The Data Centre Battle Has Started

Earlier this month, I argued in the Calgary Herald that data is becoming Alberta’s new pipeline battle.

Since then, the pressure environment has continued to develop.

With The Activist Playbook™ Volume Two now released, there’s another way to look at what is happening: through the tactics that can turn an infrastructure debate into a sustained pressure campaign.

Some are already worth watching.

• AP #2 — Brand the Battle: Who gets to define what the data-centre debate is really about?

• AP #27 — Hijack the Facts: Which numbers on electricity, water, jobs and economic benefits come to define the argument?

• AP #16 — Manufacture the Mandate: When does organized opposition begin to be perceived as broader public consensus?

• AP #7 — Attack the Supply Lines: Can pressure shift from individual projects to the electricity, water, land and regulatory systems they depend upon?

• AP #22 — Attack the Boardroom & Investors: When does the target expand from developers to technology companies, utilities, investors and governments?

The important signal isn't any one tactic. It’s when they begin to stack.

That’s when a debate over individual projects can become a broader challenge to an industry's legitimacy. And by the time organizations recognize that shift, their room to respond may already be narrowing.

The data-centre battle isn't predetermined. But its architecture is becoming easier to see.

And that’s our take.