Server Farms Flourish In Iowa: Microsoft Plows $700M More Into Des Moines 103
1sockchuck writes "A big chunk of the Azure cloud will be living on the plains of Iowa. Microsoft will invest another $700 million to expand its Iowa data center campus near Des Moines, marking the third major server farm for the state this year. Facebook recently announced a new data center in Altoona. The same day, Google said it would put another $400 million into its facility in Council Bluffs. Why Iowa? Aggressive tax incentives and a central location to bridge the distance between these companies' east and west coast server footprints."
Oh dearie me no (Score:5, Informative)
The only metric being optimised is profit for $BIGCO's owners; the wellbeing and prosperity of Iowans is irrelevant. Ask Indian farmers how Coca-Cola bottling plants (and bottled water plants) are helping THEM.
You're aware that data centres like this employ about 50 people, right? This is not a business that sustains the local economy.
Slashdot's libertarian reptile brain really should try harder.