I started in tech infrastructure over 25 years ago, when “Internet” was still a novelty and your dial-up connection sounded like a small robot screaming into a blender and Al Gore was taking all the credit. 
 
My first job was at Netcom, one of the first four internet service providers in the country. That was back when data centers were… let’s just say “functional,” in the loosest sense of the word. After Netcom On Line Communications, I joined ISI, which became GlobalCenter, then Exodus, and ultimately was absorbed into Equinix. If you’re a data center historian, you know that path well. 
 
Now, don’t get me wrong, the data centers back then didn’t look quite as bad as a broom closet filled with servers and a floor fan, but they weren’t far off. No cages. Questionable security. Cooling and power systems that would make a modern facility manager weep. It was the Wild West of digital infrastructure. 
 
Fast forward to today, and we’re living in the age of hyperscale. Data centers are smarter, greener, and more secure than ever before, and growing at a pace that most industries can’t match. AI, edge computing, cloud proliferation, it’s all driving demand for infrastructure at a scale we once couldn’t imagine. 
 
And here’s the thing: none of it works without great people. 
 
That’s where quality hiring comes in. Despite starting a staffing company 10 years ago, (I can still hear my colleagues and peers… “You’re starting a what company?? Staffing? Ewww! Yuck!”), my interest in infrastructure has never waned. In fact, it’s no coincidence that data centers and infrastructure have become one of the strongest technical verticals we support at Ursus, Inc.  
 
Because the modern data center is a different beast. It requires engineers with hybrid skillsets, security specialists who understand both physical and digital threats, and operations teams who can scale and adapt to new workloads with precision. This isn’t a place where you can plug in a warm body and hope for the best. 
 
Hiring for data centers today isn’t just about filling a rack. It’s about futureproofing. It’s about investing in people who understand the complexity of today and the demands of tomorrow. 
 
We’ve come a long way from server closets and shared T1 lines. But the next generation of infrastructure won’t build, or run, itself. Let’s make sure we’re hiring like it matters. 
 
Because it does. 
 
Jon Beck 
Founder & CEO, Ursus 
Data center fanboy since 1997