According to market estimates by IDC researchers, by 2025 humans and machines could generate 175 zettabytes of data which, if stored on conventional DVDs, would form 23 DVD stacks, each capable of spanning the earth-moon distance. The estimated 27% growth in average annual data volume also means a greater impact on the IT infrastructure.
With few companies that can afford to grow their data storage by nearly a third per year, IT managers are increasingly relying on cloud IT services. However, relying on third-party cloud solutions means losing some control over your corporate data. For this reason, for example, the US Cloud Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data) regulation allows US authorities to acquire data stored in the cloud even if the jurisdiction of the place where the data is stored prohibits it.
Trend # 1: Data Control
Informative self-determination in data processing is increasingly becoming a competitive factor for companies. This applies to all sectors where data security is top priority and where data analysis is crucial for business success, such as in healthcare, mobility, finance and manufacturing. Companies are faced with the question of how to process their data safely and efficiently: whether by modernizing their data center, investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure or using the cloud.
In 2020, the major European digital project Gaia-X is expected to start, born on the initiative of the Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy (BMWi). The project aims to create a European cloud infrastructure for the digitization and secure networking of data, which can be used as a basis for the implementation of new artificial intelligence applications. In this context, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft has created the “International Data Spaces” initiative, a virtual data room where companies can share data in complete safety and where the compatibility of their solutions on consolidated cloud platforms is guaranteed (interoperability).
This means that small data centers, geographically distributed with open-source cloud stacks, might be able to create a new class of industrial applications that perform the initial phase of data analysis where it originates and use the cloud to downstream analysis. An example for this solution is ONCITE, the "turnkey" (plug-and-produce) Data Center for industrial edge cloud applications that stores and processes data directly where it is generated, so that connected companies retain control of their data. along the entire supply chain.
Trend # 2: Heat Recovery and Direct CPU Cooling
Data centers release large amounts of energy into the environment in the form of waste heat. As power density in data centers increases, so does the amount of heat potentially usable for other purposes. To date, however, the reuse of waste heat has proved too expensive, for example because potential users are rarely found in the immediate vicinity of the site. Furthermore, the heat generated by air cooling systems for IT infrastructures is available at a temperature close to 40 degrees Celsius, which is far too low to allow the recovery and reuse of thermal energy in a cost-effective way.
Especially in High Performance Computing (HPC), IT racks generate high thermal loads, often in excess of 50 kW. For these systems, direct water cooling of CPUs is much more efficient than air cooling. Direct cooling makes available cooling water return temperatures ranging from 60 to 65 degrees which allow, for example, to produce domestic hot water, use heat pumps or power a district heating network. However, CIOs need to be aware that with direct water cooling of CPUs, only about 80 percent of the total heat generated by an IT rack can be extracted. The remaining 20% of the racks must be cooled directly.
Trend # 3: Integration of multicloud environments
Businesses need to be confident that they can run their cloud applications on platforms used in any country. For this a multicloud management strategy is needed. From the management point of view, it is a strategic decision based on the awareness that your organization will move towards a complete digitalization of the business.
An excellent User Experience can be guaranteed, for example, by minimizing delays in response from specific areas (“Availability Zone”). This means that companies must choose one or more zones around the world for their services according to their business needs. Compliance with the stringent data protection requirements can be ensured, for example, by a local provider specialized in the target market. An open multicloud strategy enables just that: combining the functional density and scalability of hyperscalers with the data security of local and specialized providers such as Innovo Cloud. The digital transformation will allow the development of applications designed for the cloud world. Thanks to this, it will be possible to guarantee a high level of automation of the operational and functional business processes.
