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A tale of two Phoenix buildings

The juxtaposition of two buildings under construction in the Phoenix metropolitan area signifies a new dynamic for business in 2013 and beyond. One is a 1 million square foot data center in Chandler that will be the largest of its kind in the country. The other is the W. P. Carey School’s McCord Hall, a new home for our advanced learning programs. The decision to use collocation services, such as those offered at the new Chandler building, is complex, but the students who pass through McCord Hall will be prepared to tackle them. In view of all this, what are your New Year’s resolutions?

By Michael Goul, Chairman, Department of Information Systems The juxtaposition of two buildings under construction in the Phoenix metropolitan area signifies a new dynamic for business in 2013 and beyond. One is displacing grazing sheep in an alfalfa field; the other is rising from what were tennis courts. One building will support data center colocation and the other will host advanced learning. A connecting theme is expressed in the quote of Jim Rohn on the W. P. Carey McCord Hall project site: “Whatever good things we build end up building us.” Consider building number one. CyrusOne is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell. The company, which specializes in enterprise colocation services, is constructing a whopping one million square foot data center in Chandler that will be the largest of its kind in the country when it is built out. The data center is rising from a 47-acre field where sheep grazed only months earlier. Why here? The Phoenix metro area is free from natural disasters so it is considered one of the best sites to host business critical data. Through colocation services, Fortune 500 companies on the west coast will be able to take advantage of a “marquee colocation facility and one of the most advanced data centers in the industry, featuring energy-efficient technology, cutting-edge design, and enterprise-class standards — all designed to exceed customers’ needs both now and in the future,” said Gary Wojtaszek, president of CyrusOne. Among other services, colocation providers can house a company’s data center hardware and software while delivering reliable and redundant power and cooling, state-of-the-art equipment cabinetry, fire protection systems, physical security and the highest levels of connectivity/bandwidth. According to “A Colocation Buyer’s Guide,” 64 percent of organizations engage in some sort of data center colocation services because building your own data center costs on average an expensive $1000 to $1500 per square foot. The decision to build, outsource or collocate (colo for short) a data center is becoming increasingly complex. Companies must consider the fact that colo involves relinquishing some control and must evaluate scalability possibilities, service level agreement provisions/tradeoffs, etc. Colo is not quite a classic make vs. buy decision; it is complicated by the fact that most organizations already have a data center in place and might be looking to grow it. With organizational data growing exponentially, managing and discovering insights from “big data” has become an important competitive weapon. ComputerWorld even discusses colo in the context of providing needed redundancy for business critical data. Curriculum in programs like the W. P. Carey School's Master of Science in Information Management and Master of Science in Business Analytics constantly evolves in order to prepare the next generation of decision makers. These managers will need to be qualified to tackle the sorts of decision problems surrounding colo options and to discover actionable insights hidden in growing petabytes of data. Colocation in the Phoenix metro area is big business — and there is increasing evidence of emergence of a vibrant colo industry cluster. Interestingly, it was the historical creation of the Internet for educational and governmental needs that first gave rise to colocation. Now consider building number 2. Rising from what were tennis courts on the Arizona State University campus is McCord Hall, named for Sharon Dupont McCord and the late Bob McCord. Dedicated primarily to classroom space, McCord Hall will have tiered amphitheater-style and traditional classrooms, 50 team study rooms and eight executive breakout rooms, a career center, conference facilities, an executive education center, the Avnet graduate student lounge and outdoor assembly areas. Sustainability features include the siting of the building, which optimizes the sun during cold months and shade in summer. Native plantings will minimize water consumption and provide natural shading. The building itself has a variety of shading systems. The roof will be equipped with a photovoltaic array to provide electricity for the school and university. Displacement ventilation throughout entire building will use significantly less energy and will take advantage of the raised floor. In addition to the top-ranked W. P. Carey MBA program, specialized master’s degree programs, including the Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM) and new Master of Science in Business Analytics (MS-BA) programs will also benefit from the innovations in McCord Hall. Both programs are offered by the W. P. Carey School’s Department of Information Systems, ranked #13 by U.S. News & World Report. This state-of-the-art learning environment will leapfrog peer business school facilities in support of modern pedagogy and team-based, collaborative learning. So what is the take away from this story of two new 2013 buildings on the rise? Let’s consider the full context of John Rohn’s quote: "If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us." In this beginning month of 2013, the traditional time for making New Year’s resolutions, you owe it to yourself to consider your goals, plans and what you are building. Take a look at our advanced degree programs including the MSIM and MS-BA and see what might fit you. Setting new goals and designing new plans will be the start of building something good that will in turn build you, and the W. P. Carey School is a great place to get to work.  

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