Apple to Spend $10B on US Data Centers Over 5 Years
In late 2018, Apple announced that it would be spending $10 billion over the next five years on data center construction in the United States. The growth of the data centers is critical to ensure that their customers have great experiences with all of their devices and the platforms they are using. It will also help them to stay competitive with some of the other large companies, such as Amazon, which continues to expand its data centers and influence, as well.
The company is also working on projects at the other data centers they own, including those in Mesa, AZ, Sparks, NV, and Maiden, NC. They will also have a new data center created in Waukee, IA to help expand their reach further. Facebook also has data centers in other parts of the country, including Newark, CA and Prineville, OR.
Apple is also growing its data centers in other parts of the world. They have been developing a data center in Denmark, and they already have plans to build another one in the country.
Why Does Apple Need to Expand?
It is important to remember that Apple is more than just iPhones and Macs. The App Store and Apple Music rely heavily on a reliable infrastructure that can ensure there are servers up and running and able to accommodate the needs of the users. These services are growing faster than any other area for Apple, so it makes sense that the company will want to ensure that their customers have a smooth experience when using them.
Just how big is the business? In 2016, the services revenue for Apple was $24 billion. It is estimated to be $48 billion by 2020. This means more people are using these services and more people who are relying on them to work and to provide a pleasant experience. Investing in those areas is extremely important for their business.
The expansion of the data centers could also mean that Apple will eventually be able to reduce its reliance on other parties as cloud providers. Currently, they are using Azure and AWS to help them meet their data center needs. Having more of their own data centers can help to reduce, or even eliminate, this reliance.
More than Just Data Center Expansions
Apple has been planning to make investments in their facilities and staff across the U.S., and not just with the data centers. For example, they are creating a campus in Austin, TX, which will sit on 133 acres. This campus will be able to hold 15,000 employees, which will bring in a massive number of jobs to the city and will make Apple Austin’s largest employer. This is not the only location that will be seeing more jobs. Apple has said that they would be adding hundreds of jobs across Portland, Boston, Boulder, New York, and Pittsburgh. They would be adding about 1,000 jobs to Culver City, Seattle, and San Diego each.
Resources: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/17/apple-to-boost-data-center-capex-by-10-billion.html