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The digital world runs on data, and increasingly, that data lives and breathes within massive, complex facilities known as data centers. Ohio, particularly the region around New Albany near Columbus, has become a major hub for these critical infrastructures, hosting giants like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google and Meta alongside specialized colocation providers. 

These centers are the unseen engines of our online lives, storing information and powering the cloud services countless businesses and individuals rely on daily. As this industry expands rapidly, so does the need for skilled professionals to design, build, manage and secure them. 

OHIO's J. Warren McClure School of Emerging Communication Technologies is positioning its students at the forefront of this technological wave, equipping them with the expertise required to thrive in the data center industry and related tech fields.

Running these massive digital factories requires a specific, sophisticated skill set. The scale is immense. Julio Arauz, associate professor and graduate chair of the McClure School, recalled a conversation with a Meta employee who described the company managing a global network of 1 million routers with software updated weekly.

Managing and updating systems at this scale necessitates deep technical knowledge and automation. 

"You need to have a lot of automation, right?" Arauz stated. "You cannot do this manually." The industry seeks key skills such as proficiency in operating systems like and coding abilities, particularly in scripting languages like , to automate tasks.&n