Earlier this month, Microsoft opened its new West US 3 data center in El Mirage, Arizona after beginning construction only in September.
Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality glasses were the key to the quick build. With the glasses, engineers could see an interactive 3D model of the building they were creating. Viewing a live preview allowed them to minimize the complexity and predict problems before they even started construction.
Although the technology is new, the implementation was easier than expected. Multiple users were able to wear the glasses during various stages of production. Everything from the base of the building to the location of the data center racks was viewable with the glasses.
The glasses also allowed Microsoft to collaborate quicker than ever before. When someone was wearing the glasses, others could watch from a Microsoft Teams chat to see video of both the holograms and real life. In the chat, users gave instructions and suggestions as their coworkers inspected the building.
West US 3 will be home to basic Azure services like virtual machine hosting. More complex services won’t be available yet, but there is some speculation that unreleased services may be revealed in the Arizona data center before other locations.
For more about HoloLenses and the environmental benefits of West US 3, check out Data Center Knowledge’s article.
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