Rapid growth in the artificial intelligence and broader digital services industries are fueling demand for new data center developments while driving innovation in data center design and technical innovation, according to the latest State of the Art report. AFCOM data centers.
Published today, the eighth edition of AFCOM annual study offers insight into an industry that is both experiencing a “massive boom in infrastructure design and construction” but also faces a growing list of challenges in key areas such as energy, cooling and sustainability.
“This year, we’re delving into the intricacies of GPUs, the explosive growth of the data center industry and, in particular, the adoption of AI solutions,” said Bill Kleyman, AFCOM program chair. The world of data centers event and co-author of the report.
“A significant majority of respondents are preparing to integrate AI-based solutions into their data centers. The main driving force? Considerable interest in supporting the new wave of generative AI applications.
Construction boom
According to the 2024 State of Data Centers Report, the rise of AI is “significantly influencing data center design and infrastructure.” This shift is driven by hyperscalers – including Google, Meta and Amazon – scaling to meet higher rack load requirements to support AI workloads and compute demands.
More than half (53%) of respondents to the report said they believe new AI workloads will “definitely increase the capacity needs” of the colocation industry. When it comes to AI solutions, 56% of respondents said they plan to deploy AI-enabled solutions in their own data centers, most commonly to support AI use cases generative (43%).
Quoting the latest S&P Global study, which indicates there are nearly 10,000 colocation and wholesale data center facilities in operation worldwide, AFCOM said the findings “collectively suggest a robust and expanding landscape for colocation data “. In addition to AI, the growth of secondary markets and increased demand for high-density colocation services are also generating new developmentsdeclared the association.
These bullish sentiments were echoed by Dell’Oro Group analyst Baron Fung, who said Knowledge of data centers: “We expect new data center spaces to be added in the coming years. Already, cloud computing and hyperscale colocation service providers are in a race to build newer and more facilities globally.
“New data centers will need to be built from the ground up (rather than retrofitted) to be AI-ready, as the infrastructure has unique cooling and power needs.”
Thirst for data
AFCOM’s forecasted growth in the data center sector was reflected in a recent study by Gartner, which forecasts that global IT spending will reach $5 trillion in 2024, an increase of 6.8% from 2023. Spending on data center services is expected to increase 7.5% to 261 million dollars during the same period.
Gartner analyst John-David Lovelock said: “Businesses continue to find more and more uses for technology. IT has moved from back office to front office and is now generating revenue. Until there is a plateau in how and where technology can be used in an enterprise, there cannot be a plateau in enterprise IT spending.
With data centers forming the backbone of enterprise IT infrastructure, this anticipated increase in demand is being felt by those on the front lines of building and operating data centers.
“AI will continue to fuel data center growth in the European data center industry,” said Oliver Menzel, CEO of Maincubes, a European data center operator. Knowledge of data centers. “We also see it as an enabler to overcome the challenges (e.g. economics, supply chain, land and power availability, local regulations) it presents by enabling the innovation.”
New innovations: sustainability and modularity
The need for new data centers is not without challenges. Power and cooling constraints, infrastructure threats, supply chain challenges and the overarching need to improve sustainability across the sector have all been cited as major issues impacting the data center space in 2024.
“The expansion and critical role of our sector, as well as its substantial energy needs, have necessitated a greater emphasis on sustainable practices and the exploration of renewable energy sources,” the report states. “Three in four (72%) respondents are considering using renewable energy, with 27% currently doing so. »
Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) and the growing adoption of modular data centers have also been identified as key industry trends to watch over the next 12 months.
According to AFCOM, 42% of respondents indicated that a hybrid approach to data center construction – using prefabricated modular facilities alongside traditional construction techniques – was on their radar.
“As we delved deeper into prefabricated data center designs, we were curious about which part would be prefabricated and delivered. Respondents considering leveraging prefabrication in new data center construction are most likely to report exploring prefabricated power modules (78%) and prefabricated cooling modules (72%),” says the report.
Indeed, AFCOM’s report comes as analysts increasingly cite modularity as a fundamental industry trend.
“Prefabricated data centers can already reduce construction time by 40-80%,” Vladimir Galabov, analyst at Omdia. said Knowledge of data centers Last year. “It’s time to open our minds and embrace this solution that can reduce the carbon footprint of a data center building by two-thirds.” »
“A monumental change”
Amid a growing list of challenges, the growing demand for AI has had a positive impact on the entire industry, according to Menzel.
“AI also shows promise in optimizing overall data center operations, improving energy efficiency, and strengthening data security through innovative AI tools and applications,” said the CEO from Maincubes. “For example, AI could help predict workload demands and automate the distribution of physical and virtual resources.
“Data center operators, infrastructure experts and policy makers at community, national and international levels are collaborating on sustainable energy solutions. »
For Kleyman, AFCOM’s latest industry report comes as data center operators find themselves “at the forefront of monumental change.”
“With forecasts indicating that applications based on extensive language models will be as ubiquitous as web applications over the next half-decade, the industry is at a turning point,” Kleyman said. Knowledge of data centers. “Yet the story doesn’t end with AI. Our full report goes beyond and uncovers the complexities behind these emerging trends.
He added: “We are on the verge of creating a digital age like no other. In this journey, challenges are inevitable and barriers must be broken. In this rapidly changing landscape, there is very little tolerance for complacency. Embrace experimentation with new technologies; they could revolutionize your business and your user experience.
Visit the AFCOM website to read the State of Data Centers 2024 report.
