Corporate outsourcing of data centers and IT operations will continue because of guns. And butter. Carter Validus' John Regan made an interesting point during our Atlanta Data Center Outlook last week about why companies will continue to use outside companies for IT and data operations: “If you're good at making guns, then you should focus on making guns and put your capital toward making guns,” he says. It's about core competency: For Fortune 500 America, data centers are not a core competency, hence more will move those operations off their balance sheets.

DPR Construction's Jeff Mason says one of the hiccups with the expansion of data centers here and across the US is labor--or the lack of it. In Atlanta, with any number of new apartments going under construction, plus two major stadiums underway, “the labor market is going to be extremely stressed over the next year to two years,” he says.

SK Commercial's Tom Parker (with daughter and NAI Brannen Goddard's Lindsey Parker and Equinix's Jonathan Lin) tells us that concern over traffic and construction hasn't hurt demand at Circle 75 Office Park. If you recall here, barely a month after buying Circle 75 Office Park, Scott & Associates learned that the Braves were building the new stadium complex right next door--giving the new landlords office buildlngs with stellar views of the eventual ball field. Tom, who leases Circle 75 for the landlord, this past year, inked 150k SF in both renewals and new deals there, including one tenant who specifically moved there for proximity to the new stadium.