as a result, the well-being of the city. Along the already beaten-up road, Facebook went another very interesting project from Hydro 66, a data center that will receive electricity from a local hydroelectric station, which could be another stage in the further development of the region’s infrastructure. In the case of Princeville, Apple came next, which is currently building its data center on a 65-hectare site.
All these data centers pay taxes to local budgets. The report, submitted by Facebook, states that only in 2013, the Oregon state budget was paid a property tax of $ 500 thousand, and more than $ 750 thousand for other tax items. Also, as part of the “patronage” assistance to the school in Princeville, $ 1.65 million was donated.
The state of Oregon over the past decades has been intensively developing the IT sector on its territory. In 2000, a crisis of IT companies, known as the “dotcom bubble” broke out in the USA, as a result of which about 43,000 people lost their jobs in this particular state. In these conditions, the data centers already built and under construction, as well as the infrastructure accompanying them, play a significant positive role not only for the global IT services market, but also for the specific people involved in maintaining the operability of data storage and processing systems.
You can write for a long time about the practical effect of creating super-modern engineering complexes for those people who, by the will of fate, received them in their neighborhood. If you sell soda in a local business park or rent housing, the effect will be huge for you, because international business pays directly to you. And the main thing here is that data centers are for years, where can they go?
What did Mr. Prinville, Oregon win?
Facebook began the construction of its data center in 2009 in the city, and it lasted until 2011. In 2012, the creation of the second phase of this complex started, which has led to the appearance of a data center with an area of just over 30,000 sq.m.
Statistics on an object in Prinville may become interesting. Here you can see the basic principle of Facebook engaging human resources in the construction and operation of data centers. The principle boils down to the fact that at the stage of creating a data warehouse, a huge amount of labor resources is involved, while directly during the operation of the site, the number of employees drastically decreases.
The report at the same time shows that even after the completion of the main costs for the construction of the data center, revenues to the local budgets of the district did not stop.
Facebook spent on the data center project in Princeville for about $ 450 million, (capital investments excluding server costs). Actual costs for the entire project from 2009 to 2013 have already approached the figure of $ 573 million. The data center also provided the creation of an additional 1,500 jobs (including temporary). According to estimates, about 3.6 thousand workers from the entire region directly or indirectly benefited from the construction of the data center. The report also shows that out of the amount mentioned above, $ 25 million went through various channels directly to the state budget, and $ 272 million was spent on remuneration of employees and local business owners.
“The costs of maintaining the work of the data center in Prinville in 2013 amounted to $ 65 million. This amount included the costs of ongoing work and the payroll for 266 employees from the state of Oregon, ”- stated in one of the reports.
Revival of the circumpolar territories
Another striking example of how the newly created data center can transform the surrounding territories is the brainchild of Facebook in Luleå, Sweden. At a recent conference there, led by the development company Node Pole DC, much was said that Facebook’s decision to host a data center near the city - a high-tech complex that was completely harmless to the fragile northern nature - literally helped revive the city. All kinds of IT companies began to deploy their representative offices within the city boundaries. In turn, increased business activity began to stimulate the opening of new hotels and restaurants. Many years of decline in the depressed region gave way to economic growth.
Domino effect
Most entrepreneurs - heads of territorial entities - are clearly aware of the benefits that the mere mention of the names of their cities and towns can bring in a single context with the flagships of the IT industry. This will attract even more companies. Facebook’s decision to host a data center for Luleå has already been reflected in the rapid development of local business and, as a result, the well-being of the city. Along the already beaten-up road, Facebook went another very interesting project from Hydro 66, a data center that will receive electricity from a local hydroelectric station, which could be another stage in the further development of the region’s infrastructure. In the case of Princeville, Apple came next, which is currently building its data center on a 65-hectare site.
All these data centers pay taxes to local budgets. The report, submitted by Facebook, states that only in 2013, the Oregon state budget was paid a property tax of $ 500 thousand, and more than $ 750 thousand for other tax items. Also, as part of the “patronage” assistance to the school in Princeville, $ 1.65 million was donated.
Data Center - as an answer to the global crisis
The state of Oregon over the past decades has been intensively developing the IT sector on its territory. In 2000, a crisis of IT companies, known as the “dotcom bubble” broke out in the USA, as a result of which about 43,000 people lost their jobs in this particular state. In these conditions, the data centers already built and under construction, as well as the infrastructure accompanying them, play a significant positive role not only for the global IT services market, but also for the specific people involved in maintaining the operability of data storage and processing systems.
You can write for a long time about the practical effect of creating super-modern engineering complexes for those people who, by the will of fate, received them in their neighborhood. If you sell soda in a local business park or rent housing, the effect will be huge for you, because international business pays directly to you. And the main thing here is that data centers are for years, where can they go?