The data center has been the focus of lots of attention by operations types for a while. But the strategic implications of data center issues have grown to the point that we're seeing more pulled into the purview of the front office. 

"Trading desks already include physicists; in the future they will include network engineers. Whereas MBAs once spoke mainly of rate curves and spreads, they will soon talk abut kilowatts and microseconds," notes a timely and quite interesting report by the Tabb Group, "Financial Services Data Centers: Power, Proximity and Profits." 

The report paints a picture of Wall Street's data centers as the very foundation of all that a modern financial services firm engages in. Increasingly, it seems, the efficiency and strength of the data center will be a quantifiable aspect of a every trade. Will the algorithm of the future have to factor in energy costs? Will shareholders demand green trades? The implications are enormous. 

If you haven't mapped out your strategy here, you are behind the ball. The decisions are getting more complex: To build or buy, to co-locate or not, to go virtual or not, to go green or not and to share or not. We're seeing a lot of business approaches emerge, and more executives are going to have to get granular with the firm's due diligence or design. It's that important. The top issues at most financial services firms are power, cooling, and the physical footprint. These concerns are followed closely by connectivity, efficiency and cost, the report notes.  

Executives will ignore these issues at their peril. The decisions while more technical than ever are also more strategic than ever. - Jim