• About Us
  • Partnership Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy

Data Center Frontier

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing.

  • Cloud
    • Hyperscale
  • Colo
    • Site Selection
    • Interconnection
  • Energy
    • Sustainability
  • Cooling
  • Technology
    • Internet of Things
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Edge Computing
    • Virtual Reality
    • Autonomous Cars
    • 5G Wireless
    • Satellites
  • Design
    • Servers
    • Storage
    • Network
  • Voices
  • Podcast
  • White Papers
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Events
    • Newsletter
    • Companies
    • Data Center 101
  • Jobs
You are here: Home / Executive Roundtable / Executive Roundtable: The Top Data Center Trends for 2020

Executive Roundtable: The Top Data Center Trends for 2020

By Rich Miller - December 16, 2019

Executive Roundtable: The Top Data Center Trends for 2020

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Welcome to our 17th Data Center Executive Roundtable, a quarterly feature showcasing the insights of thought leaders on the state of the data center industry, and where it is headed. Our Fourth Quarter 2019 roundtable provides a look ahead into 2020, as our panel offers insights on four topics: the top data center trends for 2020, predictions for the coming year in hyperscale computing, an update on the industry’s looming staffing crisis, and the state of the market for edge computing services.

Here’s a look at our distinguished panel:

  • Tim Mirick, Senior Vice President Leasing & Marketing at Sabey Data Centers.
  • Steven Lim, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product at RagingWire/NTT Global Data Centers.
  • Corey Dyer, Executive Vice President, Global Sales & Marketing, at Digital Realty.
  • John Hewitt, President of the Americas for Vertiv.
  • Ted Behrens , Executive Vice President of Global Engineering, Product Management & Marketing for Chatsworth Products.
  • Phillip Marangella, the Chief Marketing Officer at EdgeConneX.

The conversation is moderated by Rich Miller, the founder and editor of Data Center Frontier. Each day this week we will present a Q&A with these executives on one of our key topics. We begin with a look at our panel’s predictions for the data center industry for 2020.

Data Center Frontier: What is the one trend you believe will be the most significant in shaping the data center industry in 2020, and why?

COREY DYER, Digital Realty

Corey Dyer: 2020 will be a big year for digital transformation. With technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain creating new possibilities, and organizations feeling the pressures of digital transformation, both private and public enterprises across all industries are going to need to transform their IT infrastructure so that they can operate globally and on-demand.

However, as most IT teams know, modifying IT environments to stay ahead of business demands is a challenging task, and often easier said than done. Enterprises are becoming increasingly buried in data due to AI, IoT and data analytics, and it becomes harder and harder to move. This is “data gravity” and it can completely derail a digital transformation strategy. If IT teams aren’t taking the right steps to manage their data, they’ll have massive amounts of data generated and stored in separate data centers, clouds, and edge locations, which can cause latency issues. This explosion of data will cause an exponential demand for more data center resources and power.

To avoid the perils of data gravity and be able to scale digital businesses, enterprises will need to re-architect towards a decentralized infrastructure that accommodates distributed workflows from multi-cloud to edge. We also expect customers to have a more global strategy, and as a result, will need to be able to be closer to their points of data. We’ll also see more companies gravitate towards providers who can support them globally.

JOHN HEWITT, Vertiv

JOHN HEWITT, Vertiv

John Hewitt: It’s not new, but the answer has to be continued growth at the edge of the network, and that’s true in what we think about as the traditional data center space as well as any number of verticals, including healthcare, retail, education, and the federal government sector. Consider this data point from our recent Data Center 2025 survey: Among survey participants who have edge sites today or expect to have them in 2025, that group collectively expects their total number of edge sites to increase by 226% by 2025.

This is happening because there are more and more applications that require computing closer to the end user. As we continue to see more adoption of artificial intelligence and rollout of 5G networks, this is only going to increase and accelerate.

TIM MIRICK, Sabey Data Centers

TIM MIRICK, Sabey Data Centers

Tim Mirick: We have been watching the steady migration of enterprises out of owned data centers and believe that will accelerate in 2020. This has been a trend for some time, but big moves take significant planning, and in some cases disposition of real estate assets and new staffing plans.

Based on demand, and with the number of sale/leasebacks that we have seen over the last several years (which provides time for transition planning), I believe we will see increased activity.

This will create incremental demand in the cloud and colocation market as they architect optimized hybrid deployments, leveraging the best of what they do with colocation and cloud capabilities.

STEVEN LIM, RagingWire/NTT

Steven Lim: In 2020, the sense of urgency toward supporting a sustainable future for our planet will be front and center in every industry, especially data centers. Some ways we can improve sustainability within our industry include:

  • Partner with your utility – As we build new data centers around the country, we are working with local providers such as Dominion Energy, Garland Power & Light, Portland General Electric and others to provide renewable energy options. This approach worked well in Sacramento, where our Northern California data center clients receive 100% renewable energy at stable prices that are the lowest in the state, without being exposed to market fluctuations. This renewable energy package came about from a partnership we forged with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), with whom we participate in their Greenergy and Large Commercial SolarShares programs. Greenergy allows business customers to purchase up to 100 percent of their electricity from renewable resources such as wind, water, sun and biomass. Large Commercial SolarShares allows large businesses in the Sacramento region to purchase solar energy directly from SMUD. We’re quite proud that our renewable energy agreement is the largest with a private sector company in SMUD’s 70-year history.
  • Run all data center operations at peak efficiency – By implementing a wireless environmental monitoring system to provide a detailed thermal map of the data floor, we can make precise temperature and humidity adjustments to save cooling energy. We carefully increased chilled water temperatures from the initial plant design temperature of 45°F to about 60°F, which resulted in energy savings of as much as 30%. In addition, after being permanently loaded just one time, water in this closed loop does not need to be refilled. We leverage the right technology for a given environment, which enables us to go 100% waterless where possible. For instance, at our Dallas TX1 Data Center, we have installed one of the largest water-free mechanical systems in the U.S., which leverages cool air from outside and does not stress local water supplies.
  • Look at all sustainability opportunities – Find ways to use more recycled materials, such as buying carpet from recycled fishnet. We recycle 100% of the cardboard, steel, copper, glass, plastic, aluminum, and other eligible materials, and we recycle 100% of our lead acid and VRLA batteries, and all the electronic waste from our own company use and as a free service to our clients.
TED BEHRENS, Chatsworth Products

TED BEHRENS, Chatsworth Products

Ted Behrens: After many years of forecasting the rise in cabinet densities, the industry has finally hit the inflection point of cabinet densities rising well into the double-digit kW range. To be sure, this rise is being driven by an increased IT application demand, but it’s also a result of the maturing infrastructure technologies used to support such loads. For example, thermal segregation of air through hot or cold aisle containment is still a relevant practice that supports upwards of 30kW loads if deployed appropriately.

Another growing trend, particularly in the United States, is the slow and steady transition from 480/208 VAC to 415/240 VAC power feeds. U.S. data centers are making the switch mainly due to recent advances in uninterruptible power supply (UPS)—including the introduction of transformerless UPSs and Energy-Saver Mode. As the last leg of the power chain, demand for intelligent power distribution units (PDUs) is also expected to increase.

PHILLIP MARANGELLA, EdgeConneX

Phillip Marangella, Chief Marketing Officer, EdgeConneX

Phillip Marangella: From a market perspective, AI and cloud gaming become pervasive, which in turn drives more cloud deployments at the edge to enable both of those trends.

From an industry perspective, consolidation will continue with infrastructure capital continuing to enter the data center market.

And lastly, from a technological perspective, the drive for more sustainable solutions will evolve so that the growth in renewable power solutions will start bringing power to the grid and not just the data center.

NEXT: A look at what we can expect from the hyperscale computing sector in 2020. 

Keep pace with the fact-moving world of data centers and cloud computing by following us on Twitter and Facebook, connecting with me on LinkedIn, and signing up for our weekly newspaper using the form below:

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Tagged With: Chatsworth Products, Digital Realty, EdgeConneX, RagingWire Data Centers, Sabey Data Centers, Vertiv

Newsletters

Stay informed: Get our weekly updates!

Are you a new reader? Follow Data Center Frontier on Twitter or Facebook.

About Rich Miller

I write about the places where the Internet lives, telling the story of data centers and the people who build them. I founded Data Center Knowledge, the data center industry's leading news site. Now I'm exploring the future of cloud computing at Data Center Frontier.

Comments

  1. jonathan.evans@ecodatacenter.se'Jonathan Evans says

    December 17, 2019 at 2:56 am

    Very helpful but although there are some mentions not enough emphasis perhaps on more dramatic ways of reducing the carbon footprint of the industry. EcoDataCenter in Sweden is actually climate positive and built from sustainable materials as this article illustrates. https://lnkd.in/eTGduaD

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Voices of the Industry

Mitigate Risk, Improve Performance and Decrease Operating Expenses through Data Center Self-Performance

Mitigate Risk, Improve Performance and Decrease Operating Expenses through Data Center Self-Performance If a vendor conducts the actual work in your data center, then you or your operator aren’t maximizing your current operating resources and are experiencing incremental cost and risk. Chad Giddings of BCS Data Center Operations, explains the importance of your data center provider having a high-degree of self-performance.

White Papers

Phoenix Data Center Market

2021 Overview of the Phoenix Data Center Market

Phoenix has established itself as a major market for cloud computing, and nearly every major hyperscale platform and wholesale data center developer has lined up land for future capacity in Greater Phoenix. The region is positioned for continued data center expansion, and the pace and location of that growth will be guided by deployment trends for large customers, especially regarding how they position their capacity and availability zones. This report, in conjunction with NTT, continues Data Center Frontier’s market coverage of growing data center hubs. Explore further for a comprehensive overview of the Phoenix data center market.

Get this PDF emailed to you.

We always respect your privacy and we never sell or rent our list to third parties. By downloading this White Paper you are agreeing to our terms of service. You can opt out at any time.

DCF Spotlight

Data center modules on display at the recent Edge Congress conference in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Edge Computing is Poised to Remake the Data Center Landscape

Data center leaders are investing in edge computing and edge solutions and actively looking at new ways to deploy edge capacity to support evolving business and user requirements.

An aerial view of major facilities in Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Virginia. (Image: Loudoun County)

Northern Virginia Data Center Market: The Focal Point for Cloud Growth

The Northern Virginia data center market is seeing a surge in supply and an even bigger surge in demand. Data Center Frontier explores trends, stats and future expectations for the No. 1 data center market in the country.

See More Spotlight Features

Newsletters

Get the Latest News from Data Center Frontier

Job Listings

RSS Job Openings | Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting

  • Electrical Commissioning Engineer - Los Angeles, CA
  • Data Center Construction Project Manager - Ashburn, VA
  • Critical Power Energy Manager - Data Center Development - Dallas, TX
  • Data Center Facilities Operations VP - Seattle, WA
  • Senior Electrical Engineer - Data Center - Dallas, TX

See More Jobs

Data Center 101

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Open Spectrum, brings our readers a series that provides an introductory guidebook to the ins and outs of the data center and colocation industry. Think power systems, cooling, solutions, data center contracts and more. The Data Center 101 Special Report series is directed to those new to the industry, or those of our readers who need to brush up on the basics.

  • Data Center Power
  • Data Center Cooling
  • Strategies for Data Center Location
  • Data Center Pricing Negotiating
  • Cloud Computing

See More Data center 101 Topics

About Us

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing. We write about what’s next for the Internet, and the innovations that will take us there. We tell the story of the digital economy through the data center facilities that power cloud computing and the people who build them. Read more ...
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Our Founder

Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data center industry’s most experienced journalist. For more than 20 years, Rich has profiled the key role played by data centers in the Internet revolution. Meet the DCF team.

TOPICS

  • 5G Wireless
  • Cloud
  • Colo
  • Connected Cars
  • Cooling
  • Cornerstone
  • Coronavirus
  • Design
  • Edge Computing
  • Energy
  • Executive Roundtable
  • Featured
  • Finance
  • Hyperscale
  • Interconnection
  • Internet of Things
  • Machine Learning
  • Network
  • Podcast
  • Servers
  • Site Selection
  • Social Business
  • Special Reports
  • Storage
  • Sustainability
  • Videos
  • Virtual Reality
  • Voices of the Industry
  • Webinar
  • White Paper

Copyright Endeavor Business Media© 2022