The ultimate data centre, if only we'd won the bid.
At some point in the history of our internet business, we decided a normal server room wasn't ambitious enough.
We needed something more substantial.
Something secure.
Something capable of withstanding an extraordinary amount of punishment.
Naturally, we became interested in a Cold War nuclear bunker.
The concept was magnificent.
Massive concrete construction. Protected underground spaces. The sort of building designed by people who believed the world's problems might eventually involve mushroom clouds.
Imagine putting your internet servers in there.
Power systems.
Networking racks.
Cooling equipment.
Enough reinforced concrete to make a modern data-centre salesperson weep with envy.
Sure, there were practical considerations.
Power infrastructure.
Fibre connectivity.
Renovations.
Financing.
And, as it turned out, winning the bid.
We didn't.
Somebody else wanted the bunker more than we did—or at least was prepared to offer more money.
And so our glorious underground hosting empire remained an architectural daydream.
Still, there's something wonderfully ridiculous about a young internet business considering a nuclear-hardened installation.
We didn't need bomb-proof uptime.
We needed a higher bid.