 Live from the JSA Podcast Studio, presenting Data Movers, showcasing the leaders behind the headlines in the telecom and data center infrastructure industry. Hey everybody, welcome to a special edition of Greener Data here on Data Movers. I'm your host, Jamie Scott-Cutaya, founder and CEO of JSA. And along with my fabulous co-host, top B2B social influencer, Mr. Evan Christel. Hey Evan. Hey Jamie, hey everyone and welcome to Data Movers where we sit down with the most influential men and women in today's data center and network technology space supporting the infrastructure requirements of this modern world. And Jamie, good to see you. I was in your neck of the woods Southern California last week. Have you filled up your tank lately by any chance? No, I'm an electrical car gal, which kind of talks to my new greener everything world lately, but I did drive by and saw $6 on the sign. Yeah, coming to a gas station in the US near you, $6, $7 gas, which really to me highlights the importance of diversifying our energy supplies beyond gas and oil to our sustainable fuels. And I know you're really excited about that even more than I am, right? Well, the goal is to get everybody excited about our movement, hashtag greener data. We are actually about to launch a book, a multi-author book on Amazon, April 22 Earth Day, a very aggressive timeline. But as you may have remembered, back in November we put out a call for authors to contribute. And we have been so blessed to have such wonderful industry influencers and thought leaders to come together answer that call, craft incredible chapters. So now we're just binding it and setting it up for press, basically. And that actually includes one of my dear friends, an industry noted thought leader, Mr. Philip Marangela, CMO of Edge Connects, who we have with us today. Hey, Philip. Hey, Jamie. Good to see you again. Don't know about thought leader, but definitely a friend of yours. And like you, being green is certainly a passion for myself and for Edge Connects as well. Welcome, Philip. Well, Jamie, you want to get on with the first question? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this has been such a wonderful tour de force to work with you on many initiatives, but particularly greener data. Thank you again, Philip, for all that you do and Edge Connects. And maybe that's where we start. Let's give us a little for our viewers who don't know already. And I hope they do. But give us a little bit of Edge Connects background. And recently you spoke on topics at PTC that I think our industry should know and love. Yeah. Well, Mr. in Hawaii, expect to usually see you there and have those interviews in sunglasses. But funny enough, that was the first trip in like two years. So that was a bit odd to do a business trip and see folks, not as crowded as usual, but slowly but surely kind of getting back into the groove and mix with things. But yeah, I had the pleasure of speaking with Barb out there in spite of the pandemic and all the stuff that's going on in the world, certainly for us. And I think the data set in general, it's booming right now. And especially internationally, last year we expanded into India. And we did a joint venture with Adani Connects. And one of the big reasons why we partnered with Adani is they're the largest renewable energy provider in the country. And so that will help kind of power our facilities over there with direct green energy, renewable solar, wind, and so forth. Towards the end of the year, we did an investment in Chaiora. So we entered the Chinese market, data center market. So book-ins of two massive markets, massive countries, massive opportunities. And then in between, you throw in adding Barcelona and Brussels and Tel Aviv and through whether it's organic or inorganic move. So definite global, kind of the global edge. It's not really the edge because a lot of that growth is massive, right? To support cloud, to support content, now you're seeing the metaverse, all this stuff. So hyper growth overall for us. And the start of this year is continuing that theme of continued market and expansion. So busy times, but again, knock on wood, very fortunate to be in the industry that we're in right now. Wow, congratulations on all the success and on focusing on those emerging markets where you can even have a bigger impact than developed markets like ours. So it seems your mantra is customers, people, and planet, not just focus on the customer, but are preserving our planet for future generations. Tell us how you look at the impact of edge connects on your core mission there of sustainability and greener data centers. And what do you see as the ultimate impact and what are the economics like? Lots to unpack there, but give us a peek behind the curtain. Yeah, good question, Evan. I mean, look, I kind of look at the print, the Japanese print behind you of that title wave, that tsunami of data, right? And when I talk about India or China or other markets around the world, it's about our customers and helping them scale up, scale out in a sustainable manner, right? And so it's very much a collaborative effort of determining where and how and when and so forth. That it's not rocket science in terms of listening to the customer, right? Don't make them come to you. We go where they need to go to better serve their customers. And then you hire the best people and you make sure those people take care of the customers as best they can. And then, like I said, you do it in a sustainable way. So it's a simple kind of three-word mantra, but if you focus and execute on that, our CEO is the rest should take care of itself. But for us, the sustainability component to that, the planet aspect and why we're talking today and why Jamie is doing this fantastic effort with her book that so many people have contributed to, it's becoming table stakes for us, right? In the data center industry and we obviously consume a lot of power, but at the same time, we are trying to be as efficient as we possibly can. And that's one thing is like, there's no competition when it comes to the planet, right? And so we're all, what's great about that is we're all collaborative, we're very open in sharing in terms of innovation and technologies and concepts and ideas of how we can be collectively as an industry more green. And that's what's fantastic, right? And whether it's the hyperscalers, whether, and it's everybody in the supply chain, right? So the hyperscalers, providers like ourselves, suppliers of the technology and the infrastructure that goes into the data center and end users, and we're all trying to become greener and more efficient. And that's been the fun part is, we don't have these silos as much anymore. When you're talking about common solutions to carbon reduction or water reduction or waste reduction, that's awesome to work with all the great people in the industry, the smart people in the industry to just solve for some of these green data center requirements and challenges around the world. And you know, when I, I'm so proud and so excited about launching this book with you again, April 22nd, Earth Day, we have 24 authors who are contributing a total of 20 chapters. So unbelievable, unbelievable accomplishment. And, but your chapter really did stand out to me. And I just loved your heart that you put into your chapter. I appreciate you. I also loved the perspective that you gave us from a real, you know, global. We got folks who are hyper local on what they were doing in their neck of the woods and addressing greener data, but you were a really wonderful chapter where you could stand back, looking at all your assets spanning the earth and really start to talk a little bit broadly about, you know, how to leverage existing governments and regulations and to get the most out of each of those facilities. I don't know if I'm doing it justice, but would you want to give us a little preview of that? Yeah, no, I mean, you know, on that point, Jamie, you know, I touched on India, right? And the lessons we're learning in India, we're trying to apply across the global platform, right? In terms of the energy that we're, you know, directly creating to power these facilities, right? And trying to create these partnerships between, you know, renewable energy companies in terms of the source of power and then obviously, you know, data center providers like ourselves. And it's also holistic, right? It's carbon gets the big component of the visibility of the discussion, but it's thinking about all aspects, right? It's water, it's waste. It's, you know, and it's land and how we give, you know, it's not even being carbon neutral, it's being carbon negative, right? And so, you know, and then, you know, you factor in some of the social components and the people components around diversity and inclusion. So, and then you're being transparent with that. You set high goals and you share publicly with, you know, how are you doing with these objectives? You see the hyperscalers talking about their goals by 2030 or, you know, 2040 or whatever. And we're all trying to do, and it goes to my point, we're all trying to have aggressive goals and self-regulate ourselves and collaborate together to achieve these common goals for the planet, right? So, and so that's the beauty of it. And again, emblematic of your book where you have 20 plus authors coming together with the common kind of grand vision and the grand kind of goals and objectives, but each taking it in their own different way and perspective, right? Whether it's global, whether it's on the macro level or the micro level, it's all goodness, right? And we can all learn and apply the big stuff to the little and vice versa. And so that's what's exciting about the whole endeavor. Yeah, it's amazing to see and our industry as a whole is moving slowly towards a more sustainable future. But in my humble opinion, some of that is kind of marketing hype or greenwashing as it's called, but you really are, you know, walking the walk and just talking the talk. What do you think? How can our industry create a more global comprehensive sustainability strategy beyond the marketing? I don't know how to take that, Evan, as a chief marketing officer. No, look, again, it's, you know, there's organizations, right? There's like in Europe, you have the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact, right? You have the infrastructure masons, right? And you have the efforts that Jamie's doing and so forth that, you know, on the one hand, there's a lot of educational component, right? And I think that's been, you know, you can say it's greenwashing and so forth, but in all honesty, I do feel that the data center industry has been very proactive in trying to become as green as they can, right? There's obviously the goodness for the planet, but there's also economic benefits and social benefits and all that kind of stuff. So, but what you find is there's a lot of regulatory kind of pushback, right? Even in Loudoun County where I live, right? Where there's just, I mean, we're the Mecca of data centers, you're starting to finally see some pushback on, well, how many more data centers are there gonna be, right? And, you know, but it comes to the education of folks on, look, during the pandemic, business carried on as it was, right? Because we continue to be able to communicate and work over Zoom and Teams and all these kinds of things. We continue to exercise remotely through Peloton and our kids didn't lose their minds and could game and go to school and we could still stream and all this kind of stuff, right? Pull the plug on the data center and we would have a whole different kind of discussion. So, you know, there's that, you know, the benefits, right? But not, you know, what we're trying to do is limit the cost of that on the environment as much as possible. And I think, you know, educating folks on, you know, we've come a long way, we still have a long way to go. This is where the transparency comes in. Evan, I think is a critical point of not just talking, but, you know, actually showing the progress that you're meeting those goals or exceeding that. And I think if we as a collective can be more transparent, have a, you know, industry goals, industry, you know, education on what good looks like and, you know, what those targets should be, then I think it rises, you know, the entire collective up and it's not just noise and just placating, you know, the media or regulators and so forth. Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more, Philip. You know, we've been really trying to be transparent, educate, but also we're defining and, you know, what it really means to be greener and what are the implications and then how do we measure this progress? What is, you know, even getting a baseline measurement from all countries across this great world and then trying to put goals in place as you said and work collaboratively and share ideas and technology, it is an undertaking and we're just, you know, and the folks that are rising to this high call of, you know, such as I Mason's, I think doing a terrific job talking about definitions and measurements. So I also know as your friend that you are in I Mason and they're also contributing to the book as well. Any words there and where you see sort of the industry heading forward and, you know, what do you think we'll be talking about three years from now in terms of ESG? Yeah, look, you know, for those unfamiliar, you know, the infrastructure missions that has, you know, four to five pillars that are core, right, to its philosophy, you know, diversity, more diversity into the industry, right? More education into the industry. Sustainability is a core pillar, right? And you can kind of see the kind of how they all play off each other and, you know, members of that, right, are, you know, the biggest companies in this space and, you know, we were a founding partner as well. And, you know, that's the premise as we get together and it's not about the company, it's about the bigger issues and how do we solve for those things? And, you know, look, I think sharing on the innovation, increased collaboration through, whether it's the I Masons and other organizations that are being built up, increased transparency, are all kind of essential to achieve aggressive goals. And again, you know, you read the news and you see what's happening. You know, you might have to move inland soon, Jamie, right? Like you're on the coast there. So I don't know, like, you know, oceanfront is gonna be, you know, gonna have to get some stilts or whatever, right? I know, it's a real big market. Yeah, it's scary, right? So, and I, you know, that, I think we've reached that awakening and that tipping point where, I mean, it's scary. And, you know, we, you know, look, I know you have not a newborn anymore, but, you know, relative newborn and my kids are older and it's their future, right? And you can't cut corners on that. And I think about my kids and my grandkids, you know, knock on wood one day and, you know, what's the world gonna be like if we continue at this pace? So, you know, we have to take action now, plain and simple. Yeah, absolutely. And then whether it's my personal, like you're driving an electric car and that's great. And how do we, you know, what do we do in our personal lives to what do we do in our work lives and what do we do as companies and industries and all that kind of stuff? It's gotta be a co-operative and holistic view and scope. I know that sounds like apple pie and all that goodness, but it's absolutely critical. We're at that point now where there's otherwise, like I said, you're gonna be on stilts pretty soon. Wow, deep thoughts though. Let's move from really important big topics to completely trivial small topics now in our rapid fire series of questions. So, some fun facts, let's try to get some insight into your life behind the scenes. First question, what's your favorite hobby? And you're not allowed to say email or Slack, so it has to be a real hobby. Oh no, definitely not, definitely not. Well, you know, look, I always liked working out in the yard and you just kind of, you just get in and get your hands dirty and all that kind of stuff. But during, you know, COVID, you know, my wife and I, we put the backyard garden in there and it's pretty cool. Take a seed, you grow that thing, you plant it, and then you end up seeing the literal fruits of your labor, right? And you start having all kinds of vegetables and all that good stuff. And I grew all these hot peppers and stuff and made my own hot sauce. And I was just like, you watch YouTube and look, it worked. And I was like, dang, this is, I've got a backup. I've got a backup. All right, so. That's fantastic. Yeah, I grew a complete marijuana bush from a tiny seed, it was amazing. Yeah, it's not legal yet in Virginia, so. Oh, okay, well come up and visit. It's totally legal here. Don't know what you're talking about. Marangela hot sauce, I like that. Yeah, that's definitely something we could get on eBay pretty soon. Yeah, got a ring to it. Favorite place you traveled to and a place that you're dreaming of traveling to. Well, you know, it's funny because you either like these kind of, these outdoor destinations or it's something very cultural, right? So, you know, you can do the Japan and you get all that where you just do the extreme outdoors. But there was one that kind of had both and that was Marfa, Texas, right? And I tell people that and they're like, what are you talking about, right? And so there's this little place in Eastern Texas it became this artist enclave, this cultural artist enclave. And so you go there and there's all these art installations. It's amazing, you know, and it's actually an altitude. It's almost like at 5,000 feet. So it's not like Uber hot as like the rest of Texas but you also have Big Bend National Park and you're just like the scenery and the remoteness and the is awesome, right? So you wouldn't expect it. And there's like awesome restaurants too, right? So fantastic food and just it's like this foodie little place and you would never expect in far Eastern Texas on the border of Mexico, awesome, super cool. That's where they had the Prada store in the desert. You know, that art went there. Yeah, it's like, it's not a real store. It's just, yeah, but highly recommend it or maybe not. I don't want people going there because I'm going to be crowded. All of us now who are no longer oceanfront, we have to move inland so that's pretty inland. Yeah. And where to go out of shoot? There's too many places, right? You know, there's just not enough time in too many places to go but I would love to do Patagonia. So that's on my bucket list. Awesome, me too. So next question, if you could have coffee with one person in the world today, living person out there, who would it be and why? Excluding me, of course. Okay. Okay. So I don't know, I mean, you look over coffee so it's short and sweet, you want an interest, it's always about like you guys, right? It's an interesting conversation. So somebody like that has interesting stories to tell, I would love to talk to like Bono or a Bansky, right? And just to hear their stories of what they've done and where they've been and people they've met and all that kind of stuff, just to get a little glimpse into that other side of the, you know, somebody's not in the office and just has a, you know, cool background and experiences that they've had in life. I think that'd be pretty cool. That is cool. All right, last question. What's the first concert you ever attended? You said Bono was B2 or? You know, I kicked myself because, look, I grew up in Southern Cal, right, in San Diego and I missed out on the Joshua Tree tour when they came to LA Coliseum and, but I did see him like I was 20 years ago, I'm here in DC and went with a bunch of us now old people and we had a party bus and we acted like we were young and they did the, you know, it was Joshua Tree 2.0. So that was pretty cool. So made up for that missed opportunity. But again, San Diego, you know, Reggae was big down there, Ziggy Marley of all people was like one of my first concerts as a team that I went to by myself. So, and you talked about some herbs before, there was a lot of that in the audience. So I was a lot of secondhand smoke, I must say. Well, good times and we'll get back together again at a concert soon, I hope as COVID gets behind us. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Phillip. Great to see your leadership and action on climate tech and, you know, a greener future in the data center. Yeah, awesome. Yeah, good to see you too, Evan. And always good to chat with you, Jamie. Phillip, thank you. Thank you for all you do for our industry, our planet, our people, we appreciate you. And guys, if you enjoyed today's Data Movers podcast as much as I did, be sure to check us out jsa.net slash podcast, upcoming Data Movers episodes, also featuring some greener data authors such as Phillip, releasing every other week, Wednesday mornings, as well as other JSA podcast series there. And as always, follow us on Twitter at Jay Scott and when Evan cursed out. And please keep staying safe guys. And as always, happy networking.