Writing again - The Big 5 - GAFAM - Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft

I have taken a long break from writing. Waiting for something that had my interest.

What I find interesting is how Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft are driving things in the data center industry.  I've been calling this group the Big 5.  Using the letters from each you can say GAFAM.  There are a references out there on the term GAFAM meaning these 5.

Conveniently I find I cross paths with many employees of GAFAM.  I live in Redmond, working at Microsoft 1992 - 2006.  In the area there are many Amazon employees. Most of my business trips are to SJC where I'll run into Google, Apple, and Facebook employees.  Many of these people don't work in the data center groups, but I can figure out whether there is a relationship between what these people do and the data center teams.

This post is a small step to start writing again.  And writing about something that has my interests.

I like many others are kind of bored with the data center news.

Pssst, we are going to eat the Best barbecue from Franklin in Austin

Some of my DC friends are going to have some time to network in Austin after 7x24 Exchange San Antonio.

Thanks to John Dunaway's efforts we  have Franklin's bbq for tonight.  What is Franklin? http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/anthony-bourdain/video/austin-s-franklin-barbecue 

“A Day in the Life of Franklin Barbecue’s Aaron Franklin, a BBQ genius

”

— http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/a-day-in-the-life-of-austin-restaurant-franklin-barbecue-s-aaron-franklin-a-bbq-genius/?slide=1

sometimes it is best to show than write.  Here are pictures John sent.

What do you with 34 lbs of Franklin's bbq when you aren't going to eat until 7:30? Here are the directions on what we should do with the meat for the next 9 hours.

Another 7x24 Exchange - Great People and Content

I am back at 7x24 Exchange and trying out a switch to iOS only devices. I am using iPad Pro with a Logitech Create keyboard. The conference has just started officially.

Well for me it started at 4p when I walked in the lobby and started with people. Great people. Many were presenting and reminded me of the ideas they are discussing.

Attendance is over 700 and the conference carries on in its relevance in the industry.

Where is Google's Next Data Center presence in Africa after Kenya?

I've been waiting for when there would be some news worth writing about Africa.  It's been at least 3 years when I told some of my clients to think about Africa for data center development.  With Google's Renewable Energy investment in Kenya covered in Wired there is finally some news from one of the big data center players.

“GOOGLE IS BACKING Africa’s largest wind power project, two years after investing $12 million in the continent’s largest solar power project.

This morning, at a conference in Washington, D.C., the tech giant announced its support for the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project in northern Kenya, a project that could provide enough clean energy to power 2 million homes, representing about 15 percent of the capacity of the country’s power grid. The average wind speed at Lake Turkana is almost 25 mph, according to Google.

The move is Google’s 22nd investment in clean energy infrastructure, spanning a total of 2.5 gigawatts of power and more than $2 billion. Most of the company’s investment has been in the US, but Rick Needham, a Google director of energy and sustainability, says the company wants to promote clean energy in the developing world. “The fastest growing economies are here, and there’s a strong need for critical power,” he says of places like Kenya. “Economies are being held back because they don’t have enough power—and yet they have wonderful renewable resources. These nations can meet their future and growing energy needs by tapping into some of the best renewable resources in the world.””

When you look at a submarine cable you can see how Africa is a key position and there is an emerging market.

Google has made an investment in renewable energy which in all probability means a data center presence in Kenya, but to cover Africa with only one data center location does not make any sense. 

Where is Google's next data center location in Africa? 

Will China Cloud Companies coming to the USA be a Greenpeace target?

Who Greenpeace will target its environmental campaign at is an unknown.  I guessed at first it would be Dell.  Then with Facebook's move to use coal power in Oregon it became a target.  Facebook, Apple, and Google have all figured out how to escape being the primary target of Greenpeace.

If I were to guess who is Greenpeace's next target I would say Amazon, but with the moves of China Cloud companies into the USA I could be wrong again and Tencent, Alibaba, Huawei could be targets.  Datacenterknowledge posted on Huawei's latest announcement to expand.

“Chinese IT giant Huawei announced plans to invest $1 billion to grow its cloud services business, according to reports.

It is one of several major Chinese technology companies to announce a big investment program to expand cloud services. Tencent said in February it would spend $1.57 billion to grow its cloud business, and Alibaba announced a $1 billion cloud investment in July.”