Over the past 25 years, the design and operation of data centers has seen many changes driven by IT changes and demand. In the 80s the move away from mainframe computing and into networked servers led to raised floors with dedicated UPS and Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) units. In the 90s, explosion of the Internet led to the adoption of availability models and the resulting Tier ratings. Eventually, engineers and operators began questioning energy usage and best practices, which led to a breakaway from the rigid ‘availability, no question’ to the more realistic ’availability, no doubt; but energy too’. 

As we came out of the 2000s’ first decade, energy issues dwarfed availability concerns as engineers and operators looked for innovative ways to reduce energy use. Today, we see several forces shaping the future data center. Keywords on everyone’s minds are modular, containers, TCO, time to market, et.  But if we truly consider the root drivers, we can single out three forces that are contributing to the shift in delivery of the future data center:

• Cloud
• Energy and regulation
• Infrastructure integration

Let’s take a look at the flow charts below, starting with the Cloud as primary force. The Cloud has changed how we use personal computers and PDAs on all levels. Behind the screens, IT workload demand from the Cloud drives density, which drives IT infrastructure changes and subsequently facilities changes. This in turn drives innovation in design and operation.

To keep up with this increased demand, design innovations in recent months have focused on  modularity. This is because the Cloud has put pressure on businesses to squeeze the time-to-launch model for a data center to as short as six months.

We believe the Cloud will continue pressing the engineering and IT community to innovate their designs and operations.

On Chart 2 below, energy costs and sustainability drive infrastructure rethinking, revisiting and revising operating parameters.

We are experiencing a generational shift in thought with respect to sustainability. While the 70s Oil-Crisis generation thought the green movement was simply a fad, this generation demands sustainability in every design. As a result, the C-Level is questioning established practices, and innovative designs have emerged that would have been unthinkable only a couple of years ago. Free cooling in New York City for most of the year? Evaporative cooling with no mechanical chillers in Oregon? Tapping the upper limit of temperature tolerance of servers? High-density submerged servers compacted in one rack? These are just a few examples.

We see another 800lb gorilla in the room: Regulation. Local authorities, under financial, security and sustainability pressures, will ratchet up the laws and tax data centers on carbon, electricity, water, and dissemination of IT information. In the coming years, we see a continuation of the trend driven by energy and regulation.

Following Chart 3 below, Digital Integration of Information and Infrastructure drives hardware connectivity, which drives software development, which drives advancement in implementation of both hardware and software. This ultimately drives innovation in communication and data logging of components.

The most important innovation that the data center world has seen in this field is what is termed date center infrastructure management (DCIM). The platform was introduced several years ago out of the need to connect and monitor IT and facilities under one umbrella. In future, we will see DCIM mature and ubiquitously implemented. Integration platforms communicate valuable information on thermal and power loads from the facilities perspective. This implementation will be accelerated once security issues are mitigated, costs go down, and smart connectivity with the building automation systems is achieved. 

The data center industry is experiencing a paradigm shift to deliver and launch a facility that is sustainable costs less, has justified total cost of ownership and better IT scalability. In today’s world, the flywheel momentum of the three forces outlined above seems to be accelerating the pace of design and operational innovation of a new generation of data centers.

This article first appeared in FOCUS magazine. To register for FOCUS digital editions, click here.