Common Data Center Issues, Problems and Challenges

Data center operators face many changes in today’s business and IT environment. The scope of these challenges varies between hyperscale, colocation, and enterprise environments. However, there are several commonalities regardless of the data center’s size.

Meeting Today’s Demands for ‘Always-On’ IT Services

Customers demand ready access to IT services, including advanced applications such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). These demands are putting pressure on data centers in several ways.

High Construction and Buildout Costs

A data center can cost $10 million or more per megawatt of IT load, depending on the level of redundancy required. Costs are even higher in high-demand areas like Northern Virginia and Silicon Valley. However, as data center vacancy rates continue to decline, there’s increasing demand for the buildout of new facilities. 

Optimization of Legacy Infrastructure

As the data center industry matures, operators must adapt to evolving technologies and best practices. Maintaining regular equipment lifecycles ensures maximum operational efficiency. Investing in new technologies can be expensive, but the long-term impact of efficiencies gained outweighs the upfront cost. Organizations that don’t continually modernize their networks will build up technical debt and fall behind the competitors that do. Additionally, replacing core infrastructure allows data center architects to re-evaluate their configurations and adjust as needed.

Power Constraints and NIMBY Objections

CBRE’s Global Data Center Trends 2023 report finds that shortages of available power are limiting the growth of data center construction in saturated markets. Data center market growth is also inhibited by “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) complaints in some communities. Data center operators must look for locations with plentiful power and assure communities of their commitment to sustainability, economic stimulation, and job creation.

Redundancy and Resiliency

According to the Uptime Institute’s Global Data Center Survey Results 2023, data centers are now less likely to experience severe outages. However, 55 percent of data center operators reported experiencing an outage within the past three years. Downtime costs remain high, with 54 percent of operators saying their worst outages cost more than $100,000. Reducing those costs and risks is crucial.

Staffing Shortages

Data center operators are struggling to find and retain qualified talent amid chronic IT skills shortages. In the Uptime Institute Survey, two-thirds of data center operators said the staffing shortage is a significant problem. Data center operators will need to attract more women IT professionals, implement training programs, and invest in automated tools.

Low-Latency Expectations

The IoT, IIoT, and ubiquitous connectivity have created expectations for high-performance, low-latency applications. Latency is simply a factor of distance — the farther away a data center is from users, the more time it takes for data to travel over the network. Data center operators will need to invest in edge facilities to meet these demands.

Meeting Sustainability Objectives

Data center operators are under pressure to improve the sustainability of their facilities due to rising power costs, regulatory mandates, and corporate social responsibility goals. Keeping a lid on power usage and carbon emissions is increasingly difficult amid growing demand.

Efficient Cooling for Denser Applications

AI, ML, and high-performance computing require advanced servers that consume a lot of power and thus generate a lot of heat. These applications are driving increased power density that demands more efficient cooling. Liquid cooling technologies such as direct-to-chip, immersion, and rear-door heat exchangers require less energy than filling the data center with chilled air.

Improved Power Usage Effectiveness

PUE measures the amount of power consumed by IT equipment versus supporting infrastructure. The Uptime Institute’s 2023 report finds that data center PUE has plateaued over the past four years. The study suggests that greater use of liquid cooling could help data center operators improve PUE.

Sourcing Renewable Energy

Solar and wind power have become more practical, but their availability depends on the weather. Data centers that want to rely solely on renewables will need to build facilities that generate more power than they need and store the unused capacity in massive arrays of batteries. The only other option is to supplement renewables with non-clean energy sources.

Enconnex Is Committed to Sustainability

Enconnex solutions are designed by data center experts to address the challenges of modern environments. Our products are highly flexible, manageable, and ready to ship for fast delivery. Bring us your toughest challenges, and we’ll help you find the right solution. Get in touch today.