Data centers – what to expect in 2020

30.01.2020 1,333 2

Martin Deshev

Many companies have a lot of reasons to be thankful for the cloud. What most don’t realize is that the cloud has to thank the data centers. A good data center is vital for keeping up with the increasing demands of cloud computing customers.

And the industry changes a lot thanks to that. Plus, there are additional trends like specific workloads, the rise of Edge computing and other factors that play into the future of the data center. Let’s see what changes will be on the rise for data centers in 2020.

Life on the Edge

A few years ago Cisco predicted that 2020 would see the massive rise of IoT. And for IoT to work, Edge computing seems like a popular choice. This could also lead to changes in the way most data will be handled. As such the data centers could see some offloading of tasks, but that doesn’t mean they will linger in standby mode.

Diversity everywhere

In fact, the rise of the Edge could mean that data centers will be free to focus on other types of work and be even busier. Container deployment, Kubernetes and massive AI projects that require lots and specific resources will dominate data centers. Diverse workloads will bring changes to data centers and their abilities.

High energy bills

As workloads get bigger and more specific, the energy consumption of data centers will continue rising. There are already talks about the high emissions data centers bring, along with their constant hunger for more electricity. As a result, data center owners are increasingly looking for alternative energy sources to address these issues. These sources often are expensive initially, so the bills will still go higher.

Open source love

Cloud computing in general has a big role in promoting open source. It showed providers and clients that open source doesn’t mean “open access” and that it can bring a lot of benefits. This will continue in 2020 as clients employ more multi-cloud strategies and want better integration between services and platforms.

Automation rises

Increased usage means that more and more functions of the data centers will require automation. This is the only way they can keep up with the demands and expectations. So, don’t be surprised to see AI-driven cloud solutions to start popping up.

More money coming

All of these changes don’t necessarily mean that data center providers will have to bear the increased costs alone. In fact, Uptime Institute forecasts increased capital inflow from investors. Data centers are seen as a niche long term investment and this makes them attractive to investors. And they will be looking to get in on the tech before it’s too late.

Possible regulations

Climate changes, data protection, privacy demands and political landscapes will also play a big role in the world of data centers. Location matters not only for environmental and energy reasons. It also matters for local and international regulations and data usage. And regulating the IT industry is a hot topic these days, so this can trickle down to data centers as well.