CyrusOne : What Comes Next For The Data Center Industry?

With the new year upon it, many within the various facets of the data center industry are now turning their eyes toward the sector's emerging trends. Change is expected on a number of fronts, many of which should help to provide those looking for a data center platform with better options for performance, security, and sustainability, among a number of other issues that should come to the fore over the course of 2017. That, in turn, will be a boon to both providers and clients on an ongoing basis

Perhaps the biggest aspect of the data center sector that is going to be a major driver of adoption and evolution in the year to come is use of the cloud, according to new analysis from the professional services and investment management firm JLL. This will probably be true particularly in markets where there is already a lot of demand for data center services, such as Silicon Valley, the Washington, D.C., metro area, and international cities like London and Tokyo.

But at the same time, it's also important to closely monitor how policy shifts at the federal level might affect them, the report said. The fact is that a lot could change in the next several months and beyond, and that could have a regulatory impact on the data center sector as a whole.

'The data centers market is very fluid, but a few things are certain. Cloud adoption is soaring, technology innovation will not slow down, data center portfolios are consolidating and rack densities are ascending rapidly,' said Bo Bond, managing director and data center solutions co-lead at JLL. 'Companies needed to start their strategic planning yesterday to have any prospect of staying ahead.'

Power use on the rise even if footprints don't change
And while many data center providers are working to increase their own space as demand grows, the good news is that emerging technology allows for greater rack density, meaning the need for additional space to take on extra capacity won't grow as quickly, according to Data Center Frontier. With that having been said, though, this of course requires greater capital investment on the part of those companies, as well as additional expenditures on power usage as time goes along.

Meanwhile, there will also be an increased need for security - both physical and virtual - for these companies, the report said. Data center providers need to be able to demonstrate capabilities on both these fronts when it comes to protecting their IT infrastructure so that potential and current clients know they're in good hands no matter what threats may arise. The more transparency data center companies can provide in this regard, the more likely clients will be to feel confident about any agreements they approach.

At the same time, it's vital for those businesses with need of data center services to carefully consider which security options they will need to help keep their data safe long-term. The more they can do to learn about options like colocation and how that will help to protect them given their unique needs and circumstances, the more likely they will be to enjoy a fruitful relationship with their data center providers on an ongoing basis.

In addition, it's probable that more data center options will be coming to areas where they were previously unavailable or limited, Data Center Frontier added. As more organizations become dependent upon the kinds of services they can get from data center companies, need will grow in areas currently outside the scope of the industry. Thus, 'the edge' will be a focal point for many companies now looking to better serve those needs.

Coming together
Meanwhile, as companies upgrade their systems and clients shift preferences toward what the cloud can provide, it's also likely that data center companies will start to see demand for more interoperability between a number of different clouds, according to a report from the VAR Guy. This may not be easy to implement, but it could quickly become vital to having a successful platform available to organizations across a number of industries.

This kind of shift is vital especially as the market for data center services continues to grow and change in 2017 and beyond, according to Datamation. It's likely that between 2015 and 2020 the market for Big Data-related services will grow by nearly 100 percent, and data centers need to be ready to meet the demand companies will need as they place greater importance on this information. This need may be especially noteworthy as organizations of all sizes start to rely on devices connected to the Internet of Things.