Our Insights

DICE West 2022

By Angelo Papastratis

December 15, 2022

EXPLORING DATA CENTER OPPORTUNITIES & DEMAND DRIVERS

Why are the costs of data centers rising? What are the challenges for the growth of data centers? Kevin Sotto (Managing Director, Bay Area), and I learned the answers to these questions at DICE West 2022. We joined over 300 other end users and vendors curious about the industry’s future. Here are five key takeaways from the conference:

  • The critical facilities industry is experiencing exponential growth in demand for new hyper-scale data centers (a data center that is at least 10,000 sq. ft. with at least 5,000 servers). At the same time, we are starting to see shortage of available land big enough to house hyper-scale data centers. All the above, in combination with the recent increase in real estate prices, contribute to the rising costs of building a new data center.
  • With the need for more efficient data centers constantly increasing, many vendors are focusing their efforts on finding new ways to provide cooling solutions for data centers while reducing energy consumption. One is example is liquid cooling, which we describe in another blog post here.
  • Edge data centers (data centers that are located closer to where data is being generated and used) are on the rise as companies are looking for low latency improved connectivity and faster speeds.
  • Water-cooled rack solutions for edge data centers will become popular, as the demand for higher power density is increasing due to shortage of available real estate space, and higher real estate prices.
  • The industry is experiencing supply chain issues (lack of IT, mechanical and electrical equipment). There is also a labor shortage on the construction of data centers. In combination with high demand for new data centers, the near future looks challenging.

LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION?

More efficient data centers are crucial to the future of this industry. That’s why it’s important for our team to be a part of the conversation and prepared for what’s next. If you have specific questions about trends in the industry or the event, please reach out to me (apapastratis@wbengineering.com).