With the insane growth of data and all things web, demand for data centers is growing at an exponential rate. A recent survey outlines the demand for the next two years.

Highlights of the study include:

• 92% of respondents will definitely or probably expand [data center real estate] in 2012
• Of those respondents, 38% expect to expand in three or more locations. 54% will look for spaces of 15,000 square feet or more in size.
• 82% of respondents expect server density in their facilities to increase in 2012.

The main run of the 2012 South Dakota Legislative session is over. Every year, I marvel at the ability of our state legislators to do the business of the state in an efficient and prudent manner. Some will tell you that the legislative process is anything but efficient (reference the old saying about sausage and laws—both are good but you don’t want to know how either is made), but I have always viewed our process in South Dakota superior to other states, mainly due to the fact that our legislators set key deadlines and then adhere to them. That is how 105 legislators with significant advice from the Governor and his staff are able to work their way through nearly 500 bills, numerous resolutions, untold floor votes and (sometimes) lengthy speeches to get all of their work done in just 32 legislative days.

Only one more week remains in the 2012 Legislative session. By Friday, March 2nd, legislators will have completed their business and will return home for the year. They will return on March 19th for one last day to consider any gubernatorial vetoes.

Legislators will put the finishing touches on the state budget for the next fiscal year next week. At this point, it looks like there will be about $12 million in new revenue for the Appropriations committee to budget for the coming year. This is the result of stronger than expected revenue estimates that were released earlier this week. State sales tax revenues are up just over five percent. That is almost right in line with historical increases for the sales tax. That is good news following three years of stagnant growth. Contractors excise tax numbers are up almost 30% indicating a significant amount of construction taking place across the state. That also is a good sign and an indicator that the state is beginning to emerge from the economic slowdown of the past several years.

The sixth week of the South Dakota Legislative session is in the books. Only two weeks remain in the main run of the 2012 session.

One of the things that makes the South Dakota Legislature unique is the fact that we have one of the shortest sessions in the nation. In 2008, voters approved a change to the state Constitution which allows the Legislature to meet for a maximum of 40 days annually. Before this, the constitution mandated that the legislature meet for a maximum of 40 days in odd numbered years and a maximum of 35 days in even numbered years. The brevity of the session can catch some observers off guard as bills and hearings tend to move fairly quickly as compared to other states or the U.S. Congress.

The main reason the process works well is that legislators adhere to a fairly strict calendar with various deadlines that can only be changed with a two-thirds vote of the House or Senate. One of those major deadlines was reached this week when the Legislature reached “cross over day”.

ShoreTel has signed a definitive agreement to acquire M5 Networks ("M5"), a recognized leader in hosted Unified Communications.  As a result of this acquisition, ShoreTel will be uniquely positioned to provide customers a choice between on-premise and hosted UC solutions. 

In some ways, the best analogy to describe a South Dakota legislative session is that it is much like a bobsled going down a long winding run. It starts off slow, goes through several twists and turns, picks up speed the further it gets into the run and finally ends up at the finish line. As we finish the fourth weeks of the 2012 session, the legislative bobsled has had a few twists and turns (ie. internal investigations, breakaway caucuses, etc.), but it is now picking up steam as we move to the midpoint of the legislative calendar.

This past week, a couple of bills that have various effects on the communications industry were heard in legislative committees. SB 103, sponsored by Sen. Shantel Krebs (R-Renner), would reduce the advertising standard for unclaimed cooperative capital credits. The current statute has not been updated since 1965 and the language is somewhat convoluted. The bill would clarify that before a cooperative attempts to forfeit any unclaimed capital credits, it must advertise in the weekly newspaper of the last known address of the patron in question. The bill passed the Senate Commerce committee on a vote of 6-0 and the full Senate by a vote of 33-1. It now heads to the House for further hearings and debate.