Data centers are subject to constant changes because their business model goes hand in hand with the digital transformation of the business itself.
In recent years, we have observed a massive migration towards cloud solutions, with the consequent progressive reduction of physical equipment. That said, any service hosted in the cloud is ultimately located in physical equipment, so, without the presence of data centers, all of this would disappear.
In the traditional model, companies guarded their data in their own DPC rooms, and had to maintain and guarantee their own facilities, as well as replace their obsolete equipment. This meant extra cost and arduous management, in addition to being a non-scalable solution.
At present, most companies that use physical equipment for their business model, prefer to have it in a professional DPC that guarantees the continuity of such equipment and maintains the necessary infrastructure for it.
In addition to this, data centers offer hyperconnectivity, meaning Internet access, access to private or public cloud, access to integrators, and access to multi-operator MPLS networks, all locally connected with minimal latencies.
Edge Data Centers: latencies impact streaming services
New smaller-scale data center formats are emerging which are distributed in different regions, thereby improving latency. They are called Edge Data Centers.
In the current digital age, most consumed services are streaming services, either in the form of audiovisual content or as video games. These forms of entertainment are highly influenced by latencies. Buffering, which is the latency generated, among other things, by the distance between the user and the data center where the service is housed, greatly annoys users. The closer the user’s node is, the faster the connection will be.
However, the proliferation of these data centers, along with the exponential increase in the consumption of streaming and gaming services, has also generated an important environmental footprint that must be addressed as soon as possible.
Sustainable energy as the main source of energy
It is estimated that the current proportion of global electricity used by data centers is around 1%, but the constant increase in processing, storage and data traffic is a cause for concern regarding the demand for electricity in the future. In this scenario of growth, the global demand for data centers could reach up to 13% of the global use of electricity in 2030.
To compensate for this growth in energy demand, rapid improvements in the efficiency of the servers, storage devices and the infrastructure of the data centers are already being made. All these changes have helped limit the growth in demand for electricity.
In addition, the energy sources that make up modern data centers are changing rapidly, with increasing percentages coming from renewable energy.
Reuse of the heat generated by data centers
The residual heat generated in the data centers results in a significant loss of thermal energy, since in most cases it is just lost into the surrounding environment. Therefore, one of the measures being implemented is the reuse of that heat for multiple purposes, even ones external to the inherent management of a data center.
Norwegian operator Digiplex does just this; taking advantage of the residual heat of its center in Ulven (Oslo) to heat 5,000 apartments.
How does the arrival of 5G impact latency?
The 5G network has caused a great change in the way we understand technology and communication. This new network has allowed for an increase in speed by increasing data transport capacity and decreasing latency. This results in the movement of large amounts of data through much faster wireless networks and infrastructures.
Data centers must adapt their infrastructure in order to support the frequencies of the new technology. These changes are due to shorter wavelengths, leading to the use of small cells instead of the more commonly used large cell towers.
High frequencies (from 30GHz to 300GHz) will only be operational if the devices are very close to the antennas and small cells, so that the low latency is maintained. These requirements cause changes in the business network, meaning companies must move their IT infrastructure closer to the users who use the services, increasing the need for the aforementioned Edge Data Centers.
How does Adam face these challenges?
We develop a corporate strategy focused on new technologies and eco-sustainability. The modular development that Adam employs for its data centers, allows us to implement improvements in every new room design, adapting to the requirements of a constantly evolving market.
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Adam