September 26
With 2024 fast approaching, third-party colocation data centers continue to play a pivotal role in a sophisticated, interconnected economy. These facilities provide organizations with unmatched connectivity and efficiency while eliminating the need for capital-intensive on-premises data solutions. Their robust power and cooling infrastructures, remarkable system uptime, and direct conduits to premier cloud services globally make them an essential component of today’s IT strategies. For organizations looking to maintain a competitive edge, it’s important to keep a close watch on developing data center trends so they can make informed, strategic decisions concerning their technological stack and networks.
5 Data Center Technology Trends to Watch in 2024
Here are five emerging data center trends worth keeping an eye on as 2024 approaches:
1. Optimization and Redeployment of Cloud-based Assets
In 2024, data center teams are poised to take center stage, orchestrating a much needed optimization and restructuring of their customers’ existing cloud frameworks into more efficient, secure, and flexible hybrid deployments. In their race to get to the cloud, many organizations migrated their applications and data without taking the time to properly optimize them for a cloud environment. This has left the grappling with performance issues, operational inefficiencies, and growing costs.
Colocation data centers are uniquely positioned to help these companies regain control over their technology strategy by deploying hybrid environments that move key workloads out of the public cloud and into customized, private servers. By rethinking workload placement across a true hybrid infrastructure, colocation customers can focus on optimizing every asset within its ideal environment rather than forcing everything into a “one-size-fits-all” cloud platform.
2. The Emergence of New Application Architectures
The proliferation of cloud-native applications and microservices has created a demand for more advanced and nimble infrastructure solutions. It's no longer about mere capacity; the focus has now shifted to fostering environments that are both resilient and adaptable, capable of accommodating the rapidly shifting priorities of modern application development.
In this transition, serverless computing has great potential, promising seamless scalability and operational efficiency that allows data center customers to manage resources more intuitively and cost-effectively. Simultaneously, the growing use of containers offers much-needed consistency in the deployment of applications across varied environments, minimizing potential conflicts and enhancing portability.
Widespread integration of Kubernetes will further facilitate the orchestration of a containerized infrastructure. This robust tool will become indispensable for data centers, enabling them to manage complex, distributed environments with an ease that was previously unimaginable.
3. Applying Cloud Principles On-Premises
Data center teams are increasingly embedding cloud principles into their infrastructure management, which represents a new approach to managing and optimizing operations. Central to this transition is the use of software-defined infrastructure, which provides facilities an unprecedented level of flexibility and control. By dynamically allocating and managing resources, data center customers are able to adapt swiftly to changing business needs without the burden of cumbersome hardware limitations.
But the transformation doesn't stop there. Automation strategies are also being deployed to accelerate workflows and significantly reduce rates of human error. Through automation, data centers can anticipate a substantial reduction in operational downtime as tasks become more streamlined and require less manual intervention.
Cloud orchestration strategies further provide a cohesive environment where various components and systems work in greater harmony. By orchestrating complex processes and workflows, data centers can create more efficient operations, with various systems collaborating to achieve common objectives.
4. Skills Growth is a Key Priority
Successful organizations are recognizing the value of skills growth in a competitive labor market. The data center industry has long faced an ongoing skills shortage that threatens to hinder progress and innovation. Successful organizations are adopting a forward-thinking approach, earmarking skills growth as a top-tier priority in their strategic roadmaps.
Data centers providers must develop robust training programs that are aligned with emerging trends and technologies in order to foster a culture of continuous learning and adaptation. Gartner, for instance, predicts that 60% of data center infrastructure teams will have greater automation and cloud skills by 2027, up from just 30% in 2022. Apprenticeships and similar training initiatives will be essential for creating a talent pipeline that is capable of meeting the challenges of the future and helping the industry sustain its trajectory of growth.
5. Edge Computing Continues to Grow (Again)
Once again making an appearance on key trends for the year, edge computing will continue to be relevant for data centers and their customers in 2024. By embracing the growing importance of the edge, data centers are spearheading initiatives to build infrastructure capable of supporting surging data traffic to ensure seamless, efficient, and quick data processing closer to where it’s generated. This strategic move augments data processing capabilities and minimizes latency, facilitating a digital environment where data-driven decisions are swift and precise.
Furthermore, data centers are looking beyond the traditional frameworks, pioneering the creation of novel architectures that are tuned to the unique demands of edge computing. This includes the development of robust, scalable, and agile solutions that can seamlessly integrate with the burgeoning data landscape. Data centers are well-positioned to maximize the potential of an edge-centric world and enable a future where data is not just processed closer to end users but leveraged to its maximum potential in ways that drive innovation and growth.
Prepare for the Challenges of 2024 with Evoque
As we look ahead to 2024, it’s clear that data centers are still at the forefront of digital transformation helping organizations become highly efficient, agile, and more responsive to their customers. At Evoque Data Center Solutions, we’re constantly seeking opportunities for growth and innovation to deliver even more benefits to our colocation customers. With multiple edge-ready data centers strategically positioned across North America, our robust networking infrastructure is ready to help ambitious organizations take the next step in their digital journey.
To learn more about how Evoque can support your digital transformation goals in 2024, talk to one of our colocation experts today.
