 Welcome to JSA TV, where we're covering the latest stories, trends, and innovations from leaders in global connectivity, real estate, and the networks within. Today I'm joined by two very special guests from EdgeConnex. We have Steve Lorenzo and Kevin Imboden. Gentlemen, welcome. Thank you, Buffy. Thank you so much. Glad to be here. Yeah, so exciting. We're going to be talking about the hottest markets and what it means for the future today. But in addition, maybe a little bit about some tacos and Tex-Mex. We are here live from Austin. So why don't we start with you, Kevin? You're the global director for market research and intelligence for EdgeConnex. Why don't you tell us a little bit more about your role and the work that you're doing? Sure. I know it's a big mouthful of a title. But what I do essentially is keep track of what's going on market to market, what our competitors are doing, what markets we should locate in, strategy to do so, and so forth. So there's a lot packed in there. So there's a lot of travel, a lot of meeting with folks across the industry, and a lot going on at all times, too. Yeah, definitely a lot going on at all times in our industry. I'm an EdgeConnex convention competitor. I didn't realize that you had any, but... Well, that's very kind of you. We might have one or two, yeah. And Steve, why don't you introduce yourself and tell viewers a little bit more about what you do? Sure, Buffy. I'm the director of solutions architecture or solutions engineering and some people may know better. I work on these deals that come into our bucket for size, scope, power, space, cooling. We provide guidance on, you know, base case scenarios, things of that nature where customers have big outsourcing deals and we work on those to figure out what fits them best and where we can support them, whether it be in North America or overseas. And for everyone out there who's watching, he's really good at it, too, so. Thank you. And you're a native Texan. Is that correct? I'm actually not a native Texan, but I did get here as fast as I could for the tacos that you mentioned earlier. Yeah. I'm actually from Louisiana. Okay. So, down the bay is what we call it. So nice to have you gentlemen here. So EdgeConnex expertise and experience in case viewers don't know is building the Edge, where customers want it, when they want it and how they want it. What are some of the hot markets right now? Well, overwhelmingly, we're getting a lot of traction in Southeast Asia. All across the region, there's a lot of interest there. Jakarta's been a very hot market for us for expansion for quite a while now. India is, we have our joint venture relationship with Adani. We're going to be doing over a gigawatts. That's right, a gigawatt of data centers over the next decade or so. That's in several core cities across India. Some of the markets in Western Europe are still holding, so the flat markets are still of interest. There's always a lot of growth there, limited based on the energy constraints. Right. But yeah, those are some of our prime growth areas, and then we've been successful in Latin America as well, so there will be some further announcements coming there too. Okay. And Steve, any predictions on what markets will become even hotter and hotter as the year goes on? I don't think we can pinpoint it at this time, but I believe markets that are going to be the target in the future are the ones where power costs are cheaper. Wherever power costs can be affordable for these huge people that are outsourcing, I think it's going to make a big difference. I don't think we're in the way of any more where you need to be in certain areas. I think, and what we say at the edge is take it to wherever the customer needs it. So I think you'll hear stories of Nebraska, West Texas, outskirts of Atlanta, well outskirts of Atlanta. It really, I don't think it's a target market. I think it's a target market from a power perspective where the rates are going to be, yes. So power is driving. Everything. Everything. Cost and availability. Okay. Great insight, Steve. We've run the whole world out of power as an industry, right? We vacuumed up all the power. So anything that's left, we got to grab. Right. For sure. Because without power, there is no energy. So we've been evolving as an industry over the past decade or so. It's just continuously evolving here in 2024 is right around the corner. How do you foresee the industry changing as we end the year and enter a new one? And what will drive these changes? Power obviously is one of those key drivers as it will continue to be. But why don't you give us some more insight there? So the power availability question, that's primary. But also that's changing as Steve indicated because the AI requirements that are coming. So everyone's trying to figure out how to integrate AI into their workloads. And in doing so, that's resulting in a slight change. So power is important, but maybe it's less connectivity when you're building a model. You're building an AI model. You can just be out in the middle of nowhere where power is cheaper. You run through that model, then you distribute it. So now the location situation is changing, but then how you build the data center is changing. You have to go much denser, rack to rack, and the cooling then has to change on top of that. So we're having to just make these shifts and maybe make these densities different because you're looking at something that's four to five times what it used to be. And then you have to go back in the background and engineer it. Yeah, correct. I think Kevin hit it right on the head is the AI component of our business is going to drive everything. In the past, we've built five megawatt data centers or facilities. In the future, I think the smallest ones you're going to see are 100 megawatts. And you're going to see the footprints, a lot more power consumed in one footprint than you used to see in an entire data hall maybe. So it is evolving and quickly. I mean, the hockey stick is definitely for AI is and the thing is nobody can put their finger on it right now to tell you where the limits are because there are none. It really is just it's going to be something that overtakes our industry as operators and trying to figure out how are we going to meet the needs of the customer in the future? Yeah, stay ahead of it. And I don't think we can. I think it's more just what you said, keep up with it. Yeah, at this point, I mean, AI, we're actually taking a tally here. I believe Allison's taking that tally. How many times will we say AI here at the conference and what do we have two hundreds here on JSA TV? I mean, everyone's talking about it. It's definitely a key driver for our industry and for, you know, our future as we move ahead into 2024. But back to this year, we're still here in 2023. It's been an exciting year of growth as each and every year has been for EdgeConnect. What can we expect to see specifically from EdgeConnect in the future? Well, those of you who are looking at the press wires today, probably provided by JSA, we're going big in Malaysia. That's that's going to be a huge growth market coming up for us. We have three different sites in the Kuala Lumpur metro area. And we're looking at sites elsewhere in the country. So this will be a total of 300 megawatts of full build down. So this is very sizable. It's in a reaction to all the requirements that are coming throughout Southeast Asia. We're looking at a few other key markets to keep very close on what we're doing. And then also I'd be remiss if I didn't make a personal plug for some work I'm doing. Just launched a podcast with Jeves Tan of Structure Research called the Arc Flash podcast. So Arc Flash. Yes, I thought people would get the I'll get people's attention. So that'll be having a lot of guests from across the industry. So pay attention to that, too. And that's with our friend Jeves. That's with our friend Jeves, the Structure Research. So he and I are the co-hosts. So definitely check out that podcast. Where can we find the podcast? Is it on your website or? Yeah, it's on the website, but also pull it up on YouTube. We have just a YouTube channel so you can access it there. I post everything on LinkedIn. He does as well. So. Oh, nice. Anything from your side? I think from our perspective in Edge Connects is sustainability. I think you're going to see we've continuously pushed it. That's going to be our message going forward. And we actually practice what we've reached. So I think that's going to be a big driver in the future of data centers, especially for our business. Well, thank you so much, gentlemen. So the Malaysia announcement is out today. Out today. All right. So for viewers that are tuning in, be sure to check out the announcement from Edge Connects regarding their expansion into Malaysia. And be sure to keep your eye out for all the sustainability news and updates coming out of Edge Connects and that great podcast with our friend Jebez from Structure Research. Thanks, viewers, for tuning in to another episode of JSA TV. Stay curious, stay connected and happy networking.