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Scaling Smart: How DartPoints Is Redefining Regional Data Center Infrastructure with Clarity, Culture, and Control with Scott Willis
In this episode of Let’s Get Digital with Carrie Charles, Scott Willis, CEO of DartPoints, shares his leadership journey through long-distance telecom, wireless, and now data centers — and how DartPoints is meeting enterprise demands in non-tier-one markets. Scott outlines the company’s strategic recapitalization and shift toward owned assets to support 10–40 megawatt workloads, filling a critical gap left by hyperscaler-focused players. From future-proofing infrastructure and piloting next-gen cooling solutions to solving workforce challenges and scaling a mission-driven culture, Scott offers a clear roadmap for building sustainable, AI-ready ecosystems in edge-aligned environments.
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00:01
Carrie Charles
I’m so glad that you joined me today on Let’s Get Digital. It’s going to be a great show because I have one of my dear friends with me, Scott Willis, who is the CEO of DartPoints. Scott, thank you so much for coming on the show today.
00:18
Scott Willis
I always enjoy the opportunity to be able to do this, so thank you for having me.
00:22
Carrie Charles
Absolutely. I know we were talking recently at one of the events and I was hearing all of the updates of the exciting news, things going on with DartPoints, and I said, okay, we’ve got to get you back on the show because you were on back in 2022. So, Scott, for those of the people that don’t know DartPoints or don’t know who you are, let’s start with you because you have a very interesting story and maybe you can share some of the moments that really steered you to where you are today in the data center world.
00:57
Scott Willis
Absolutely, I’m happy to talk about that. I always sought out even coming out of college and had an interest in technology. Listen, a lot of things evolve across your career. I’m very blessed. I’ve had a strong career and I’m very excited about where I am today in the data center space. But I think maybe a couple of things. I always have looked for emerging opportunities and I think as I’ve done that in my career, there’s been really three that I’m proud of that I’ve sought out. And then really the second component of that is I’ve always kind of sought out opportunities that roles and responsibilities that maybe not everybody wanted or everybody desired, maybe the whole harder types of jobs. And I think that’s served me well.
01:52
Scott Willis
And it’s allowed, it’s really allowed a foundation professionally that I draw upon, that I think I take advantage of every day. But it’s really three points. I mean, back in the early days, I’m going to date myself a little bit. But back in what was long distance, right. In those days, it was kind of AT&T or Bell. You know, Ma Bell is what my grandparents used to refer to that as. And that was back in kind of the 80s and late 80s, early 90s where that emerged. And you had a lot of great companies beyond AT&T in terms of WorldCom, MCI, Sprint, which part of my career was AT. And I’m proud of that time.
02:35
Scott Willis
And here’s why is because if you look at the foundation across wireless, digital infrastructure, towers, fiber and data centers, there are a lot of executives that emerged out of that time that long Distance, created in terms of building competitive skills, knowing how to build teams, knowing how to really evolve in a challenging market and how to really build cultures in terms of what you do. And that’s something that I’m proud of there. Secondly, if you flip fast forward to the end of the 90s, the second kind of phase that I think I’m blessed with was wireless.
03:14
Scott Willis
And that was as I kind of, if you kind of think about the impact that’s had on society and if you think about the impact that technology has had not only domestically but globally, that was another one that I kind of sought out and I loved. I spent a couple of decades there and I had a great run there, learned a ton, worked with a lot of great people. And then when I stepped out of that in 1819, in terms of, when I came out of that period in terms of where I was, I kind of said what do I want to do next?
03:46
Scott Willis
And I sought out right in terms of the data center sector and what was an emerging market, what was an industry that was going to take me well into my, into probably the end of my working careers, at least in day-to-day operations and that’s what drove me into the data center space. So a lot of luck, a lot of mentorships with a lot of people have helped me along the way. But I also like to think that I played a role in terms of a little bit of planning, a little bit of seeking and in terms of what are those industries that are really going to drive, involve and having a meaningful impact. And I think I’ve been able to participate in three of them and I’m very fortunate for that.
04:24
Carrie Charles
Yes, you are. Tell me about DartPoints.
04:29
Scott Willis
Love to talk about DartPoints. So, we are an owner/operator of data centers. We are focused on the enterprise, large enterprise where we focus, we’re a full scope provider, meaning we offer space, power, and colocation. We offer the full stack of cloud, hybrid cloud, and managed services across our portfolio. Where maybe it’s a little bit different. We tend to focus on non tier one markets. I don’t tend to lean on the word edge a lot. I think I’ve said that to you a couple of times as we’ve been in these conversations. But it’s non tier one markets in terms of how we see the industry evolving. We have 11 data centers in 10 markets today, largely at least where we sit today, in the Midwest, Southeast, and South Central. So that’s kind of a quick hit on who we are, what we do, and the customer segment that we target.
05:26
Carrie Charles
So I was reading, and again, I don’t know if this is true, but that there are approximately 5,500 data centers in the US today. What sets DartPoints aside or makes DartPoints different?
05:39
Scott Willis
Yeah, I mean, listen, you are right. I don’t know if it’s exactly 5,500, but it’s a lot. I mean, for a person that doesn’t understand the sector that we’re in, a lot of people just think a data center is a data center. And that couldn’t be further from the truth. And it’s all about focus. It’s where do you sit in the customer segment that you’re trying to build your business around. And those are the things that really separate you in terms of what you’re doing. So, whether you’re at the hyper end of the market, whether you’re targeting single tenant data centers, whether you’re a wholesaler, whether you’re an enterprise that has your own data centers. There are lots of different segments of data centers.
06:20
Scott Willis
But clearly, we’re focused on multi-tenant, larger enterprise, and bringing ecosystems with a solution set across our portfolio that hopefully delivers a meaningful impact to the IT needs that an enterprise has in the market today. That’s what we’re all about. We want to enable very interconnected, very robust and very reliable ecosystems in the markets that we serve. And we want to draw enterprise customers in to leverage what we bring into the market as they’re looking to grow their business, scale their business, take care of their customers, whatever their need is. From an IT perspective, we want to be a partner to be able to do that. So that’s what differentiates us. We’re committed to what we do.
07:12
Scott Willis
We take care of our customers; we deliver what we believe is a really high touch type of environment and we think our customers recognize and reward us for that type of winning strategy. So that’s a little bit where we are. I talked earlier about where do we position from, where our assets are placed, and then those are the types of services and solutions that we try to bring into the market.
07:40
Carrie Charles
So Scott, when we talked, you have been repositioning, and I guess transitioning DartPoints. How have you done that? Like what’s going on? What’s new? Update us.
07:52
Scott Willis
So we have, a lot’s happened since you and I have talked on this in 2022. But, the thing that we’re most excited about is the process that we’ve just completed. It came out in the public domain a few weeks back. But, obviously we’ve recapitalized the company. We’ve brought on some new investors. We actually have a couple of new investors that we brought into the business. We’re excited about that.
08:20
Scott Willis
We hit a point in our journey where we just had achieved what I think we could do and we needed that new capital infusion to be able to continue to grow, to be able to continue to realize the vision that we have for DartPoints and to really be able to advance the platform, to take advantage of, quite frankly, what are the tailwinds largely driven around AI and denser types of workloads to continue the journey and the success that we’re on. And that’s what this transition is all about. I couldn’t be more excited about the new partnerships that we have with Nova Infrastructure as our primary equity partner and then OIC largely on the debt side. We’ve transitioned the business in that journey. So really in a couple of ways.
09:09
Scott Willis
One is previously we were a hybrid, both owned versus leased assets and we’ve transitioned that to be much heavier owned assets. So we’re at a point where going forward that is going to be a strategic part of how we build, scale and grow dark points going forward. So that was important. A lot of work and a lot of energy went into converting some of our leased assets into owned. But that’s an important transition that we made in this process. And then secondarily, as were in the recapitalization process, a lot happened during that period in the industry. I mean, the industry is moving particularly on the tailwinds of AI just at lightning speed.
09:56
Scott Willis
And what we’ve recognized and what we’re seeing in the market is a real need is, and this is really backed up by a pretty strong pipeline of opportunities is a lot of the players in the data center space have evolved upmarket and are really targeting much more towards hyper kind of workloads. What we realized in that process where many of the players are trying to move up and take advantage of the needs of that segment of the market is that larger enterprise still has needs. And what we realized is there was a real vacuum in the market and in that kind of 10 to 40, maybe 50 megawatt kind of range. And so as we went through this capitalization/recapitalization process, as were repositioning the business to take advantage of that opportunity, that’s the transition that has evolved and that’s where we are.
10:53
Scott Willis
And that’s really what we are crystal clear on in terms of what we’re focused on as we look to build this business is really putting capital to work in two ways. One is to expand our existing sites in the existing platform we have in our markets. We’ve got four of those projects that are currently underway that we’re going to move into that power segment in that 10 to 40 megawatts that I was describing. We are so excited about that in terms of how that’s going to be a game changer for DartPoints and the vision that we have for the company. And then secondarily, we’ve been fairly acquisitive in how we’ve built DartPoints, but we’ve really bought it or built it around buying businesses. And we’ve done that through real, what is effectively four transactions.
11:40
Scott Willis
I don’t think M&A is going to look historically what it has for DartPoints going forward. I think M&A is going to be a little bit more site specific and it’s really about identifying those asset opportunities that are out there that can deliver quickly right into that 10-40 megawatt range that we’re really looking to build this platform around. So that’s really what the strategy is. Time to market is our number one priority. We want to deploy and expand in our existing portfolio as fast as we can and we’re working very hard every day to do that.
12:16
Scott Willis
And then we want to leverage M&A to be able to bring the kind of asset that’ll complement the strategy and the vision that I’ve described in that power segment space that we’re going after and do that in a way where we can deliver that quickly. So, lots of transition, lots of activity in terms of recapitalizing the company. I’m excited about our new partners in terms of what we’re trying to achieve, and we are laser focused as a team in achieving what I just described.
12:42
Carrie Charles
Congratulations, Scott. I know that you’re going to make it a reality.
12:46
Scott Willis
It’s a lot of work. But we’re excited about the opportunity.
12:49
Carrie Charles
I’m sure it is. What steps are you taking to, I guess, future proof your data centers?
12:56
Scott Willis
Yeah, this is hard. That’s a subject. It’s kind of funny because this morning I was working. I’ve got a leadership team coming up next week and I was working on the agenda and it’s a subject that is on every leadership meeting that we have. It’s in two ways. One is about understanding your existing platform, your existing customer base, and remaining relevant. How do you take an existing platform that maybe is designed for a different time in a different state and evolving that so that you’re relevant over the next three to five years, So that’s one, and that’s hard, right. Because you can’t disrupt your customers. You’ve got to understand how do you evolve your existing platform to make sure that you’re relevant for your customers and you’re meeting future workloads? And then two is, through expansions. In terms of designing and configuring the future state environment we’re trying to transition this business towards and building and expanding the platform to be able to meet those future state needs. Whether it’s power, whether it’s cooling, whether it’s space. How do you design, deploy, and expand your platform so that you remain relevant over the next three to five to seven years? And in an environment where technology is evolving as rapidly as it is in the data center sector, particularly on the tailwinds of AI, that is no small challenge. That is, you know, Brad, my CTO, we’re blessed. He’s one of the best in the industry, but he is cycling through constantly trying to make sure that he understands how he maintains our relevance going forward. So it’s a challenge, right?
14:51
Scott Willis
But it’s not, this isn’t a DartPoints’ only challenge. It’s any data center operator in our sector is facing the same challenge that I just described.
15:00
Carrie Charles
You know, I think any business right now in the world is facing this challenge with AI, right?
15:06
Scott Willis
That’s exactly right.
15:08
Carrie Charles
For sure. For sure. So can you explain the difference between the multi-tenant and single tenant data centers? Quickly. But then also the challenges, the unique challenges that you face as a multi-tenant.
15:23
Scott Willis
I mean listen, this is going back to my segmentation comment earlier. There is no easy segment in our business. I want to be clear with that up front. But they’re different. If you’re a single tenant provider, whether you are providing to the hypers as a single tenant or you’re providing to a wholesale type of customer or even just a large enterprise that you’re providing services for, that’s a different environment to work within. Your expectations around what do you need to build, what are the customers’ needs, what are their exact requirements? All of those things you can design, configure and construct for as you’re doing that. Again, I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s a different challenge in our environment where it’s multi-tenant. You’ve got to design for the widest catcher’s net.
16:20
Scott Willis
We’re trying to cast the widest net to the market that allows us the greatest opportunity at commercial success. So, understanding the broader customer needs. Understanding how do I design and configure a next-generation data center that will meet the multiple demands and multiple needs of multiple customers. It’s just a different, it’s a different profile and it’s a different challenge as a data center operator that you face within that environment. We’ve been around since about 2014. We’ve been a multi-tenant operator since day one. We think we’re good at it. The feedback we get from our customers tells us we’re pretty good at it. And so it comes with a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge, whether it’s just pure basic space and power or you’re offering a more complex cloud, private cloud, multi-tenant cloud, hybrid cloud.
17:20
Scott Willis
Environment wrapped around with some managed services. Right, right. The complexity of all of those years of experience plays into how we continue, whether it’s an expansion or whether it’s an M&A opportunity. Build and configure what is a future proof type of data center that continues to be relevant and meets the needs of the enterprise customers. So, the complexities are different. Because you are dealing with multiple customers, multiple customer requirements and you need to be, you need to be able to manage that end to end. You need to be able to deliver that across your teams. With the right processes, right tools, the right procedures. And then you’ve got to do it in a way where you’re economically being very efficient and getting an acceptable level of return for your investors.
18:12
Scott Willis
And so it just adds a different challenge and a different element. Not any harder or less harder than the other one, but the challenges are certainly very different. So those are some of the high-level differences between maybe some of the more defined requirements of a single tenant versus the challenges that you deal with and trying to solve for a much broader set of customers.
18:33
Carrie Charles
What innovations in cooling do you believe will become standard in the next five to 10 years? Also, what cooling options specifically are you using now?
18:44
Scott Willis
Yeah, so that is probably one of the primary objectives I mentioned Brad, earlier, my CTO that we are focused on. In fact, we’ve got a number of different pilots that are underway in a test lab environment in our data centers using a number of different cooling technologies, particularly liquid. We’re really trying to understand what the best configuration is. It goes back to what I said earlier. If you’ve got a single tenant, they help you define, right? And that’s what you deploy. In my environment, where I’m trying to, back to that casting a wide net, that wider catcher’s mitt, where we’re trying to solve multiple types of workloads, it is more challenging, right?
19:33
Scott Willis
So we’re trying to understand that particularly in these expansion sites, we’re trying to understand, but it is going to be a combination of dense air, cool environments. It’s going to be multiple combinations of various liquid options. We are piloting that as we speak. We are leveraging expertise and consultants that are available in the market that have a lot of experience and have a lot of data. That is a significant component of what my current mindset is going towards, Brad, our CTO’s current mind share is going towards, and Dave, who obviously, at the end of the day, runs the operation. He’s got to run all of this. He’s got to make it all happen for our customers. So, we’re in the mix of trying to solve for that.
20:23
Scott Willis
But what we do know is we will have to bring multiple cooling solutions into our environment to meet the needs and the demands of the customers. And that not only we’re expecting to track near term, but also maintain relevance two years, three years, four years down the road as we’re deploying capital into, like I said, either these new expansion facilities or potentially through M&A. So that’s a real challenge. It is a difficult part of the industry today because there are lots of different cooling solutions, lots of different powering solutions, that you’ve got to synthesize through and make the best decision for your business in. Where you sit in the hierarchy of the market segment you’re trying to serve as a data center operator.
21:13
Scott Willis
So you know, when you said what is going to be the go to power in five to seven years, I don’t have an answer for that. We’re still trying to figure out, you know, what are the best solutions that we know will meet the needs of our, not only our customers today, but hopefully in a few years. To come as we try to future proof the investments that we’re making. So, it’s exciting on some fronts. It’s fun to work through, but you’ve got to make the right decisions. You have got to make the right choices, and that’s what the fun of the challenge is.
21:44
Carrie Charles
Yes, I agree. Let’s talk about talent and workforce. We have been discussing how fast the data center space is exploding. There’s AI driving it. Every single conference that I go to, data center conference, is all about the growth. And there’s got to be a talent shortage at this point. Are you feeling that in your business?
22:10
Scott Willis
No question. I think anybody that’s in the data center sector, there are certain segments. You and I have had a lot of conversations about this. This is core to what your business that you’ve built is all about. You and I have talked a lot about this. Culture. There is no more important factor than culture. Right? And it’s getting the right team members, the right skill set. You know, then you got to put the passion, and you got to put the ownership, and you got to put the willingness to go that extra mile and lay the vision out for your team. All of that comes together. So there is no question that talent is at the forefront of everything we’re facing. We’re doing that today.
22:56
Scott Willis
We’ve been in a significant hiring environment. We’re probably. If there’s an area, you know, this kind of goes back to some conversations you and I have had back because we knew each other back in my wireless days, you know, back kind of when I’ll speak domestically. Kind of when, you know, Sprint and TMO and Verizon and AT&T were all deploying at the same time. We had a real labor shortage back in those days. We’re kind of in that euphoria in the data center space just because there’s so many expansion projects and new builds going on in our industry. So whether it’s engineering, construction, project management, all the skills that you need to be able to either expand a data center within an existing campus environment, which is part of what I’m talking about, or you’re building a new one.
23:51
Scott Willis
That’s a real need in our industry today. It’s finding the talent and the skill set and then throwing the challenge of what we talked about earlier, about future proofing and understanding the tailwinds of AI and cooling and power and making sure that what you’re deploying and capital that you’re putting to work remains relevant beyond the next two or three years. Finding the skill set to help you navigate that and work through that is difficult. And again, as I talked about that kind of future proofing of your platform today that all leaders that are in our sector are challenged with, this is another one, right? Because it’s real. We’re in a stage of great opportunity in front of us.
24:34
Scott Willis
But to realize that opportunity, you’ve got to invest, and you got to create the platform and enable the platform and be able to deliver the ecosystems that you can take advantage of that opportunity. And so, talent is clearly something that all of us collectively are struggling with. Because again, as you and I have had many conversations, without the right talent, you’re never going to achieve or realize the vision that you have for your business. And that is no different for DartPoints. That is important. And we’re constantly looking to not only take care of the critical team that we have in place today, but how do we add to that and enhance that and build upon that to make sure that we’re able to achieve the vision that I’ve been talking about for the last few minutes around our points.
25:22
Carrie Charles
Do you have, let’s say, one strategy that’s been working for you to attract and retain talent? Let’s say attract, right? Because they’re hard to find. Anything that’s worked for you?
25:34
Scott Willis
I think there’s a number of things that you got to kind of deploy inside your business. It’s creating the right culture. It’s creating the right vision that people can align with. It’s creating an environment that people want to come into, and they want to work for and participate in that environment. Your biggest advocates are your employees. If they’re out there talking about DartPoints, if they’re talking about this is a great place that draws in. All of those components have to come together in terms of ultimately trying to create an environment where you can attract the right talent. You know, it’s interesting, maybe one initiative and I’m proud of this to the extent that I’m seeing results, but we’re early on.
26:26
Scott Willis
When you’re a business the size of DartPoints, we’re kind of a medium sized business, you know. Because I’ve had success in these kinds of businesses and I’ve worked for some large global corporations as well. And it’s not only the right talent, but it’s having the layers of that talent to be able to grow and scale that business. And that’s a challenge for a business the size of DartPoints. And so, I launched what I called our ELT. It’s our extended leadership team. What I really began to realize is that too much responsibility was relying on my direct reports, the senior leadership team of DartPoints, to get things done right. And I realized that if we need to enable that next layer of leadership, right.
27:20
Scott Willis
So that VP, and that Director and Senior Director. Because that’s really where work happens, that’s where decisions happen, and that’s where progress is made and that’s where execution occurs. And so, you know, we’ve implemented that in a pretty significant way. And where it’s formal. We have formal meetings as a group and brings ideas and concepts and things we need to do to drive and improve DartPoints up into the leadership team. And I couldn’t be more proud. It’s early, it’s only been about eight months, but I couldn’t be more proud of how that’s evolving. And I’m seeing it. This team has embraced that. They’re owning their objective, they’re taking responsibility, they’re embracing the ability to make decisions and own those decisions. And I’m seeing the results of it.
28:13
Scott Willis
So always looking for those kinds of opportunities to enable an organization. I think is important not only for someone that sits in my role, but as an executive leadership team. As you’re looking to grow and evolve and scale an organization, particularly in a business like ours, meaning the data center sector in general, broadly, that is moving so rapidly on the tailwinds of technology. I thought in previous parts of my career, things move fast. Nothing is moving as fast as what AI is evolving in this business today. And you’ve got to be able to keep up with that. And that doesn’t happen without having the right talent in the organization that feels empowered, feels enabled, and has ownership in the outcome.
29:05
Scott Willis
And that’s what we’re trying to achieve as we try to ultimately achieve the vision that I talked about previous.
29:11
Carrie Charles
Scott, what is the big dream that’s driving you forward right now?
29:17
Scott Willis
I’ve had lots of dreams, lots of goals, and a lot of those that I’ve achieved. But, it’s a lot of what I’ve described. I am enjoying so much what I’m doing with DartPoints. I love this data center space. Doesn’t mean I didn’t like wireless, that I didn’t enjoy the long distance, but I really am enjoying it. Listen, our world is changing rapidly. I mean technology, AI, the ecosystems, where we sit, how we’re going to enable all that is going to have such a dramatic impact on society and our everyday lives. And in some ways not even all of us realize or can envision what that’s going to mean. Even six months, a year, 18 months, two years down the road, I love being a part of that.
30:09
Scott Willis
And my goal is I want to enable DartPoints to be a meaningful provider and enabler of those ecosystems. And the vision that I’ve laid out, I’m excited about and if we can execute on that and enable that’s going to position DartPoints as a company. And my goal, mine personally, in terms of where I am in my age and my career is to build, you know, build this business in a sustainable way. I want the employees to, I want to have a culture that they love what we’re doing, right. They’re buying into what we’re doing, it’s got longevity, and they feel like they’re contributing to what we’re trying to do. So those are a lot of my big goals and what I’m trying to do.
30:54
Scott Willis
Just kind of given where I am in my career is enabling DartPoints and having the team that can kind of help me and the leadership team achieve what I’ve described.
31:07
Carrie Charles
What is your website? How can we learn more about DartPoints?
31:10
Scott Willis
Yeah, the website www.DartPoints.com. So, any and all information about who we are, what we do, what our strategy is, site level information in terms of power, space, you know, anything associated around, you know, white papers, thought leadership, anything you want to know in terms of DartPoints and what we’re trying to do. You’ll find that on the website. So please hit it. And we’re happy to provide any follow-up or any questions that someone might have if they reach out to us and job openings too.
31:41
Carrie Charles
You have a career page there, right?
31:43
Scott Willis
Absolutely, we have those and those are critical. So, if you’re interested, we’d love to talk to you.
31:49
Carrie Charles
Scott, I just want to say, not only thank you for coming on the show today but thank you for your mentorship over the years to me. You have been such an inspiration from the moment I met you. Every time we talk, you give me business ideas, guidance, hope, and excitement. I just want to thank you for that because it means a lot to me. And again, like I said, I have no doubt that you are going to accomplish everything that you set out to accomplish with dart points and more. So, thank you.
32:22
Scott Willis
Thank you. And I appreciate you having me on. I always enjoy the opportunity to. To come in and visit with you.
32:29
Carrie Charles
You take care. I’ll see you soon.
32:31
Scott Willis
Thanks.