Hickoryrecord.com has an article highlighting 5 North Carolina counties promoting the data center corridor. Below is a picture of Apple’s under construction data center.

5 counties promote data center corridor

Robert C. Reed

Construction is under way on the $1 billion Apple data center in Maiden.

By John Dayberry | Hickory Daily Record

Published: October 28, 2009

Maiden - Scott Millar said establishing an information technology corridor stretching northwest from Charlotte could transform the region's economy.

"Partnering with Caldwell, Burke, Alexander and Iredell counties to market this to the world may give all the counties new business opportunities," said Millar, president of the Catawba County Economic Development Corp.

But what I found mind blowing is there were 40 site selection consultants at the event.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Millar and other economic development officials from the five counties outlined plans for a North Carolina data center corridor during a marketing event that attracted nearly 40 U.S. site selection consultants specializing in data center locations.

The regional economic development group is riding the Google and Apple and wave.

California-based Google opened a $600 million data center in Caldwell County in 2008.

When Apple announced plans for its $1 billion Maiden data center in July, economic development officials saw magnified potential for a data center corridor in the region.

Apple's arrival in the region also heightened interest on the part of site selection consultants from New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and other cities, Millar said.

Attendance at the Data Center Information Exchange blossomed.

"Eight (consultants) came the first year, 18 came last year and 38 came this year," Millar said.

"We're getting attention."

But do you think 40 site selection consultants know how to pick data center sites. I would maybe guess 4 out of the 40 really know what they are doing. But, how do you find the people who know what they are doing? Do you think these guys know where Apple and Google is going to buy next? Why buy where Apple and Google already bought?

There is a even a site selection magazine.

Site Selection Magazine, a nationally recognized publication, recently acknowledged a region anchored by financial data centers in Charlotte, Apple in Catawba County, Google in Caldwell County and the state's data center in Rutherford County as an emerging data center cluster that is attracting attention within the industry.

The site is here.

And, while all these site selection consultants were in NC, I was in Missouri, arriving in Kansas City, stopping in Columbia, and about to head to St. Louis. One of the appealing parts of Missouri is the learning infrastructure.