Speed To Market, Disciplined Owners And Big Data: Doxel’s Reid Senescu On How Data Centers Are Evolving

The construction industry has built more than 5,300 data centers in the U.S., more than 10 times that of any other country, and about $60B worth of new data center projects are under construction. 

The demand for more data centers isn’t stopping anytime soon, either, as the industry is expected to grow by 10% annually over the next six years. Speedy project delivery is essential to not only keep up with this demand but also help innovate technology and advance society.

Data center projects across the country still experience delays, however, due to scheduling setbacks, budget overruns and labor shortages — all of which can impact timely delivery. Many of these inefficiencies can be remedied with automated construction progress tracking, according to Reid Senescu, vice president of product at Doxel.ai, a California-based technology firm. 

Designed to keep projects on time and on budget, Doxel is the industry’s leading software solution for disciplined data center operators and hyperscalers that want to build faster, have more predictability and keep costs under control, he said. 

“We're seeing that companies are able to deliver data center projects 11% faster using automated progress tracking,” Senescu said. “They're able to get better outcomes and reduce the amount spent on rework and may be able to reduce their monthly cash outflow.”

Senescu will speak at Bisnow's National Data Center Investment Expo & Conference: East, alongside other industry leaders and professionals, May 21-23. Register here.

Bisnow spoke with Senescu to find out more about the trends he is witnessing in the sector, how speed to market has impacted the scope of the industry and what led him to speak at this conference. 

Bisnow: What trends have emerged in the national data center market over the past year?

Senescu: There has been tremendous pressure on data center operators and hyperscalers to deliver quickly because there's so much revenue, opportunity and profit for those owners. One trend I'm seeing is that the ones that can't deliver on time are going to get left behind. 

Disciplined owners from the hyperscalers to the colocation providers are using objective data to track construction progress to actively mitigate risk in the construction phase. This is really ensuring that they're able to start making money on time, without hitting any surprises. 

Bisnow: What have been the impacts of this “need for speed” on data center design and construction?

Senescu: The most competitive data center operators see construction as an opportunity, not a risk. 

There is a well-known McKinsey construction report that says on-site productivity can be accelerated by as much as 50% through implementing automated progress tracking. Some companies have looked at this and said, “Well, I want my schedule to be 50% faster,” so they're a little less focused on creating a buffer in their schedule to make sure they're on time and more focused on the opportunity to deliver that data center faster, with less risk, so they can get profit faster. 

Automated progress tracking is the data center builder’s control tower to oversee what's going on, identify problems and collaborate with their contractors to build faster. The owners who are seeing productivity gains on their projects are the ones that take the lead by ensuring that all of the different parties are coordinating around a common set of progress data and making the best decisions that they can from there. 

Bisnow: What are some of the challenges facing the data center industry, and is it equipped to handle them?

Senescu: There's two challenges I hear over and over and over again. The first is power. The industry is asking, “How are we going to get electricity to the site?” 

The second is labor shortages. The reality of the market is that they're all competing for the same labor. It's important that we invest in long-term solutions to labor shortages, like encouraging people to go to trade schools to get into this industry. But there is also the problem of getting the right labor on site next week. The general contractors that have really good production data tied to their schedules are able to make an excellent business case to the contractors in the market that they need their labor to keep the project on time.

Bisnow: What inspired you to speak at Bisnow's DICE East event?

Senescu: We find Bisnow events to be exciting, energizing and valuable to talk to people in the data center industry, which is exploding and attracting the most talented people in commercial real estate. There are people building incredible things out there, and they're all converging into the data center market, creating an influx of ideas and open-mindedness to try new things. We also love that we get to speak with many of our customers in one central location and meet potential customers. It’s always great to hear new and creative ways that they're applying Doxel’s near-real-time data on how their facilities are actually getting built. 

This article was produced in collaboration between Doxel and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.