GVA Research on BNN: LinkedIn shares decimated and MFST Data Centers Under The Sea
Updated: Apr 23, 2021
Tech – Innovation By MSFT Offers Path To Expanding Datacenter Capacity With Low Operating Cost & Minimal Carbon Footprint:
While investors may be distracted by the ongoing stock market turbulence, there is a positive development of long-term significance from MSFT with significant implication for increasing data center capacity at substantially lower investment and operating cost than previously experienced. Data center capacity is critical for the expansion of Internet use as streaming video and the Internet of Things promise to create exponential growth in demand for data center capacity. Note that MSFT has already spent $15bn on opening 100 data centers worldwide supporting over 200 online services. Specifically, Microsoft Research’s New Experiences and Technologies (NExT) group has recently completed a 105-day trial of a self-contained underwater data center powered by a tidal energy system, an initiative code-named Project Natick. The implications of the project are favorable in allowing closer location of data centers to urban centers (will cut response latency), the design of the contained data center allows for faster deployment (deploy in 90 days versus two years presently for data center construction), the self-contained vessel allows for use of pressurized nitrogen (eliminates A/C need and lowers power consumption requirements) while the heat & sound generation of the unit are minimal (for more detail, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/01/technology/microsoft-plumbs-oceans-depths-to-test-underwater-data-center.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0). While clearly early days, Project Natick shows MSFT is very much involved in innovation, reflecting well on a company investors consider mature.<
Tech – Post-4Q15 Earnings Season, Investors Focus on Companies With Best Near-term Growth:
Coming off the reporting of 4Q15 results, overall stock market conditions remain turbulent. In the face of uncertainty as to whether the U.S. economic growth will slow in 2016 and in so doing succumb to broader global trends investors are focused on 1Q16 growth estimates in selecting what tech sector names to own.