Intelligent Data Centres Issue 38 | Page 41

EXPERT OPINION
Jack Bedell-Pearce , CEO and Co-founder of 4D Data Centres started around a decade ago and has increased steadily ever since . According to Statista , the amount of data created , captured , copied and consumed worldwide is expected to grow from around 59 zettabytes ( ZB ) in 2020 to around 149 ZB in 2024 .
Advancements in Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) and Machine Learning ( ML ) are helping data centres to improve system reliability , energy efficiency and security , all while reducing operating costs . To keep up with this , enterprises now have to focus even more on Digital Transformation and remaining agile .
This isn ’ t without its challenges , with an ageing IT infrastructure cited as a major hurdle for mature businesses . With technology changing so quickly , lots of in-house equipment has become outdated and can ’ t cope with the modern demands in terms of server space , power and cooling requirements . Upgrading the infrastructure that supports a business ’ IT is essential since it can lead to reduced costs , data and great IT agility . It can also contribute to a more solid foundation upon which to progress Digital Transformation .
However , upgrading in-house infrastructure can be costly and timeconsuming , but there are cost-effective alternatives . These include taking services from a cloud hosting provider , housing hardware in a colocation facility or opting for a hybrid IT solution – splitting resources between public and private clouds , on-site servers and data centre suites .
For those looking to keep costs down , physically moving existing systems to a colocation data centre can be the fastest way to get resources into a more reliable ( and scalable ) environment and the upfront investment will be less significant . It doesn ’ t even have to be done in one go , with business-critical systems being migrated first and secondary workloads moved later ( or replaced with SaaS solutions instead ).
Data centres and the cloud
Cloud and data centres are critical parts of the digital infrastructure , so it goes without saying that advances in data centre technology boost the effectiveness of the cloud , and vice versa .
Across the world , the demand for nonstop data reached incredible levels throughout the COVID-19 pandemic . At the time when countries were locked down and working remotely , it was www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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