Data centres as logistical facilities

Singapore and the emergence of production topologies

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21189651
AutoresBrett Neilson (0000-0002-6958-9656), Tanya Notley (0000-0002-4353-1130)
Año2019
Volumen13
Número1
Fecha de publicación2019-04-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaWork Organisation Labour & Globalisation (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1745-641X • E-ISSN: 1745-6428
EditorialPluto Journals (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.13169/workorgalaboglob.13.1.0015
OpenAlexW2950080521
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas20

Data centres mobilise server-client architectures to disperse and draw in labour from across industries and nations. In doing so, they provide an infrastructural fix for capitalist actors seeking to bypass traditional labour actions, by designing logistical routes around which to redirect production processes. In this article, we build on research that investigates the data centre industry in Singapore to consider how these facilities drive processes of global circulation and establish new kinds of labour relations and processes. We point to limits in conceptualising these relations according to dominant models of the supply chain or the production network. We argue that understanding the client footprint enabled by data centres as a form of territory allows us to approach these facilities as political institutions that influence the operations of power across wide geographical vistas

Business · Economics · Footprint · Geography · Industrial organization · Microeconomics · Political science · Politics · Supply chain · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Engineering · Sharing Economy and Platforms · Water Governance and Infrastructure · Marketing