Tom Dakich

Data Center, Serial Entrepreneur | Defense & Tech, P3 Specialist, Attorney, Innovator on 6 continents 🌍 Co-Founder Digital Crossroads and Quantum Corridor

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

Indiana doesn't need to become Silicon Valley to win in AI.

We already know how to build infrastructure, manufacture things and develop skilled workforces.

Now connect that experience with data centers, edge computing and advanced manufacturing.

The opportunity isn't to copy somebody else's technology economy.

It's to build Indiana's version of one.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

The most useful point in this data-center debate isn't “build everything” or “stop everything.”

It's this: https://t.co/KB8hGhavsF

Negotiate better projects.

Who pays for grid upgrades? How is water handled? What goes to schools? Are local workers involved? What protections exist for ratepayers? What does the community actually receive?

A good data center deal should be measurable long before construction begins.

Communities shouldn't give developers a blank check.

But they shouldn't automatically turn away investment either.

Set the standards. Negotiate hard. Make the project earn its place.

[mike bski @BskiMike22802]

https://t.co/HOyWiQGOwU

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

Appreciated seeing Randy Palmateer mention our work on Digital Crossroads in this piece about Northwest Indiana’s data-center growth.

His point was more important than the compliment.

We involved the building trades, committed to a local workforce and worked with Mayor McDermott and the city from the beginning. The project moved forward without the community opposition we’re seeing around many projects today.

There’s a lesson there.

Don’t wait for opposition to start engaging the community.

Good data-center development starts with local relationships, not just land, power and permits.

Read https://t.co/MRVBLERDKr

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

Infrastructure developers sometimes create their own opposition.

They spend months on land, power, engineering and financing.

Then they talk to the community.

That's backwards.

If residents will live with the impact for decades, they belong in the conversation early.

Community engagement isn't PR.

It's part of development.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

Here’s an Indiana data-center story worth watching.

Indiana Michigan Power is proposing ~$59M in bill reductions for 2027 and a 3-year residential rate freeze.

And I&M specifically says the plan is possible thanks to load growth and increased revenue from large customers including data centers.

We hear plenty about what data centers may cost communities.

We should also pay attention when the economics can benefit existing customers.

The proposal still needs regulatory approval, but this is exactly the conversation Indiana should be having:

How do we grow AI infrastructure while making sure Hoosiers share in the benefit?

https://t.co/I3WjdZD7NM

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

A city doesn't need a massive hyperscale campus to participate in the AI economy.

Edge computing creates another option:

Smaller infrastructure, closer to where data is actually being created and used.

Public safety. Manufacturing. Transportation. Healthcare.

For cities like Elkhart, that's the conversation worth having.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

The data center debate has become too binary.

Build everything.

Or stop everything.

Neither is good policy.

Ask where it belongs, what it requires from the grid, who pays for infrastructure and what the community gets in return.

AI infrastructure is coming.

The real question is how we build it well.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

@JamesEBriggs made a point in the Indianapolis Star this week that I agree with:

“We need to have a grownup conversation about where to put [data centers].”

Exactly.

Noise, water, power, utility rates and location are legitimate concerns.

But “no data centers anywhere” isn't a policy.

The better question is:

What kind of data center belongs where, and what standards should it have to meet?

That’s where this debate needs to go.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

Absolutely. Edge computing doesn’t eliminate data centers it changes where some of the computing happens.

An edge facility can be a much smaller, localized data center positioned closer to users and devices. That proximity reduces latency for things like emergency communications, traffic systems, cameras, healthcare, and other real-time applications.

The hyperscale centers still handle the massive workloads. Edge brings certain computing capabilities closer to the community.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

The data-center debate is usually reduced to:

Power. Water. Noise. Jobs. Taxes.

Those are important.

But I think we're missing a bigger question:

What can the infrastructure actually do for the community?

That's where edge computing gets interesting.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

Not at all. Edge and hyperscale solve different problems. Edge handles latency-sensitive processing closer to where data is generated, while hyperscale facilities remain critical for massive compute, storage, AI training and cloud workloads. I see them as complementary pieces of the same infrastructure ecosystem.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

Public safety may be one of the most practical arguments for edge computing.

When emergency systems are generating data in real time, latency matters.

Processing information closer to where it's created can mean faster access to the information people in the field actually need.

That's not a futuristic idea.

That's infrastructure planning.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

"That's just common sense."

I've heard that phrase before some of the most complicated problems I've dealt with.

The funny thing about common sense is that it often disappears when money, deadlines, contracts and competing interests enter the room.

What looks obvious from the outside can become very complicated once you're responsible for making it happen.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

The best deal isn't always the one with the highest number.

Sometimes it's the deal that leaves everyone with a reason to do business together again.

I've learned that relationships, reputation and knowing when to compromise can be worth far more than winning one negotiation.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

@angelaganote Good to see an update, especially given the seriousness of the damage. It’s also helpful that the details are being kept appropriately limited while the case proceeds through juvenile court. Hopefully the investigation and court process bring accountability and clarity.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

That’s a significant response in a very short amount of time. Credit to the officers and agencies involved for coordinating across jurisdictions and getting all five suspects into custody. Hopefully the investigation provides more clarity on what happened and the stolen property is recovered.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

A $1 billion project announcement can take one afternoon.

Getting that project built can take years.

That's why I've never been too impressed by the headline.

The interesting part is what happens after the announcement: financing, permitting, power, contracts, construction, and hundreds of decisions nobody sees.

In infrastructure, announcing is easy.

Delivering is the hard part.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

@CrimsonCast That quote did not age well. Hard to imagine a clearer example of why knowing the facts matters before making a confident claim.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

@angelaganote A troubling situation, especially with the incident occurring during the State Fair. Glad the suspect was apprehended, and hopefully the victim makes a full recovery. Public safety has to remain the priority while the facts of the case are established.

[Tom Dakich @TomDakich]

Announcing a project is exciting.

Delivering it is where the real work begins.

I've always believed execution deserves far more attention than announcements.

That's where reputations are built.