As they do every year, Vertiv experts from around the world reflect on the trends they believe will have the greatest impact on the data center industry in the coming year. In 2023, the industry managing consumption and carbon footprint will drive trends toward regulation, standardization and the search for alternative energy resources.
Data centers face new regulations
The need to meet consumer demand for energy and water, will force the public administrations of many countries to take a closer look at data centers and the excessive consumption of resources by these facilities. It is estimated that data centers currently account for up to 3% of global electricity consumption. This consumption is expected to rise to 4% by 2030. The average hyperscale facility consumes 20-50 MW per year - theoretically enough electricity to power 37,000 homes. Vertiv experts expect the problem of rising water and electricity consumption to result in increased government controls next year.
In some areas of the world, such controls are already taking place. Examples include Dublin (Ireland) and Singapore. Public authorities in these regions have taken steps to control energy consumption in data centers. Experts predict that the huge amount of water consumption by these facilities - located especially in drought-prone areas - will prompt similar checks and audits. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the water use efficiency (WUE) of an average data center using evaporative cooling systems (hot outside air passes through an air-to-water heat exchanger, in a process that does not add moisture to the air) is 1.8 liters per kWh. This type of data center can use 3 to 5 million gallons of water per day (about 11 to 19 million liters of water). This is the amount of water used by a city of 30-50,000 people. The IT industry will continue to take steps to self-control, optimize and minimize resource consumption - including an increasing preference for environmentally friendly thermal designs - but 2023 will see an increase in regulatory oversight.
Modular data centers - it's more than a trend, it's the new "normal"
According to one recent Omdia survey, 99% of corporate data center operators say that prefabricated, modular data center designs will be part of their future strategy. This is more than a trend - it's the new "normal." In 2023, Vertiv experts predict further changes and developments in modular data centers, driven by the expectations of hyperscalers who seek the speed and performance provided by standardization.
Today, many of the world's cloud providers, are turning to colocation providers, who have been standardizing for years, to accelerate their work and deploy more modular solutions that will be ready to go the moment they are delivered to a condemned location. Standardization - from modular components such as power and cooling modules to full-fledged prefabricated facilities - is expected to become the default approach not only for enterprises, but also for hyperscale and network edge (Edge).
Competition for diesel generators
The diesel generator has long been an imperfect but unavoidable part of the data center ecosystem. As is well known, the energy generated in such equipment remains largely unused, while relatively frequent maintenance of this type of generator and replacement of fuel after periods of inactivity is required. In addition, a generator of this type, once running, emits a large amount of carbon dioxide. Today, IT operators are desperately trying to avoid the downside of these solutions and are looking for alternatives. Already, some organizations are relying on batteries to provide longer backup times - up to five minutes in some cases - and are even designing their data centers to minimize the need for a generator.
These are transitional steps to minimize the role of the generator while the industry looks for other options, including new battery technologies that provide extended backup power. Vertiv experts predict that a preferred alternative - specifically, hydrogen fuel cells - will emerge in 2023. These cells will initially operate similarly to a generator, providing temporary load support, and eventually take over long-term or even continuous operation.
Higher density and better thermals
After years of relatively constant rack density, data center operators are increasingly demanding higher density racks. According to the Uptime Institute's 2022 Global Data Center Survey, more than a third of data center operators say their rack density has increased dramatically over the past three years. This is a particularly true finding for large enterprises and large-scale data centers, where nearly half of facilities operating at 10 MW and above reported racks of more than 20 kW, and 20% reported racks of more than 40 kW.
This condition is consistent with the maturity of liquid-cooled server technology and the growing acceptance and adoption of such technologies. The aforementioned increases in server power consumption are occurring because there is a growing need to rapidly expand capacity, challenging operators on all sides. This leaves them little choice other than to test the limits of existing facilities by adding computers in tight spaces, increasing rack density and creating thermal profiles that require liquid cooling. While liquid cooling is not a new technology, an early wave of successful, efficient and trouble-free deployments in high-density environments has provided proof of concept that will accelerate development in the coming year. The addition of direct cooling chip to the new OCP and Open19 standards will further fuel this trend.
5G technology meets the Metaverse
Analysts at Omdia, in their forecast of mobile subscriptions and revenues, predict that by 2027 nearly half of all mobile subscriptions (more than 5.8 billion) will be related to 5G technology. This will bring computers even closer to the user. Metaverse is an application looking for an ultra-dense computer network with low latency. In 2023, we will see how these two technologies will "intersect." Metaverse implementations will use 5G networks to enable ultra-low-latency functions that applications require. Ultimately, such functionality will require more computing power at 5G edge locations. Next year we will see deployments and the first results of the coexistence of Metaverse and the next-generation 5G telecommunications network. Undoubtedly, such deployments will become commonplace in the years to come.
As the network edge (Edge) becomes more sophisticated, the infrastructure needed to support it is also growing. This will include technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality systems for planning and management, as well as the increasing deployment of lithium-ion UPS systems at the network edge. This is already a continuing trend, with the share rising from 2% of sales in August 2021 to 8% in August 2022, according to IDC.
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