DataGryd CEO Tom Brown recently sat down to talk about the past and the future of the company as part of the inaugural “Interconnect Hub Podcast.” Not only did Brown tell some interesting tales about DataGryd’s backstory, he also explored industry trends and discussed what he sees as the future of DataGryd and other data centers.
Keep reading for a synopsis of the interview with Tom Brown, as well as an idea of what to expect from upcoming podcasts in the series.
DataGryd’s Formation
DataGryd was founded on the vision of creating a world-class data center, and since its inception in 2011, the company has been empowering the global data economy from one of New York City’s best-known buildings. DataGryd’s location, the iconic 60 Hudson Street in downtown Manhattan, was constructed in 1929 as the headquarters of Western Union. The Art Deco edifice, which has since been granted landmark status, takes up a full block in New York’s Tribeca district.
Even after Western Union moved to New Jersey, 60 Hudson Street continued to serve as an eminent telecommunications hub. Today the building boasts more than 300 providers ranging from cloud providers to traditional service providers on both the domestic and international level. As a single-asset premier data center company, 60 Hudson presented the perfect home for the company due to the fact that it delivered raw space — not legacy telecommunications suites. With a nearly blank canvas to start from, DataGryd demolitioned the old office space and built a power-dense facility on the fifth and sixth floors. Now, spanning 120,000 square feet, the facility has been transformed into one of the single largest data centers in New York and arguably the tri-state area. DataGryd now occupies two floors of the historic building.
Tom Brown’s Involvement with DataGryd
Tom Brown was recruited for the company team by DataGryd’s Chairman in 2018. The two men had known each other from FiberNet, where Brown had previously worked for ten years.
During the time Brown came on board at DataGryd in 2018, the company was in the midst of an inflection point. DataGryd was focused on expanding its revenue generation and identifying new prospects, both of which stood as exciting opportunities for Brown to help mold the company into an entity that could lead the industry into the future. Brown was thrilled to come on board and lead the company in its next steps toward success.
Industry Trends
Brown notes that he is excited about the advent of 5G and about the growth of other technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Brown also discussed the continuing, exponential expansion of AWS and hyperscalers, both of which are doubling their networks every eighteen months. Looking forward, he anticipates that there will be an ever-greater need for data processing — something that DataGryd is well-positioned to provide.
When discussing how businesses can meet these evolving demands, Brown notes DataGryd’s ability to custom design Edge Points of Presence (PoPs). These PoPs at the edge of the network leverage proximity to the user and critical distributed infrastructure, making them ideally suited to address the tremendous growth in data consumption and network consumption.
Upcoming Podcasts
The Interconnect Hub Podcast is slated to become a regular feature. Future episodes will discuss business trends and industry news, as well as updates on DataGryd. Tune in to remain in the loop on the company’s latest industry insights, news updates and more.
You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple iTunes Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify, or click here to listen.
