The role of data center, in view of the potential for business development, is fundamental. The challenges: security, service delivery, compliance and privacy.
The value of investments in data centers globally last year is more than doubled. The total number of data center transactions increased by 64% over the same period. The extraordinary growth is expected to continue this year as well. 45% of developers, 56% of debt providers and 67% of equity investors plan to invest in four or more data center projects in the next 24 months. Record demand for data centers is driven by the growth of hyperscalers, such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft, which have thrived on the shift to cloud services, which has in turn been intensified by the pandemic.
While data center investments have primarily been directed to the United States and Europe, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the main source of future growth. Although 70% of respondents consider US data center assets overvalued, the country accounts for nearly half of global hyperscale capacity. However, 79% of respondents chose China as one of the three countries where investment growth is expected to grow over the next 24 months. Followed by India (56%) and the United States (54%). This shift towards investment in APAC is due to the rise of Chinese hyperscalers, including Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance.
The trends that are in part determining the transformation of data center structures are multiple and are also in part linked to the opportunities offered by digitization with the implementation of new technologies such as IoT, Cloud, Big Data, 5G and Artificial Intelligence. Clearly all of this involves the use of infrastructures capable of supporting them, together with highly specialized skills and professionals.
Second Gartner, growth, digitization and efficiency are the top three goals of organizations around the world. To allow us to take up this challenge is the “cloudification”, accelerated by the pandemic and favored by the aid programs of European governments as part of the digital transition acceleration plan. In fact, the cloud offers companies the possibility to work, innovate and collaborate anywhere and at any time, through agile and secure cloud platforms of their choice (public, private and hybrid). Furthermore, again according to Gartner forecasts, by 2025 native cloud platforms will host more than 95% of new digital initiatives, thus recording a 40% increase compared to 2021.
Cloud and data center, an inseparable pair
The cloud experiences its evolution in a highly dynamic way.
Currently, there is growing interest in hybrid cloud models that combine on-premise and off-premise resources and thus offer the cost efficiency of a public cloud and the flexibility of a private cloud for implementing business requirements.
However, implementing such a strategy always requires a thoughtful approach, and is the only way to ensure long-term and sustainable success for the project.
The use of environments hybrid cloud it is gaining popularity as companies look for efficient and cost-effective technologies and solutions that meet their needs in real time. But technology alone is not enough. A strategic, well thought out and detailed approach is required for effective implementation.
When designing a hybrid environment, enterprises must first determine which areas will continue to operate locally and which applications will instead be moved to the cloud.
Companies of all sizes that want to embark on or enhance the path to Digital Transformation can count on the innovation of cloud solutions offered directly by the providers and managed through the portfolio of the numerous market players available today. The proposal includes both standard and customizable services based on specific requests.
Technological evolution is undoubtedly guiding the progressive transformation of the offer and the portfolio of system integrators and distributors. But the renewed needs of customers towards cloud-based solutions should not be forgotten. Large and small companies are increasingly demanding greater flexibility and security.
Reliable data centers
The increasingly widespread use of the cloud necessarily implies the construction and management of data centers capable of supporting these services.
In a rapidly evolving world, architectural complexity and continuous IT innovations lead to a strongly accelerated technological turnover. Thus, more and more often, keeping up with the times is complex and a source of great stress. This, even more so, in small environments, where you don’t have the time or don’t have the skills to keep up with the pace.
In order not to fall behind and not miss the innovation train, which brings benefits to the business and can increase revenues, more and more entrepreneurial realities rely on industry experts and the scalable services offered by the cloud.
However, what is often not perceived by the end user is how these services can work and which infrastructures are necessary for continuous and reliable operations.
On the other hand, data center managers and cloud providers know this very well, constantly engaged in the search for the best possible solution, to make the most of the available resources, in compliance with the agreements made with customers and the environment that surrounds us.
The online services that we use every day, professionally, but also personally, necessarily pass through hardware infrastructures, suitably orchestrated by software, all powered and maintained in the data centers located throughout the country, and beyond.
Therefore, for a manager and provider, the ability to build and implement one or more data centers in the best possible way means putting into practice a broader, strategic and long-term vision.
Green data center
The entire cloud stack, from hosting to the “cloud”, rests on the robust architecture of the datacenter (enterprise-class storage, redundant networks, high-performance servers), for rapid deployment of services, from cloud backup to load balancing, from DRaaS, to public, private and hybrid cloud.
It is easy to understand how the diffusion of green data centers and energetically self-sufficient is to be hoped for, for a sustainable future and a real availability of effective and efficient services, on several levels. In fact, the storage of information and the volume of data is growing at a rapid pace; the creation of new data centers is therefore essential from a future perspective.
The centralization of data and the proliferation of data centers have certainly favored the digitization of the population. However, they have not necessarily improved energy consumption. To be sustainable and create environmentally friendly infrastructures, constant commitment and continuous attention to every single design and maintenance choice is required.
To make a Climate Neutral Data Center it is important to have clear guidelines, essential for directing and validating the choices made in the project phase.
From a green data center perspective, it is important to set well-defined objectives, as indicated, for example, by the Pact for the climate neutrality of data centers, drawn up by the European Green Digital Coalition. This grouping of leading technology companies has the common goal of supporting the green and digital transformation of the economy, both in Europe and internationally.
This common will translates into concrete actions, starting with a substantial effort in terms of investments in the development and dissemination of sustainable digital technologies and services.
Work is also being done to develop and support methods and tools for measuring the net impact of green digital technologies on the environment and climate. Founders and companies are committed to co-creating green transformation guidelines that benefit the environment and the economy.
A second crucial aspect for the creation of a sustainable data center concerns the energy supply. Service providers must provide for the selection of green suppliers. Many providers, for example, only purchase energy with a Guarantee of Origin from renewable sources.
As explained by the GSE
the Guarantee of Origin (GO) is an electronic certification that certifies the renewable origin of the sources used by IGO qualified plants.
For each MWh of renewable electricity fed into the grid by IGO qualified plants, the GSE issues a GO title, in compliance with Directive 2009/28/EC. All GO titles are issued, transferred and canceled electronically via the appropriate web portal.
In some cases, to achieve the vision of a green data center more quickly, the most prudent service providers integrate primary energy sources with internal production systems.
Self-production can come from photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of the data center or on the ground. Or, again, it can be generated through renewable sources such as wind, hydroelectric and geothermal (the latter adopted as an efficient solution for cooling server rooms).
For larger data centers, the big names in the network and the companies most sensitive to environmental issues build independent renewable plants capable of satisfying a large part of the data center’s energy needs. In this way it is possible to go in the direction of full integration of the energy network, exploiting a virtuous circle of self-production, reintroduction into the network and self-consumption.