Staying Up to Date: Data Center Management of the Future

Now that we’re firmly entrenched in the computer age, few things are growing as rapidly in importance as data storage. The information that we’ve come to rely on as being only a mouse click away has to be stored somewhere, and that’s where data centers come in.A joint InterUnity Group/AFCOM study attempts to give some insight on the shaping of the data centers of the future and reports that new equipment matters in a big way to data center managers. Not only does it obviously keep the data center from becoming obsolete, the acquisition of new equipment without adequate concern for power or cooling requirements also keeps 59% of data center managers up at night, according to the study.

When it comes to electrical and mechanical upgrades new computing technology is what it’s all about. More than 40% of the respondents to the study say that major upgrades will be required within the next 36 months to avoid obsolescence, with almost half of this group saying that upgrades will be needed in the next 12 months.

Protection and reliability are also both being taken very seriously, with 80.7% of data centers reporting they are more reliable and better protected than three years ago. The real threat to reliability is the new technology that places more of a demand on the power and cooling systems of the facility, as nearly 50% of responding data center managers say they are concerned with the increasing power densities of new servers and switches.

Data center cooling and power requirements are each increasing at an average of 8% per year with these new technologies.

Blade servers, one of the new emerging technologies, have been adapted by over half of respondents, with 37% of the remaining respondents citing no recognizable benefits of this technology. Another new technology, utility computing, has only been adopted by 19% of respondents, with 49.1% not planning to implement it in the foreseeable future.

Overall, the number one thing on the data center manager’s mind is getting more in tune with new technology, as 73% of respondents cite the lack of their involvement in the planning and procurement of new equipment as the chief concern.

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