It’s a new year, and that means there are new technology advancements and improvements on the horizon! We can count on the data center, a dynamic and ever-changing environment, to have brand new technologies popping up constantly along with impressive improvements made on existing technology each year. So how will these changes affect the industry in the new year? What advancements do we predict will be the main focus? Let’s take a dive in:
Addressing Climate Change
Data centers consume a large amount of power, and therefore have a significant impact on the environment. In fact, data centers alone account for 1% of the world’s energy consumption, and that number is predicted to skyrocket to 3.2% in the next five years. With the amount of data being created on a day-to-day basis, these numbers are not impossible. A major challenge data centers will face with the potential for such a steep rise of energy consumption in the near future is how to lower these emissions and minimize environmental impact. Green solutions have already started popping up, but must become an industry standard. (Source)
Advancements & Changes in the Edge
The Edge is becoming increasingly necessary for the way we use the internet today. With the rise in popularity of online gaming and streaming, traffic bottlenecks are popping up left and right. Edge data centers are directly aimed at decreasing these bottlenecks, and will continue to do so. As the year progresses, there will only be more content created and therefore more traffic, so edge computing must keep up with the times. The need for highly localized edge data centers to lower latency (and therefore bottlenecks) is ever-growing, and we are also seeing the rise of multi-cloud at the edge. This trend will be an interesting one to watch. (Source)
Remote Managed Data Centers
The data center industry is in a very precarious place right now when it comes to staffing. There are many more servers than there are people to manage them, and the aging data center workforce could cause a serious problem when retirement age rolls around for a large percentage of the industry. In the past, machine learning and automation have been used to address the issue of the server-to-human ratio, but we will need to turn to unstaffed data centers if we have any hope of remaining productive. This will mean a push in robotic development, and begin optimizing operations and facilities for the machines they house rather than the people who work within the walls. (Source)
As you can see, 2020 is already proving to be a year filled with advancements and challenges for the data center. We are excited to see the industry grow and change, so stay tuned for the continuation of this blog series where we will check in with these trends plus many more such as 5G, open hardware, IoT and AI. Here’s to a great year, from 165 Halsey Street to you!