Technology is advancing at the speed of light, and it is important to keep up with the pace of the cloud data center market. Here are ten trends to know about.
1. On-demand access
Cloud data centers are mainly used to store information and provide disaster recovery functions. However, with the development of new technologies such as mobile applications and the Internet of Things (IoT), the need for on-demand access is also growing. Users expect the same user experience whether accessing data from local device storage or the cloud. Cloud data centers need to provide faster data processing and continue to shift the focus to cloud computing and reducing latency.
2. Hiring Needs
Data scientists use analytical techniques to turn big data into valuable and useful conclusions. As cloud data centers transform from information storage infrastructure to on-demand cloud data processing centers, the demand for data engineers is on the rise. Data engineers optimize the performance of their company's big data ecosystem. Cloud data centers may want to consider hiring a team of data scientists and data engineers (rather than data scientists) to create and deploy models and algorithms.
3. Infrastructure flexibility
As many companies pursue the latest technological innovations, the need for flexible IT infrastructure is growing. Many organizations are moving data from on-premises servers to service provider cloud data centers. This increases infrastructure flexibility, as businesses can choose from dedicated or shared servers, public or private clouds, and hybrid services to meet their rapidly changing needs.
4. Shift from numbers to capacity
Despite the explosive growth of cloud data centers in recent years, some analysts believe the number of cloud data centers will peak in 2017. However, even as physical space requirements reach their limit, data capacity in service provider centers continues to grow, and data center interconnects are being pushed to achieve faster speeds and higher bandwidth port densities. When moving to cloud offerings, service providers tend to run large cloud data centers. Cisco predicts that by 2020, 92% of workloads will move to the cloud.
5. Investor interest is growing
The growth of cloud data centers is attracting investor interest. While some cloud data center investment opportunities are curtailed by rising energy costs and sovereign laws, some reports state that data center real estate investment trusts (REITs) will offer returns of 10% to 15%. In the current currency environment, other types of investment funds are only making single-digit returns, making data centers an attractive investment opportunity.
6. Geographical cloud growth
In select markets such as Silicon Valley, Northern Virginia (NoVa), London and Tokyo, the shift to the cloud has been faster than the rest of the world. Several major providers predict that infrastructure installations will need to triple by 2020.
7. Faster, but not more expensive The surge in
data comes from the growth of video streaming, the Internet of Things and mobile applications. The bandwidth demands that accompany this surge are leading data center operators to pursue faster speeds without increasing costs. During the transition to higher speeds in cloud data centers, 25 Gigabit Ethernet (25GbE) can provide a good compromise between performance and cost.
8. Bundling and flexibility Another way to
increase data transfer and processing speed is to bundle links. Cloud data centers can achieve 100G speeds by bundling four 25GbE links. Conversely, they can also increase data processing flexibility by splitting the 100GbE link into four 25GbE links. In addition, the industry has developed 400GbE links that bundle four 56GbE links using the higher-order PAM4 modulation scheme.
9. High-density switching Advances in
semiconductor design and configuration allow cloud data center operators to reduce costs by increasing power efficiency. For example, a 48-port switch can now be configured on a single chip, whereas previously two chips were required. Optimized solutions such as L-PIC ™ allow cloud data center operators to efficiently and cost-effectively increase capacity.
10. IT Outsourcing
One way organizations can free up space on their networks while maintaining (or increasing) bandwidth speeds is to outsource their IT operations to the cloud. Rather than maintaining the entire IT infrastructure on its own, companies can turn to cloud service providers to increase speed and flexibility with lower operating costs.
The cloud data center market is growing rapidly. As data moves to the cloud, savvy investors can still realize gains, although some opportunities are diminishing. Grab these 10 trends to make your investment more valuable.
1. On-demand access
Cloud data centers are mainly used to store information and provide disaster recovery functions. However, with the development of new technologies such as mobile applications and the Internet of Things (IoT), the need for on-demand access is also growing. Users expect the same user experience whether accessing data from local device storage or the cloud. Cloud data centers need to provide faster data processing and continue to shift the focus to cloud computing and reducing latency.
2. Hiring Needs
Data scientists use analytical techniques to turn big data into valuable and useful conclusions. As cloud data centers transform from information storage infrastructure to on-demand cloud data processing centers, the demand for data engineers is on the rise. Data engineers optimize the performance of their company's big data ecosystem. Cloud data centers may want to consider hiring a team of data scientists and data engineers (rather than data scientists) to create and deploy models and algorithms.
3. Infrastructure flexibility
As many companies pursue the latest technological innovations, the need for flexible IT infrastructure is growing. Many organizations are moving data from on-premises servers to service provider cloud data centers. This increases infrastructure flexibility, as businesses can choose from dedicated or shared servers, public or private clouds, and hybrid services to meet their rapidly changing needs.
4. Shift from numbers to capacity
Despite the explosive growth of cloud data centers in recent years, some analysts believe the number of cloud data centers will peak in 2017. However, even as physical space requirements reach their limit, data capacity in service provider centers continues to grow, and data center interconnects are being pushed to achieve faster speeds and higher bandwidth port densities. When moving to cloud offerings, service providers tend to run large cloud data centers. Cisco predicts that by 2020, 92% of workloads will move to the cloud.
5. Investor interest is growing
The growth of cloud data centers is attracting investor interest. While some cloud data center investment opportunities are curtailed by rising energy costs and sovereign laws, some reports state that data center real estate investment trusts (REITs) will offer returns of 10% to 15%. In the current currency environment, other types of investment funds are only making single-digit returns, making data centers an attractive investment opportunity.
6. Geographical cloud growth
In select markets such as Silicon Valley, Northern Virginia (NoVa), London and Tokyo, the shift to the cloud has been faster than the rest of the world. Several major providers predict that infrastructure installations will need to triple by 2020.
7. Faster, but not more expensive The surge in
data comes from the growth of video streaming, the Internet of Things and mobile applications. The bandwidth demands that accompany this surge are leading data center operators to pursue faster speeds without increasing costs. During the transition to higher speeds in cloud data centers, 25 Gigabit Ethernet (25GbE) can provide a good compromise between performance and cost.
8. Bundling and flexibility Another way to
increase data transfer and processing speed is to bundle links. Cloud data centers can achieve 100G speeds by bundling four 25GbE links. Conversely, they can also increase data processing flexibility by splitting the 100GbE link into four 25GbE links. In addition, the industry has developed 400GbE links that bundle four 56GbE links using the higher-order PAM4 modulation scheme.
9. High-density switching Advances in
semiconductor design and configuration allow cloud data center operators to reduce costs by increasing power efficiency. For example, a 48-port switch can now be configured on a single chip, whereas previously two chips were required. Optimized solutions such as L-PIC ™ allow cloud data center operators to efficiently and cost-effectively increase capacity.
10. IT Outsourcing
One way organizations can free up space on their networks while maintaining (or increasing) bandwidth speeds is to outsource their IT operations to the cloud. Rather than maintaining the entire IT infrastructure on its own, companies can turn to cloud service providers to increase speed and flexibility with lower operating costs.
The cloud data center market is growing rapidly. As data moves to the cloud, savvy investors can still realize gains, although some opportunities are diminishing. Grab these 10 trends to make your investment more valuable.