Reasons given for data center investment among owners and operators surveyed in 2009 indicate strongly changing priorities. Last year, increasing IT capacity together with the power provision necessary to make that happen took the top two spots. Going into 2010, improving efficiency and reducing (or containing) costs are indicated as key priorities followed by associated investments in cooling and in virtualization. Both of these reasons are associated strongly with the need to reduce cost through greater efficiency as a key investment driver. The cyclical nature of this process can be read on a market level as investment commitment to the first drivers leads almost inevitably to the second. The process then repeats as markets evolve suggesting that while efficiency may be driven by legislative, environmental and corporate factors there is also a strong element of using it to 'clear space' for further facility growth. So long as the primary driver of required growth in IT capacity remains, this investment cycle will continue to track upwards. And other indications from our research suggest it is doing so on an ever faster basis.