Colo operators that don't have cloud offerings are going to be buying up the providers who do. (People who know a lot about computers are getting a lot of attention, unlike at high school prom.)

Opus Interactive CEO Eric Hulbert tells us the migration to the cloud is filling a demand pipeline for data center services. "So many startups and new companies" are putting info on the cloud. He projects the overall data center industry to expand 4% to $156B this year. For Opus, which recently partnered with Fortune Data Centers' Hillsboro data center, it's now attempting to swim upstream to attract Fortune 500 clients. (To continue our analogy, these would be the prom queens.)

The 240k SF Fortune facility can provide up to 20MW of power. And Opus is placing staff on site. Eric tells us that data center operators are not having much trouble finding expansion capital: “With the number of people approaching us... there is a lot of money that wants to be put to work in this space... And I think it's easier to get funding when there's a real estate play.” He doesn't expect the trend to wane "save some catastrophic event.”