That was the setting I saw this morning as I took notice of ‘MGX could purchase APAC data center operator DayOne’ (at https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/mgx-could-purchase-apac-data-center-operator-dayone-report/) with the juicy (for some) subtitle “Comes ahead of DayOne’s $20 billion IPO” it opened another avenue for the UAE, you see as the United States has pissed of pretty much every country with their cloud act, the setting that I see is that if MGX embraces the GDPR and adheres to this in several means, Microsoft, Google and IBM will lose the traction they have all over the EU and the commonwealth. So whilst we take notice of “Reuters’ sources said that the MGX acquisition is not finalized and a DayOne IPO could still go ahead. DayOne currently runs a portfolio of more than 500MW of data center capacity in service and under construction, with another 500MW held for future development across Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan. The company also has sites in Thailand and Finland.”
And in case if ChapsVision, it is nice it is getting the Palantir account in France (and optionally in other EU countries as well) but that comes with the addd need for stronger data centers and not in American hands. The Edge (at https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/807778) gives us ‘Abu Dhabi’s MGX weighs multi-billion deal for data centre operator DayOne — Reuters’, which gives us (at https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/807778) that “Abu Dhabi-backed artificial intelligence investor MGX has been exploring buying Singapore-based data centre operator DayOne, three sources said, in what would mark a major step in its global expansion into the technology. MGX has been working with an investment bank in preparation for the potential transaction, said two of the sources, who declined to be identified because the discussions are confidential.” Which implies to me that this is not yet a done deal, as such it is likely to happen, especially as countries are making moves to pull away from the United States and their Cloud Act, but that might not be enough, the secondary stage is that Microsoft as a data Endor is seemingly already on the way out in a few places, so that would be setting the stage that this could indeed happen. So whilst we see “A deal for DayOne could mark MGX’s first acquisition in Asia as the company pursues a lightning-fast international expansion. It was set up a little over two years ago with the US$385 billion sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and AI company G42 as its founding partners. MGX falls under the purview of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser and brother of the president.” The setting might be that Europe is ‘hesitant’ to replace the yoke of the United States with a Chinese replacement, but if there is a common ground between the UAE and Europe and a (for a lack of a better term) a Chinese wall is inserted in the European centers, a larger benefit to Emirati revenue could be right here. It all depends on how the UAE plays this ad what guarantees they could give the EU and the Commonwealth. As such there could be a new player in the town of Europe and under the much stricter rules of the GDPR, solution could be drawn. On a personal note, I reckon that China does not fear being left out of data as long as the United States loses a mouthful of revenue. Adobe, Amazon, Google, IBM, Microsoft could all lose a chunk of their revenue and that puts the United States on the defense to keep whatever they can hold onto, as I see it, at present it sucks to be the President of the United States. And after the folly that is called “the Iranian peace treaty” and President Trump implying that they could ask for Tolls in the strait of Hormuz, angering many nations, especially ones trying to get oil across the strait, (source: Al Jazeera) as such the world is looking for other solutions and several firms might regret ever giving the keys to the united States to President Trump. But as I see it, the UAE is on the job and when one door closes, another tends to open and this might be the moment for the EU and Commonwealth to talk to the UAE in finding a solution that they can live with, the question is, will the UAE play game with Europe and the Commonwealth? My guess is yes, especially is China at the stage realizes a massive drain on the revenue of the United States, it could be the death stroke against the coffers of America and from there is goes downhill fast in the former land of opportunity.
I reckon that the next stage becomes opening another site in France, giving more power to ChapsVision, not sure if it is needed, but all the traction helps. And a second data centre in Europe would give several benefits, especially if these two centers are connected and support each other in case of data congestion, because that is bound to happen, but if two centers are connected, there is a larger solution for that. There is still the power use issue, but that is for tomorrow, it all depends on how stretched the power settings in France are and secondary, if Google, IBM and Microsoft are on the way out, there will be room for more. I actually hope that Google and IBM find another solution, but as American firms the Cloud Act is hanging over their heads, so that is the way in for MGX and the United Arab Emirates.
Have a great day.
Lawrence van Rijn - Law Lord to be 