The data center industry is constantly evolving and embracing new trends and tech to meet modern demands. At the moment, some hot topics in the industry include sustainability, the metaverse and edge computing. Learn about these topics and trends in our latest industry roundup.
Sustainability, Water Scarcity Make Data Center Cooling a Hot Topic
Data Center Frontier
A recent DCF Data Center Executive Roundtable focused on sustainability and water scarcity. Water can be vital for keeping data center infrastructure cool, but it also poses some sustainability concerns. Compared to other industrial or commercial industries, data centers rank in the top 10 for water consumption.
Due to rising consumer requirements, many data centers are growing and generating a higher power density. Rising requirements lead to rising cooling demands. Trends toward AI computing, for example, will continue to drive up the need for powerful yet sustainable cooling.
Some predict this will mean taking a more holistic view of a data center’s ecological footprint and accepting higher electricity consumption in exchange for less water consumption.
Learn more about cooling options by reading “Which Cooling Solution Is Best for My Data Center?”
Aligned, Corscale, Ascent and T5 Data Centers Sign Up for Carbon Tracking
Data Center Knowledge
Going green is a timely and crucial goal for the data center industry. Some data centers are taking practical steps to this end, including several colocation providers that are beginning to monitor and report on their consumption of major resources.
Aligned Data Centers, Corscale, Ascent and T5 Data Centers all partnered with Ledger8760, a carbon emissions tracking platform, to track sustainability metrics and connect that information to their financial data.
Corscale Senior Vice President Nic Bustamante explained that this level of “real-time energy transparency” would help them be better partners to their clients who have sustainability goals of their own.
Intel: Making the Metaverse Will Require Major Infrastructure Upgrades
Data Center Knowledge
The metaverse may seem like a distant apparition, but major tech companies such as Intel are already preparing for what could be the next major technological development after the World Wide Web and mobile devices.
Intel’s Raja Koduri points out that the world’s current computing infrastructure is incapable of realizing the capabilities of the metaverse. However, according to Koduri, Intel is making preparations now by creating three layers or building blocks that will make the metaverse possible. These layers are:
- Meta intelligence: A unified programming model with accessible resources will empower developers.
- Meta ops: There will need to be infrastructure to deliver computing power beyond local limits.
- Meta compute: The metaverse will also require raw computing power that can support virtual experiences.
With the necessary developments, the metaverse may be closer to becoming a reality than many people think.
The Edge Data Center Will Be Home to the Metaverse
Data Center Dynamics
Some of the world’s most influential tech companies have legitimized the great potential the metaverse provides. While the metaverse could be revolutionary, it would need to facilitate continuous, high-bandwidth and high-speed data transfers. That’s not currently possible, but it could be in the future.
As the metaverse becomes a reality, edge data centers will play an important role in reducing latency. Latency and disruptions are likely to blame for the limited adoption of virtual and augmented reality technologies. The metaverse will only be able to achieve mainstream adoption if data centers at the edge create a seamless experience for the end user.
Learn more about meeting demand at the edge by reading “How Modular Data Centers Empower Edge Computing.”
Divide and Conquer: The Rise of Decentralised Colocation
Data Centre Magazine
Low latency has become increasingly important for a variety of applications. It’s no wonder that regional edge colocation facilities are taking on a more prominent role to meet this demand.
Regional edge colocation facilities take the cloud to the local level. In the U.K., as in the U.S., data centers are becoming decentralized to bring computing closer to the edge. More and more data centers are being established outside of major metropolitan centers. In the U.K., this means London is no longer the sole data center hub.
Learn more about this decentralizing trend in the U.S. in our blog post, “Has Ohio Become the New Data Center Build Destination?”
Learn More About the Data Center Industry
PCX makes it easy to keep up with the data center industry, even in the face of rapidly evolving trends. Learn more in our free guide, The State of the Data Center Industry Post-Pandemic.
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