@article{01fa66cdb8bc4f34b1ee27f575ffd539,
title = "The Nordic societies and the development of the data centre industry: Digital transformation meets infrastructural and industrial inheritance",
abstract = "While attempts to conceptualise the future course of societal development often emphasise the high-level integration and blurring of boundaries between physical and digital space, digital transformation has already made current societies highly dependent on the flawless functioning of the digital infrastructures built globally around data centres. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the recent emergence and maturation of the Nordic data centre industry. While paying special attention to questions concerning technological and societal change, as well as industrial and infrastructural inheritance, the research explores the development of the field that has a short history but strong ties with processes that can be traced back tens or even hundreds of years. Examining the continuity between old and new, the focus is not only on the material infrastructure but also on policies and practices that have paved the way for the evolution of stable Nordic societies with relevant human capital and business-friendly environments that support the incubation of new industries and the deployment of new technologies.",
keywords = "Data centre, Industry, Nordic countries, Society, Technology",
author = "Juha Saunavaara and Antti Laine and Matti Salo",
note = "Funding Information: Many such R&D projects have received funding from public sources, with funding instruments ranging from direct funding for universities and research centres to programmes carried out by national technology, innovation, or energy organisations. Furthermore, some Nordic data centre actors have successfully competed for EU Horizon 2020 and European Regional Development Fund Interreg programme funding [ 5 , 76 , 77 ]; J-O. Johansson, personal communication, October 1, 2020; T. Sokolnicki, personal communication, October 23, 2020). As examples from the Lule{\aa} region show, the cooperation between universities and private businesses regarding data-centre-related matters has often been a natural continuation of previous collaboration between universities and other sectors, such as the steel, iron, and pulp and paper industries (J-O. Johansson, personal communication, October 1, 2020; [ 78 , 79 ]. It is, however, important to point out that the majority of the employees needed to run the day-to-day operations of a data centre are not IT professionals but electricians and other skilled workers; therefore, the data centre industry depends heavily on the development of vocational education in the Nordic countries (A. Kurvi, personal communication, April 9, 2021). Funding Information: The beginning of active data-centre-related activities can be traced back to the second half of the 2000s, when the first requests for information came from international data centre operators. Although the processing of the very first requests did not go smoothly, Invest Sweden, founded in 1995 and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conducted an initial market assessment and met with clients in the fall of 2009. After these initial steps, culminating in Facebook's investment decision, similar efforts have been made continuously, mainly within Business Sweden (established in 2013), which has been cooperating with regional development companies and municipalities (T. Sokolnicki, personal communication, October 23, 2020). When Google opened eyes to the possibilities offered by the data centre sector, Finland launched its national data centre project in 2010. This project analysed Finnish data centre offerings and potential target sectors and was followed by the Data Centre 3.0 project. This larger project was funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. It attempted to improve Finland's reputation as a potential host of data centres and develop a national data centre investment portfolio. The founding partners of the project included regional development agencies and Invest in Finland, which was established in 1993 and became part of Finpro (the Finnish trade promotion organisation) in 2012. In 2018, Finpro merged with Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation founded in 1983) (A. Akuj{\"a}rvi, personal communication, December 7, 2020; [ 80 ]. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors",
year = "2022",
month = may,
doi = "10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101931",
language = "English",
volume = "69",
journal = "Technology in Society",
issn = "0160-791X",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}