Data Center Demand and the Internet of Things

There’s no question about it, data center demand is on the rise. In recent years it’s been the move to the cloud that has triggered the rise in data center demand. Every year more companies and individuals move their data “into the cloud” – that data has to live somewhere and, as most of us should know by now, that “somewhere” is our data centers.

So what’s the next trend that will drive data center demand? According to the market research firm IDC, within the next four years, the Internet of Things (IoT) is predicted to grow to a point where the capacity will be 750% more than it requires now. As that prediction comes to pass, we’ll see a huge rise in the demand for data centers and everything that entails – real estate, rack space and, of course, data storage.

Give the sheer volume of devices that will be connected to these data centers and the amount of data that will be generated, data center operators will need to address this surge in demand by addressing IoT needs at the core of their data center business, not just specific devices. In fact, analysts are predicting that IoT will be the largest driver of data center demand and, as a result, expansion in larger service provider facilities.

Analysts also predict that the rapidly growing data center edge locations will ultimately see their computing and storage deployments driven by IoT more so than by any other types of applications. With that, we’ll start to see new opportunities for growth vendoors and service providers as well.

There’s no question that the demand for data centers is growing and, from what we’re seeing, is on the verge of a major expansion. Service provider data center operators will need to either begin or continue to plan to support this IoT market – as the demand grows, the industry will need to evolve to support it.

If you’d like more information on how ANTARA Group can help you plan for rising data center demand, click here to fill out our contact form.