By Irwin Speizer
Across the Hudson River from Manhattan, among the warehouses, distribution centers and low-rise office buildings that have collected in Secaucus, N.J., sits an unassuming example of modern suburban office design. Beyond the front door is an unwelcoming foyer with no reception desk, no tenant list, no indication that you are in a major East Coast financial data center run by Equinix, a global data center operator located in Foster City, Calif. The only doors that lead beyond the entryway are locked.
Security in the form of badges and electronic handprint checkpoints will get you through the foyer to a security guard window, where proper clearance will get you past a second door into a small holding area. The door closes behind you. A security guard checks to make sure no one unauthorized has slipped in with you. Then the last door opens, allowing you, finally, into...