Building the Data Centre of the Future: 5 Considerations for IT Leaders

Author: Dan Eline, VP, Platform Solutions, Digital Realty

2023 will be remembered as the year AI entered the public eye in full force. Understanding that this game-changing technology has enormous potential to dramatically improve business efficiencies, enterprises want in.

IT leaders will soon face challenges in managing their organisation's technology infrastructure to meet AI's data storage and computing needs. Building an AI-ready architecture requires future-proofing IT infrastructure, a challenge that entails a data-centric strategy.

But these challenges aren't without opportunities. Successful IT leaders will increasingly use an open data platform to their benefit. They'll look to new solutions to overcome infrastructure complexity and limitations in their existing data centres. As a result, they'll be able to harness the power of AI for cost-efficient innovation.

In this blog post, we'll explore:

• The operational challenges IT leaders must overcome to build the data centre of the future
• How AI might sculpt the data centre infrastructure landscape
• How enterprises can use a global infrastructure platform for data-driven innovation
• A checklist of the critical components required to build the data centre of tomorrow

The challenges IT leaders must overcome to craft a future-proof data architecture

Artificial intelligence adoption
Seventy-three percent of U.S. companies adopted AI in at least some areas of their business in 2023, according to a PWC survey. Addressing Generative AI (GenAI) in particular, the survey predicted that while 2024 will see many companies finding “attractive ROI from GenAI, only a few will succeed in achieving transformative value from it.”

Such a prediction isn't surprising given AI’s immense infrastructure needs. Algorithms such as recommender engines run on vast amounts of high-density compute power. A data center model with colocation, allowing for occasional bursting into the cloud, will help both the training and inferencing needs for AI models.

Hybrid IT complexity
To scale AI in 2024, IT leaders will increasingly adopt hybrid multi-cloud infrastructure. In pursuit of innovation, enterprises will leverage a variety of infrastructures—data centres, and public, and private clouds. Such a pick-what’s-best-for-the-job approach leads to increasing infrastructure complexity. Frequently, networking systems become so disjointed and complex that they become difficult to operate and maintain.

Data centre interconnection challenges
Disparate centres of data are, in turn, attracting more data, leading to Data Gravity. Localization needs and a Hybrid IT infrastructure are creating problems related to data interconnection.

Complex systems require an abstraction layer to move data around to fulfill fast-changing computing needs. IT needs interconnection between workflow participants, applications, multiple clouds, and ecosystems, all from a single interface, without getting bogged down by the complexity wall.

Sustainability initiatives
Increasing global decarbonisation requirements means data centres must address ‌energy consumption caused by high-density computing. Currently, enterprise energy needs are growing significantly faster than the available energy supply.

In IDC’s December 2022 Future of Enterprise Resiliency and Spending Survey, Wave 11, 71% of respondents worldwide indicated that they expect to accelerate IT spending on energy-efficient initiatives because of potential energy shortages. This has led to a growing call for sustainable high-performance computing operations, including using liquid-cooling technologies.

Global growth and data localisation
Global variations in data handling and privacy legislation require that data remain restricted to specific geographical regions. Such laws aren't the only drivers for data localisation. The increasing use of AI at the edge, the source of the data, is driving demand for low-latency operations, which in turn requires localised data storage and processing. Concerns about proprietary algorithms being stored in the public cloud are also leading companies to move to a Hybrid IT infrastructure that can harness the best of all worlds.

What goes into the data centre of the future?

While IT leaders evaluate infrastructure needs, there are five aspects they should consider:

1. High-density colocation
   As enterprise appetite for data grows exponentially, the data centre of the future will need colocation providers like Digital Realty that can deliver high-density deployments and manage data workflows. Having these infrastructure assets in a modular format will enable easier scaling for faster AI deployments.
2. Cloud and Hybrid IT solutions
   Data demands will drive the need for Hybrid IT infrastructure that can scale up and out flexibly with modular components made for rapid deployment. The data centre of tomorrow will deliver orchestration techniques through an open and secure platform like PlatformDIGITAL^® to decrease infrastructure complexity. It'll be about using repeatable solutions without redundancy, through one holistic orchestration layer, whether you’re building out one cabinet, a cage, or 100 megawatts.
3. Interconnection services
   When data drives an enterprise, you can’t afford to have it locked away. Interconnectivity between data, no matter where it is located, will drive the data centre of tomorrow. AI will drive a different interconnection model between various nodes in a Hybrid IT infrastructure world. Adding connectivity through services like ServiceFabric™ will allow enterprises to leverage best-in-breed IT infrastructure without hitting the complexity wall.
4. Extensive global footprint
   Data localisation laws and parameters about where to process data will increase the need for infrastructure that's spread out over geographies. Look for a platform provider with the ability to deliver these components in key markets. Digital Realty, for example, has footprints in 25+ markets across North America, EMEA, and the Asia-Pacific region.
5. Sustainable facilities
   Look for partners who can help you develop and build sustainable infrastructure and offer a range of colocation options, all focused on sustainability. Digital Realty, for example, uses innovative Air-Assisted Liquid Cooling (AALC) technologies as one of the ways in which it addresses sustainability requirements.

A global data centre platform: The must-have IT infrastructure

A platform that can deploy and optimise IT and AI architectures, and engineer deployments in virtual environments is key to the data needs of tomorrow. Digital Realty’s PlatformDIGITAL^®global data centre solution executes deployments in metros and regions across the world and its Hybrid IT infrastructure caters to processing needs ranging from massive dataset-heavy AI projects to more run-of-the-mill data tasks.

Orchestration, configuration, and automation are table-stakes in running the data centre of tomorrow. This is what will enable businesses to leverage AI and ‌be both creative and innovative so that they can gain a competitive edge. An open, dynamic, and centralised data platform will serve as the hub for seamless, sustainable, and real-time data-driven processing.

With these solutions, enterprises can harness data and turbocharge their AI projects today and into the future.

Read why IDC Marketscape named Digital Realty a Leader in data centre services in a 2023 report.