We live in a digital world built on the bedrock of data centers. Every time we check email, text someone, browse a website, use social media, stream music and movies, request a ride, query a GenAI service, or buy products and services online, we are making a connection that is routed through a data center – a physical facility housing the IT infrastructure that allows technology to function.
Check out the CoreSite Data Center Knowledgebase for informative videos, infographics, articles and more insight into the pivotal role data centers play in keeping the modern world up and running.Every digital transaction of every kind ultimately traverses through a data center. Even the cloud – which provides seemingly virtual connections – actually relies on massive hyperscale data centers for processing and colocation data center interconnection.
This blog explores the many ways that data centers impact our daily lives and make the digital world possible.
1. Supporting the Community
Many people don't realize just how essential data centers are to our day-to-day activities. Data centers play a critical behind-the-scenes role in the communities where we live and work. The list of local services that depend on data centers is almost limitless: banking, healthcare, emergency services, government, non-profits, utilities, transportation, education, and of course shopping and entertainment, to name just a few. In any situation where data is used for any reason, data centers are involved.
2. Enabling Communication
Today, a large part of communication is digital and data centers serve as vital communication hubs. Email, texts, telecommunications, video calls, internet, websites and social media would not be possible without data centers hosting the technology that processes, stores and transfers the data.
3. Driving the Economy
A data center is an important driver of economic prosperity in the community – supporting local companies by enabling the networking, communications and applications they need to conduct business.
In addition, data centers can significantly impact employment opportunities in regions where they are located. A 2025 report from PwC found that, from 2017 to 2023, direct employment in the U.S. data center industry grew by over 50%, compared to 10% overall employment growth for the same period, adding millions of jobs for Americans. The report also showed that data centers add a 6X multiplier of indirect or induced jobs for every direct job they provide.1
Colocation data centers, in particular, stimulate a regional economy by attracting new companies and corporate branches to a community because they offer cost-efficient, reliable and secure IT infrastructure and cloud connectivity options that are attractive to business. “Economic developers are promoting nearby data centers as part of their pitch to site selectors and larger corporations,” says Aaron Brossoit, CEO of Golden Shovel Agency, a specialist in economic development.2
4. Keeping Remote Workers Connected
Many of us have switched to remote or hybrid work in the last few years, saving commuting time and costs and increasing quality of life. The work-from-home (WFH) model is an employment revolution that has changed many lives – it is made viable by data centers. The tools that support the “virtual” WFH approach – such as video conferencing, collaboration software, software-as-a-service (SaaS), virtual private networks (VPNs), and cloud – are all hosted on physical servers in data centers. Colocation facilities are especially advantageous to the WFH model because they provide highly available and reliable connections in close geographic proximity to the distributed workforce.
5. Contributing to Tax Revenues
Data centers generate substantial property tax revenues for local governments and public services – potentially millions of dollars. The PwC report found that the data center industry’s total contribution to government revenues at federal, state and local levels was $162.7 billion in 2023, an increase of 146% over the previous six years.
“These tax revenues play a crucial role in supporting various public services and programs,” the report explains. “At the federal level, they contribute to broad government initiatives and programs. At the state and local levels, they help finance essential services such as public education, infrastructure maintenance (like roads and public transportation), and public health services.”1
6. Facilitating Technological Innovation
Data centers are integral to our vibrant culture of innovation, enabling advanced technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), software development environments, quantum computing and blockchain. Even distributed computing systems like the cloud, "as a service" models, the Internet-of-Things (IoT) and the edge, rely on data centers.
Data centers are also mission-critical for the disruptive applications with the potential to shape our future, such as augmented and virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, predictive analytics, cryptocurrency, and even more amazing innovations of tomorrow. Colocation data centers are ideal for these upcoming use cases that require intense compute power, vast storage capacity and lightning-fast network connectivity.
Colocation is the optimal IT infrastructure option for many organizations, making data centers more affordable, reliable, efficient, and sustainable. Due to these compelling benefits, colocation is the future of the data center evolution and will continue to be inextricably linked to our daily lives and our communities.
Know More
Check out the CoreSite Data Center Knowledgebase for informative videos, infographics, articles and more insight into the pivotal role data centers play in keeping the modern world up and running.
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References
1. Economic contributions of U.S. data centers, PwC, 2025 (source)
2. Uncovering the Top Benefits of Attracting a Data Center to Your Community, Golden Shovel Agency, September 4, 2023 (source)