Philly's Data Center Aspirations
Can the City of Brotherly Love become the City of Data Center Love? PECO's Ed Piscopo seems to think it's possible. We chatted with Ed last week as our second annual Greater Philadelphia Data Center Boom event fast approaches (May 21 and tickets can be bought here). Ed (seen here rappelling down One Logan Square in Downtown Philly to raise money for schools and raise the hairs on the back of his head) says Philadelphia has the fundamentals to become a top-tier data center market. It already leads the second tier of data markets because of its strategic location, he tells us. All of the universities, hospitals, banks, and financial institutions within a 100-mile radius—and yes, Comcast—add up to hundreds of data players who are increasingly outsourcing their data to colo facilities but want those sites to stay local. He says he's been lobbying stakeholders in the industry, along with various PECO initiatives, to push Philly on par with NYC and DC as a data center market.
