The Story Behind the Numbers

The special focus of this year’s Uptime Symposium – and presumably the topic foremost on the minds of 1,300+ attendees – was modular, pre-fabricated and containerized data centers.

With NxGen Modular data center projects nearing completion for major technology companies on both coasts, this area of emphasis is no surprise. We’re finding that as the demand for data center space grows, enterprises are looking for more efficient and cost effective ways to build their next generation critical facility.

About 76 percent of respondents to a Digital Realty Trust survey said they either had set data center expansion plans in motion or were considering expanding capacity in 2012. The Datacenter Dynamics Industry Census 2011, the largest ever data center community survey, estimates global investment in facilities will grow in excess of 16 percent to top $35 billion this year. By all accounts through the first half of this year, that number seems on target.

With so much new capacity being planned, it’s certainly telling that the Uptime Symposium would focus on modular. The 2012 Uptime Institute Data Center Industry Survey finds that 58 percent of 1,100 data center end users had either deployed, were planning to deploy, or were considering deploying a modular data center. Only 42 percent said modular wasn’t a factor in their short- and long-term planning. More survey results are available on the Uptime Website.

NxGen Modular hears from a lot of those end users who comprise the 58 percent that are embracing modular. Not surprisingly, most continue to consider reliability the most important factor and more and more are now realizing that modular solutions offer the level of reliability they need. What really seems to be tipping the scales, however, is a need for enterprise companies to be nimble in the face of rapid growth.

Developing a data center facility is a major investment for any enterprise, but uncertainty does not have to be an Achilles’ heel. Uncertainly is the reason why scalability should be a significant factor in data center architecture and design. It is also the reason why modular growth will remain commensurate with growing demand.