Helping Clients Expand Data Center Footprints During the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic catapulted the globe into an amplified reliance on technology—both for business and personal use. Companies of all sizes have had to navigate remote work, while tackling the acceleration of their digital transformation plans and navigating heightened concerns around cyber security.

In 2020, our clients—especially in the financial services and health care spaces—faced unprecedented data risks. This prompted clients to seek data storage and processing solutions that mitigated the risk. Where the upgrade of legacy IT infrastructure projects were once on the back burner, they have now been escalated to the forefront to support many of our clients’ business needs.

These factors combined to set the stage for the fast-pace growth of the data center asset class.

Seyfarth’s specialized Data Center team partners with clients to provide inventive solutions that support their business needs. Whether it be migrating to cloud-based models, leasing data centers or colocation spaces, buying land, or developing new data center facilities, clients rely on our pragmatic ability to navigate the legal nuances of this unique asset class.

Data center deals require innovative lawyering and a 360-degree understanding of the data center and the stakeholders involved in data center transactions. From power delivery and fiber licensing to negotiating a bespoke service level agreement, our teams have a thorough understanding of the issues that arise in many of these transactions. Our team effectively negotiates the real estate, zoning, environmental, commercial contracts, and economic incentive issues that touch many of these deals.

Our clients are expanding their data center footprints so that customers and consumers have faster and more resilient access to data, which results in strategic business growth.

A few examples of our data center work over the last year:

• Represented a financial services client in the outsourcing of all legacy IT infrastructure supporting its operations and applications, including mission-critical banking applications. We guided the client through the RFP process and the legal structuring, drafting, and negotiation of all legal aspects of the deal, including complex corporate and employment terms.
• Represented a technology client in 20 data center land acquisition and build to suit lease transactions in the United States.
• Represented a cable TV/internet operator/media conglomerate in restructuring 50 data center leases and colocation agreements across the United States.
• Represented a technology-related real estate fund in a purchase and lease-back of an enterprise data center in the Midwest.