Google to Open Oklahoma Data Center

By David Gross

The fall of 2008 was not a good time for big capital investments, and during that season, Google stopped work on its Pryor, Oklahoma data center, out of fear of spending too much in a slowing economy.   Last night, the company revealed that it has begun work on the facility again, and expects it to open by the end of 2011..

The company will spend $600 million to construct its newest domestic data center, which sits about 40 miles east of Tulsa, and is about 400 miles due south of its Council Bluffs, Iowa data center, which also cost $600 million to build.   The company also owns data centers in The Dalles, Oregon, Goose Creek (near Charleston), SC, and Lenoir, North Carolina.   Additionally, it leases space in public co-location hubs, including Equinix's DC4 building in Ashburn, VA.

Whatever hesitation Google felt two years ago regarding its capital budget has long gone.  In addition to the Oklahoma project, its Hamina, Finland center is expected open by the end of this year, and its total capital spending last quarter was up more than 300% over the same period a year ago.   Wherever its next U.S. facility goes, it is likely to send economic development authorities scrambling.   With the company still growing 20% a year, and revenue about to surpass a $30 billion run rate, not to mention new latency requirements with Google Instant, it will be interesting to see where its next data center gets built.

Google has a page dedicated to the new Oklahoma data center at http://www.google.com/datacenter/mayescounty.


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