Microsoft Expands Datacenter Presence in Iowa

Kevin Williams, Director
Data Center Services

Last week, the City of West Des Moines announced that Microsoft will expand its datacenter presence in West Des Moines, Iowa, paving the way for one of its Generation 5 cloud-scale datacenters that will enhance reliability and redundancy of our cloud services via software integration. When complete, the datacenter will be one of the largest in the Microsoft portfolio with over one million square feet of colocation and support space.

The new datacenter will include four phases - each of which is nearly 2 ½ times the capacity of our previous build sites. The current design scheme will employ a massive network of underground fiber - enabling increased data capacity and reliability. The 150-acre site will house a Generation 5 facility incorporating fully-integrated software applications that are built as distributed systems into every aspect of the physical environment - from the server design to the building itself - and drive systems integration for greater reliability, scalability, efficiency, and sustainability.

Microsoft's datacenter evolution

Finding a location to support a project of this size, required careful coordination with local infrastructure groups for water, sewer, fiber capacity and synchronization for the power requirements. The decision to expand in Iowa was predicated on several factors, not the least of which is the business-friendly environment and low-cost energy. In addition, Microsoft's strong working relationship with state and local officials, as well as the city staff's knowledge of datacenter design, add up to an environment that we believe will ease the deployment and management process.  

We are excited about expanding our footprint in Iowa and look forward to better serving our customers in Iowa and beyond with expanded cloud services.