The data center industry is facing some huge challenges – but can it conquer them?
Data centers are under increasing pressure as they have to deal with what Keysource has to offer ‘State of the Industry Report 2023‘ raises a trilemma.
Keysource says balancing speed, content and sustainability is creating a real headache for data center professionals facing rising costs and regulatory changes.
At the top of the report is the skills shortage facing the sector, making tackling future issues even more challenging.
Data centers are in for a shock
Keysource found that nearly half of respondents outsourced more projects or services than they had initially planned to adhere to program timelines in the face of a skills gap.
With the sector under intense scrutiny for its environmental impact, more than half said their organization had a separate ‘green budget’ to address sustainability issues. Alarmingly, only 17% consider sustainability a high priority, and more than half don’t even have a sustainability strategy.
While there is clearly a budget available for more environmentally friendly decisions, data center professionals sometimes have to make cuts to ensure sufficient growth to meet demand.
Keysource COO Jon Healy said: βThe pressure to accelerate project delivery is perhaps the most worrying finding of the report, with 75% of respondents identifying quality issues that could reasonably have been identified earlier or better managed as a result.β
Despite changes in technology, regulations, energy sources, corporate governance and a lack of skilled people, Keysource believes promising returns and performance remain on the cards for data centers.
Looking ahead, it is clear that more attention needs to be paid to sustainability in the sector. Some factors that contribute to addressing this trilemma include optimizing operations through analytics and automation, improving efficiency, and maintaining already strong reliability.