DATA CENTRE PREDICTIONS
But doing so can be contradictory to the nature of many highly complex , missioncritical environments . A data centre is home to a wealth of different technologies – from HVAC systems to mechanical and structural engineering , IT and compute . The challenge is trying to accelerate such highly complex , interdependent types of environments to maintain the current trends for digitalisation .
To this end , data centre designers , operators and vendors are fashioning systems that will reduce this complexity while respecting an application ’ s missioncritical nature . The industrialisation , or modulisation , of data centres , where prefabricated , pre-engineered and preintegrated units , are delivered to site , is one way of making the design and construction of a data centre less complex while ensuring faster time-to-market .
4 . Moving beyond traditional clusters
Until now , London , Dublin , Frankfurt , Amsterdam and Paris have been the traditional data centre clusters , either because companies are headquartered in these cities , or because they ’ re natural economic clusters with a wealth of telecom connectivity and ideal client profiles .
To provide quality of service and be in closer proximity to centres of population and economic activity , it ’ s becoming more favourable to build data centres in the secondary cities of the main economic
Ciaran Forde , Data Centre Segment Leader , Eaton nations and in the capitals of smaller economic nations . Competition among the data centre providers is strong , so many of these Tier II cities and nations provide for growth for existing operators or low point of entry for new operators . For this reason , you will see increased activity in cities like Warsaw , Vienna , Istanbul , Nairobi , Lagos and Dubai .
But this expansion is not without its challenges . Considerations around the availability of appropriate sites , power and engineering labour all add complexity to an organisation ’ s overall operations , for instance . And many of those countries may not have a lot of experience or personnel to help with the design , construction and operation of a new data centre .
Overcoming such challenges will require data centre owners to relearn the industry each time they move into a new geography . Regardless of such challenges , though , new markets continue to open up , with many operators trying to achieve first mover advantage into developing secondary markets . In fact , many jurisdictions are welcoming data centre operators with open arms , with some even offering incentives and subsidies to entice them .
One thing this year has proved is that we can ’ t be certain about anything . The after-effects of COVID and the current geopolitical system have left the sector facing a series of unprecedented challenges . But growth opportunities exist . Trends would indicate that more forward-looking operators will be able to weather the storm , to face whatever the future holds . �
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