Chris Crosby is founder and CEO of Compass Datacenters. He has more than 25 years of technology, real estate, and investment experience. He received a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves as the vice chair of the board for the master’s in datacenter systems engineering degree program at Southern Methodist University and is also active in the Lonestar chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).
Remember economics class? Unless you majored in the “dismal science,” I suspect that your recollection of what you learned might drop off pretty quickly after the basic concepts of supply and demand.
I was sitting around the Crosby family compound in mid-August when the power went out. Power outages are always disruptive—you never realize how many clocks you own until you have to reset them—but they are particularly distressing when it’s summer in Texas.
The need for data center space is booming, and in response, a variety of “ancillary” streams of information have arisen to help guide the decision-making processes of beleaguered CIOs. The natural by-product of this onslaught of advice and guidance is the proliferation of the technical equivalent of urban myths – “solid tips,” “practical advice,” and “proven best practices” that are inaccurate and misleading. Passed along or cited by pundits, vendors, and well-meaning associates, these myths can lead to poor data center planning and decisionmaking.