The future of data centres: 2021 and beyond

In today's day and age, when technological advancements have become the norm with machine learning processes taking over traditional manual systems, we are inevitably ushering into an era of a data-dominated global economy.

In present times, data has undeniably become the lifeblood of every business. Especially with the exponential increase in Internet usage over the last few years. Whether it is about improving communications to make it faster or easy access to services, this rise in internet connectivity has exposed organizations and individuals to the benefits of an always-connected world. With every website we open, and every online movement we make, data is created, thus necessitating the demand for advanced infrastructures to store and manage data effectively.

Besides the rising usage of smartphones and social media platforms, the Indian Government's emphasis on solidifying the country's digital economy and the increasing technology-driven businesses have accelerated the growth of data usage and storage. Thus, increasing the demand for data centre space.

Over the past years, data centre utilization has scaled up significantly. A remarkable shift from data space that was the size of a room to what is now a commercial tower accommodating and meeting massive data storage requirements. Advanced data centres have become an essential part of today's IT infrastructure, as any interruptions may lead to hefty losses for an organization. Therefore, data centres deliver end-to-end management as well as provide support for managing organizational interdependencies.

An appropriate data centre solution for DC managers enables them to get critical information over a multi-faceted dashboard, which prompts necessary actions for resolving the issue effectively. Over the last years, we have seen India's digital ecosystem grow exponentially, and a critical factor driving this growth is improved internet connectivity supporting increased data generation and consumption.

Driven by the adoption of cloud and data localization, as well as increased internet growth, it is predicted that over the next few years, the data centre outsourcing market in India will grow at a CAGR of 25%. While the digital economy is forecasted to reach USD 1 trillion in India by 2025, cloud spending is projected to grow at 30% CAGR, leveraging colocation for growth. Similarly, regulations about the protection of Data sovereignty of the country are in place, instructing organizations to host sensitive data locally in India.

Predicting future developments and trends is a tricky task - even more when we are coming out of a year that has flipped the world in unexpected ways. Data centres will continue to be an essential part of the IT industry, and with further progress in the industry, there are many developments in store.

Here's what we think will happen in the future of data centres:

More Importance Towards Data Security

Data security is now an integral concern for organizations, and it will continue to be so, resulting in the need for stringent regulations for data localization to ensure protection of the digital sovereignty of the country. Additionally, data centres are likely to upgrade their security measures, including providing access to a network resource after fulfillingspecific standardized criteria to ensure data protection.

Edge Computing

We will witness continued impetus in edge-first deployments, along with an array of technological innovations backed with technology innovations across the infrastructure stack. Edge computing will also address complexities related to effectively scaling and organizing distributed infrastructure, making it possible to collect and process data 'on position' compared to transferring it back to the centralized system for computation.

Introduction of 5G Technology

With the adoption of 5G technology, there will be an upsurge of content in the market. With the increasing demand, in turn, the requirement for a higher storage capacity will be necessitated, pushing data centres to turn towards the Cloud and related technologies for storing massive amounts of data and information. Besides revamping the industry's existing infrastructure and processes, 5G technology simultaneously will make way for innovative solutions to the challenges the sector faces facing in the present.

Emphasis on Sustainability

Over the years, a constant focus point that has repositioned itself across all industries is the rise of sustainability. When it comes to data centres, 'cooling' is one of the most critical elements depending on large quantities of energy, and thus shifts in practices are in store to cut back on power and energy utilization. Further, the Government may propose regulations mandating data centre operations to adopt green practices for meeting the growing power demands.

As one of India's leading data centre operators, STT GDC India has been entrusted with the delivery and management of mission-critical infrastructure by some of the largest organizations across industries such as financial services institutions, media, and content providers, as well as cloud service providers.

Supporting the substantial growth of India's digital ecosystem and the economy, along with the demand for quality data centres, STT GDC India is all geared up to provide guaranteed uptime, improved reliability, and facilitated business continuity backed with the assurance of no disruptions to all its customers. STT GDC India's state-of-the-art redundancy architecture is strategically outlined to deliver maximized operational performance, enhanced reliability, multi-layered security, and sustainability. With 21 data centres across 9 metropolitan cities in the country and undertakings of new data centres, we are committed to the growth of the Indian market and our customers.