Johnson Controls calls out trends to watch for data centers in 2019

There is an urgent need to manage, store and protect escalating volumes of data that is now being felt across all industries but most notably, by data centers. To adapt to the increasing complexities of the industry, data centers and providers are shifting their priorities to meet the unique needs of these facilities who are facing numerous challenges from these growing, complex environments.

To stay protected, increase operational efficiency, lower energy usage and improve water usage effectiveness, data centers will continue to seek out new and innovative ways to guarantee success for themselves and their customers. This in turn, is driving the demand for new technology solutions that provide more control, flexibility, reliability and added security to manage and protect massive amounts of data.

Michael Zarrilli, executive director of data center solutions, Johnson Controls shared some of the top trends we can expect to see take focus in the data center industry in order to drive success in the increasingly complex space, including:

Security comes to the forefront
Data is the most precious asset in this space, so data center protection, both cyber and physical security, are areas providers are increasingly investing in.

Shift to connected infrastructure systems

It takes a lot of equipment to keep a data center running, including electrical, IT, HVAC, building automation systems (BAS), fire detection and security infrastructure systems. With the exception of HVAC and BAS, traditionally these systems have had minimal interaction with each other, despite each infrastructure system providing a significant amount of valuable data. However, advancements in technology have enabled these systems to communicate with each other to decrease downtime risk and increase operational efficiency.

Prioritizing water usage in energy consumption

All data centers are working to drive down energy consumption to advance sustainability in their centers and decrease costs. While energy consumption has long focused on total power used by a facility’s equipment, water usage has increasingly become a big part of the equation. 

More attention on the power of partnerships

In traditional buildings, infrastructure is a very disparate process. This is not the case with data centers, as owners are often heavily involved in the center’s build and design process as that is the core of their business.

Move to the Edge

The demand for Edge computing is being driven by new applications coming to the market that require low latency, and cloud and colocation data center providers will likely lead the shift./p>

Stay protected, ensure reliable uptime, achieve operational efficiency, and drive down costs while advancing sustainability- data center providers will put a bigger emphasis on these areas to stay successful in the space.

Read the full article on Data Center Dynamics here: Five data center trends to watch in 2019