Across North America, the data center market saw record-setting absorption levels in 2015, which means the industry is in growth mode, says JLL’s managing director and data center solutions global co-lead Bo Bond. He tells us a major trend will be driven by cloud and content providers; there’s record-setting adoption of private and public cloud offerings, which have required providers to take more space and power. Also, every day people are moving more content (pictures, videos, etc.) across their mobile devices, computers and home entertainment systems, which is driving record growth for the likes of Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, etc. Pictured: JLL’s Dallas data center solutions team of Curt Holcomb, Ali Greenwood and Bo.

As the multi-tenant data center market becomes more competitive, look for industry giants such as Verizon, CenturyLink and AT&T to shed data center space and focus on their core competencies, he says. This trend will not only strengthen the market but also create tremendous opportunity for buyers, Bo says. These portfolios will be highly sought-after and likely come at a competitive premium. Explosive economic growth in DFW is creating demand for data center space across all industry verticals. Last year’s absorption levels ranked DFW the No. 2 market in the US, just behind Northern Virginia. JLL is currently tracking 50 MWs of demand in DFW and Bo says that means the trend in 2016 will be development. We’ll see new providers with land positions, such as Raging Wire, enter the market and bring new space online by late September, he says, and the new development will continue to attract new users to our market as new supply comes available.