It's tricky to nail down the economic impact of the broader data center ecosystem. What's the GDP impact of a supply chain stretching back to every valve and filter and cable that goes into a new data center?

How many jobs are tied to designing and manufacturing the sophisticated cooling systems, high density server racks, and automated fire detection and sprinkler systems required?

Some brilliant economists are probably working on this problem at universities around the world, as people debate the employment impact of the data center buildout. In the meantime, I used one batch of data in my hands to create a completely unscientific look at how the data center supply chain might be driving jobs in your home U.S. state or Canadian province.

I created a bar graph showing the home of companies exhibiting their products at Data Center World, the industry’s leading event that’s happening April 20-23 in Washington, D.C. With more than 500 companies on the DCW expo floor, it offers a view into the breadth of the data center supplier ecosystem.

I learned my home state of Wisconsin has 19 companies exhibiting at Data Center World, putting it in the top 10 of U.S. states, including the likes of Generac, Johnson Controls, Brady Corp., and Milwaukee Valve Co. Add in all Wisconsin’s border states, and the number is 79 companies, showing that this stretch of manufacturing heartland expects growth from building products that go into data centers in the U.S. and around the world.

I cautioned this data view is unscientific -- and it’s also incomplete. I only mapped the US and Canada, and companies from nearly 20 countries are among the 500-plus exhibitors at Data Center World. To see them all in person and get a better understanding of the data center innovation ecosystem, visit datacenterworld.com to register and join us.