• Industry Overview
    • Iron Mountain, Prince William County

    Iron Mountain, Prince William County

    The World's Largest Data Center Market

    Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world and is home to 35% (almost 150) of all known hyperscale data centers worldwide. Data centers operating in Virginia benefit from densely packed fiber backbones, as well as an advantageous cost environment centered on a competitive tax rate, affordable and abundant electricity (with rapidly expanding renewable power options), and competitive construction costs. 

    Virginia offers an exemption from retail sales and use tax for qualifying computer equipment purchased by data centers that meet statutory investment and employment requirements. Virginia was the first state to allow the tenants of colocation data centers to receive the benefit of the sales tax exemption. In addition, local business property tax rates on computer and related equipment for data centers have been reduced by a number of localities. 

    Data Centers in Virginia

    Data Center Map wide

    Meta Friends Virginia

    To meet the ever-growing demands of serving substantial amounts of traffic, Meta regularly evaluates data center needs to increase capacity while keeping its energy footprint low. After zeroing in on the East Coast, Meta set out to find the location for its eighth U.S. data center in 2017.

    Read the case study
    Meta Site, Henrico County (May 2018)
    MAREA SubSea Cables Map

    Virginia is Home to the First Subsea Cable Connections in the Mid-Atlantic

    Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic location offers tech firms proximity to economic centers up and down the East Coast, including critical customer markets like the federal government, Northeast Corridor, and Southeast metro areas. 

    Virginia Beach is the landing point for four new transoceanic fiber connection cables.

    • MAREA, owned by Microsoft and Facebook and operated by Telxius, brought an ultra-high-speed ​200 terabit fiber optic cable from Bilbao, Spain, to Virginia Beach in 2018.
    • BRUSA, owned and operated by Telxius​, brought the second cable from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Virginia Beach in the 2018. BRUSA is the highest capacity subsea cable connecting the Americas, with ultrafast transmission capacity reaching up to 138 Tbps.
    • SAEx will be the only system connecting South Africa directly to the U.S.
    • Dunant, owned and operated by Google, connects the French Atlantic Coast to Virginia Beach and is the first private trans-Atlantic cable built by a non-telecom company.
    Q4 VER Cover Standard

    Virginia Economic Review

    The Fourth Quarter 2019 issue of Virginia Economic Review explored the world of Big Data, the explosion of cloud computing and data center investment, and how data is remaking industries and altering the geography of economic opportunity. Article highlights include:

    • What’s Driving the Data Boom?
    • How Virginia Became the Data Center Capital of the World
    • Down to a [Data] Science
    • Southern Virginia Rewrites Its Economic Story

    Read the Full Issue

    Dominion Offshore Wind Pilot Project

    Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind

    Virginia is Rapidly Becoming a Leader in Renewable Power

    Access to renewable energy resources is increasing, including Dominion’s solar capacity growing over 630% since 2015 with nearly 895 megawatts (MW) in operation or under development.

    Dominion Energy is developing the largest offshore wind farm on the East Coast off the coast of Virginia, with the capability to generate 2,600 megawatts – enough energy to power almost 700,000 homes.

    With decades of hands-on extensive experience supporting large data centers, Virginia’s utility partners have also  collaborated to develop a streamlined project delivery system to get new facilities up and running faster and with fewer errors than ever before, supporting facilities with expert support around the clock once a facility is online.

    As demand for cloud and online services continues to grow, Microsoft is investing in Virginia as a strategic location to help us deliver for our customers. Mecklenburg County has been a good home for Microsoft, and we’re committed to supporting the community through local partnerships to help deliver economic, social, and environmental benefits such as expanding access to high-speed broadband services and supporting skills training for positions in the information technology industry.

    Noelle Walsh Corporate Vice President, Cloud Operations + Innovation, Microsoft Corp.
    SimVentions, Stafford County

    SimVentions, Fredericksburg

    America's Top State for Talent

    Virginia offers tech firms access to the highest concentration of tech talent and the third-largest tech industry workforce in the nation, with 330,000 people working in the tech sector and/or tech occupations. Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic location facilitates talent attraction from the entire Eastern Seaboard and beyond. 

    Investing in Tomorrow's Talent, Today

    A number of workforce development programs in Virginia prepare a pipeline of talent for the data center industry.

    Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP)

    The Tech Talent Investment Program is a $1.1 billion investment in computer science education that will transform Virginia’s tech talent pipeline for the next two decades.

    The addition of more than 32,000 graduates in computer science and related fields over the next two decades (in excess of current levels) will ensure a steady stream of qualified Virginians are prepared to fill the jobs of the future.

    Virginia Tech’s Department of Computer Science

    Virginia Tech’s Department of Computer Science systems and networking track trains students to understand the interaction of software and hardware in computer systems and networks. Programs include the Distributed Systems and Storage Laboratory, where students look at the design, development, and evaluation of next-generation storage and file systems, and the Systems, Networking, and Renaissance Grokking (SyNerGy) Lab in which students conduct basic and applied research in parallel and distributed computing to provide scientists and engineers with scalable and efficient computational tools.

    Virginia Tech’s Bradley Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

    At Virginia Tech’s Bradley Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering faculty and students delve into all major areas of electrical and computer engineering. The main campus is in Blacksburg, and the department has additional research and teaching facilities in Arlington, Falls Church, and Hampton.

    Southern Virginia Higher Education Center IT Academy (ITA)

    The Southern Virginia Higher Education Center IT Academy (ITA) offers short-term training to prepare individuals with the skills and certifications required for employment in the information technology industry. ITA learning spaces include a data center lab housing five rows with 200+ servers, routers, and switches; a hardware repair center with a full complement of needed IT tools and equipment; and a trainee classroom computer lab.

    Northern Virginia Technology Council’s Data Center and Cloud Infrastructure Committee

    The Northern Virginia Technology Council’s Data Center and Cloud Infrastructure Committee promotes the interests of the region's growing data center, cloud, and critical infrastructure community in an effort to contribute to the long-term growth and prosperity of the industry. Efforts include:

    • Providing educational and training programming for its members and forums for thought leadership and the sharing of best practices.
    • Leading efforts to identify the needs of the future workforce and advocate for industry-specific education programming.
    • Standing up, in conjunction with Northern Virginia Community College, a two-year program called Engineering Technology: Datacenter Operations Technician, to provide student training in a cross-section of data center operations.

    Community College Programs in Network Administration

    Many of Virginia’s 23 community colleges offer programs of study in network administration, including:

    • Tidewater Community College - Career Studies Certificate in network administration
    • Northern Virginia Community College - Network Engineering (Specialist) Career Studies certificate
    • Piedmont Virginia Community College - Computer and Network Support Technologies Career Studies certificate 
    • Virginia Highlands Community College – Associate's degree in information technology, specialization in networking

     

    Tech Talent Investment Program

    There will be 32,000 additional graduates in excess of current levels in Computer Science and related fields over the next 20 years due to Virginia’s new education investments in tech talent.

    Download the Brochure

    America's Top State for Business

    Virginia is consistently ranked as a top location for business, and boasts a stable pro-business climate.

    Virginia offers an exemption from retail sales and use tax for qualifying computer equipment purchased by data centers that meet statutory investment and employment requirements. Virginia was the first state to allow the tenants of colocation data centers to receive the benefit of the sales tax exemption. In addition, local business property tax rates on computer and related equipment for data centers have been reduced by a number of localities.

    Learn More About the Retail Sales and Use Tax Exemption

    Learn More About America's East Coast Tech Hub

    View our brochure