Regulatory Risk and the Data Center

The regulatory environment for the data center industry will be a key focus of today's DatacenterDynamics event in San Francisco. For those who can't make the show, Digital Realty Trust CTO Jim Smith provides a video overview explaining why data center operators need to focus on regulation.

"There is definitely some regulatory risk on the horizon," says Smith, noting the U.K. Carbon Reduction Commitment (see PDF overview) that takes effect in 2010. Smith notes that the measure includes criminal penalties for executives of companies that fail to comply, which illustrates the need to treat carbon regulation as a serious near-term business issue.

The impact of the Obama administration's move to pass "cap and trade" carbon regulation is less clear, but Smith believes it will "change the face of power economics" in the U.S.