Auckland, New Zealand [Jan. 16, 2020] – As the world charges into 2020, organisations increasingly will forego the enterprise-or-cloud debate
that dominated C-level conversations in recent years in favour of hybrid architectures that incorporate public and
private cloud models and edge assets around a reconfigured core. This evolving approach to managing data and computing
resources is one of five emerging 2020 data centre trends identified by experts from Vertiv, a global provider of IT
infrastructure and continuity solutions.
The trending hybrid architectures will allow organisations to maintain control of sensitive data while still meeting
soaring demands for more capacity and increased computing capabilities closer to the consumer. As connectivity and
availability become conjoined concepts in this new data ecosystem, an increasing premium will be placed on seamless
communication from core to cloud to edge.
“A new equilibrium is emerging in the data centre space as the industry wrestles with capacity challenges and advanced
applications that are forcing significant changes to data centers of all shapes and sizes,” said Vertiv CEO Rob Johnson.
“At the same time, speed of deployment is increasingly becoming a tipping point in technology decisions and will likely
shape investment and innovation in the space as we head into 2020. This will manifest itself in many ways, but the
message to data centre equipment providers is clear: The status quo is not acceptable.”
Additional information on hybrid computing and other trends identified by Vertiv experts is included below.
1.Hybrid architectures go mainstream: While cloud computing will continue to be an important part of most organisations’ IT strategy, we are seeing a subtle
change in strategy as organisations seek to tailor their IT mix and spending to the needs of their applications. As we
see more of these hybrid architectures, it becomes increasingly clear that the enterprise data centre is alive and well,
even if its role is changing to reflect a mix that best serves modern organisations.
2.Speed of deployment as the new arms race: As capabilities across technologies and systems flatten out, data centre and IT managers will increasingly turn to
other criteria for selecting equipment. Cost is always a separator, but more and more the decision will depend on how
quickly assets can be deployed. When all other factors are close, any advantage in speed of deployment and activation
can be the determining factor. This is especially true as computing continues to migrate to the edge in today’s
distributed networks, where delivery delays mean lack of service – and revenue.
3.Average rack density remains static … but: Although average rack density is likely to reflect marginal increases at best, the surge in advanced applications and
workloads related to artificial intelligence (AI), such as machine learning and deep learning, will make pockets of
high-performance computing necessary and more common. Vertiv experts anticipate early activity in this space in the
areas of defence, advanced analytics and manufacturing in 2020, laying the foundation for more widespread adoption in
2021 and beyond. These racks so far represent a miniscule percentage of total racks, but they nevertheless can present
unfamiliar power and cooling challenges that must be addressed. The increasing interest in direct liquid cooling is a
response to high-performance computing demands.
4.Batteries pay it forward: In 2016, Vertiv experts predicted lithium-ion batteries would begin to find a home in the data centre, and that has proven to
be true as lithium-ion today holds a significant share of the UPS battery market. That share is growing and starting to
extend to edge sites, where the smaller footprint and reduced maintenance requirements are a natural fit. The next step
is leveraging the flexibility of lithium-ion and other emerging battery alternatives, such as thin plate pure lead
(TPPL), to offset their costs. As we move into 2020, more organisations will start to sell the stored energy in these
batteries back to the utility to help with grid stabilisation and peak shaving. Expect this to be an important part of
larger conversations around sustainability in the data centre industry.
5.Global cross-pollination: The U.S., particularly Silicon Valley, has been the epicentre of the digital universe and this generation of data
centre development, but innovation happens everywhere. A parallel digital ecosystem with notable differences is emerging
in China. Data centers across Europe and in other Asian and South Pacific markets, such as Australia, New Zealand and
Singapore, are evolving and diverging from traditional practices based on specific regional issues related to data
privacy and controls and sustainability. For example, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance is driving
hard decisions around data management around the world. Those issues, and more vigorous attention to environmental
impacts, are leading to new thinking about hybrid architectures and the value of on-premise computing and data storage.
In China, some data centers have been running 240V DC power into manufacturer-modified servers to improve efficiency and
reduce costs. DC power has long been a theoretical goal for U.S. data centers, and it’s not hard to envision other parts
of the world adopting the model being embraced today in China.
“As technology needs in Australia and New Zealand change, and IT innovation becomes a higher priority, it’s only natural
that we’ll see a new approach to managing data and computing resources,” said Robert Linsdell, managing director
Australia and New Zealand, Vertiv.
“We have a reputation of being an innovation-driven region, but to maintain that in the new decade we need to meet the
increasing and often conflicting demands of privacy and driving business value from data. Hybrid architectures that
balance edge with public and private cloud will be an essential foundation for that.”
Vertiv last month announced it will become a publicly traded company through a merger with GS Acquisition Holdings Corp
(NYSE: GSAH, GSAH.U, GSAH WS). The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of this year, at which point
Vertiv’s stock will trade under the ticker symbol NYSE: VRT. For more information on that transaction, the 2020 data
centre trends or any data centre solutions from Vertiv, visit Vertiv.com.