Among the innumerable data centers that now span our globe and the countless organizations across technology, healthcare, government, education and beyond that leverage them, there remains a small group of providers at the top. These hyperscalers, operating massive footprints of data centers and delivering expansive cloud solutions at scale, have long dominated the digital infrastructure space.

It’s easy to see why hyperscale providers have found their enduring place in the sun in a rapidly-growing, densifying and evolving digital landscape. They possess the means to manage enormous facilities, deliver high levels of scalability and cost efficiency while remaining at the forefront of technological innovation. Not to mention, as far as IT environments go, they’re pretty good at keeping them safe and stable — exactly what anyone needs for their most critical applications and workloads. It’s no surprise then that the number of large hyperscale-operated data centers has officially passed the 1,000 mark in 2024 after clocking in at 992 at the end of 2023. The U.S. data center market accounts for 51% of global capacity — so, yes, some would say it’s a hyperscale world, and we’re just living in it.

However, hyperscalers aren’t the only hero of this story. In fact, with demands reaching toward the edge and the pursuit of low latencies growing more aggressive, the regional data center might just be the real powerhouse holding the future of compute and connectivity together.

In the Space Between the Hyperscalers

Advanced, compute-intensive applications require inordinate amounts of power, scale and security, and it’s true that these elements are the hyperscaler’s bread and butter. They deliver these assets well, so growing organizations capitalize on the flexibility, cost-efficiency and dynamism of hyperscale clouds.

Still, these aren’t the only benefits that our digital world demands. Speed, accessibility and geographical reach have primacy in our market for real-time, seamless experiences.

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and High-Performance Computing scenarios demand speed on top of security and scale. In fact, even the way we deploy inside data centers (with clustered hardware) is changing to shave off mere milliseconds in the pursuit of fast transmission and processing.

As a result, we all have seen compute moving to the edge away from major centralized data center zones. We’d go so far as to claim that today, regional and local data centers are having their time to shine.

Of course, hyperscale resources absolutely have their place in business operations, but more and more, regional and local data centers are proving to be a critical asset for a range of needs.

After all, today’s latest and greatest technological opportunities depend on:

  • Latency Reduction: Processing is most effective for experiences when it’s as close to the user as possible. Local data centers excel here, enabling real-time or near-real-time responses for entertainment use cases like gaming and streaming — or even fast financial transactions and other high-stakes applications.
  • Disaster Recovery and Redundancy: Hyperscale data centers and clouds are great for having robust resources on hand, but they’re not exempt from failure. Local and regional data centers provide a level of resilience that can make or break a business if a hyperscale outage occurs. By sharing infrastructure or connectivity across multiple locations, this redundancy keeps operations up and running and delivers continuity when it’s most critical.
  • Connectivity and Network Optimization: Most of the time, our data and workloads are only as good as our ability to share them across the footprints where they’re needed. Data center’s can no longer be resolute fortresses, they must be agile centers for sharing and mobilizing information as needed. Local and regional data centers optimize speed and reliability for connectivity — and some even serve as interconnection ecosystems for even more rich advantages.
  • Cost Efficiency: It’s true that hyperscale providers are great at delivering cost efficiencies thanks to economies of scale, but the local and regional players don’t need to break the bank. In fact, they can even be more cost effective for specific use cases or reduce added transmission expenses when workloads need to be aligned with local market demands. All this to say: When it comes to your wallet, assuming hyperscale resources are always best can lead to lackluster IT and budgetary decisions.

Of course, there are also a host of additional reasons why buying local matters in today’s IT landscape that go beyond purely technical reasons. Local teams are dedicated and offer levels of service that some larger players can’t. When you need a trusted team of experts that deliver true partnership, this is where local and regional data center teams shine. Plus, local data centers drive economic development for their surroundings, and as their client roster and connectivity ecosystems grow with new tenants, that investment gets amplified.

So, what does all of this mean for your deployment strategy? It doesn’t mean cutting out hyperscale environments altogether — that just wouldn’t be reasonable or effective. What it does mean is carefully weighing the pros and cons of hyperscale solutions against regional data centers — and beginning to notice when workloads might be better served by a different provider.

At the core of every technological win is a complete data and connectivity fabric. With only hyperscalers in the mix, holes can be created quickly. In the space between hyperscale environments, regional and local data centers pull their weight and more, closing gaps to create that next-generation fabric.

With that in mind, the best way to optimize your deployments is to prioritize data centers that can efficiently and effectively connect you to your hyperscale deployments as well.

Bridging the Hyperscale and Hyperlocal

Agility, mobility and seamless access across your footprint of IT deployments is central to effective operations, so when allocating workloads, making sure they stay connected should be paramount.

At 1623 Farnam, we’ve built from the ground up to prioritize your agility and connectivity. That’s why we’re proud to offer partnerships with Google Cloud Connect, Arelion, Console Connect, Megaport, PacketFabric and other cloud enablers. Did we mention we also deliver one of the fastest (if not the fastest) direct connection to Google Cloud in the central U.S.?

When it comes to empowering your next generation of IT, both hyperscale partners and regional partners will play a part as edge computing continues to become central for new applications. Across this growing and diversifying footprint, making sure your partners all play nice is vital for achieving the speed, reliability, security and agility your use cases need. For that, we’re always proud to be a helping hand.

Want to learn how 1623 Farnam can augment your IT and help you empower new, advanced use cases? Check out our resources section for more.