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Already one of the top data center markets in the US, the Atlanta metro is poised for further growth. Melanie Brandt, COO of the Technology Association of Georgia, says the region’s package of end users, regulations, workforce and energy rates is just right.

The Technology Association of Georgia is an umbrella organization for about 30 industry societies. One of them is an infrastructure organization which includes data centers.

The Atlanta metro is Georgia’s data center hotbed and one of the most active data center markets in the US. Brandt says that is because technical education in the universities and colleges is strong, the state government is pro-business, and tax codes and energy rates are favorable.

Another big reason is the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport, located seven miles outside of Atlanta’s central business district. Because it is one of the world’s busiest airports, with flights to and from anywhere in the world, businesses find Atlanta a convenient location, Brandt says.

The region’s biggest data centers include QTS’s campuses in Atlanta and Suwanee.

The Atlanta site measures nearly 1m sq ft. At full build-out, it will provide about 320,000 sq ft of raised floor. The company is currently in Phase III of development at the site. 

QTS's Suwanee campus measures about 370,000 sq ft. And the colocation company has recently bought another 21 acres of land adjacent to it for future expansion, Brandt says. Other heavyweights like Digital Realty Trust, Equinix, Telx and Savvis have data centers in the market.

There are also many enterprise data centers in the area by large end users such as eTrade, RIM and HP, according to Brandt.

Given the variety of users, no industry vertical stands out in Atlanta as a distinct driver of data center demand.

“I don’t think there’s any one particular vertical that’s necessarily driving it,” Brandt says. “We have a lot of different industries that are strong.”

While the region already stands out as a favorable location for data center, the Technology Association works to make it more so by pushing lawmakers to expand the incentives available to data center operators.

To learn more about the Atlanta data center market and to meet its key players, sign up for the DatacenterDynamics Converged conference in Altanta this Thursday. Brandt is going to be one of the hall chairs at the event.