Water. Air. Oil. For decades, these types of resources have been considered the world’s most valuable. But as technology becomes more pervasive in every aspect of our work and personal lives, another resource has emerged that is equally important – if not more so: data.

The world’s dependence upon data is primarily driven by Internet Content Providers (ICPs) like Amazon, Google, Facebook and Tencent – companies that generate revenue through online sales, financial transaction fees, paid advertising, cloud services and a host of other business lines.

The phenomenal growth in data can also be attributed to device proliferation. There were 14 billion connected things in use worldwide in 2019. By 2021, that number is expected to increase to 25 billion.

This explosion of data also has fueled growth in data centers, which are expected to grow by $28.4 billion by 2023, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 17% from 2019.