Fifth Annual State of the Data Center Industry Report Reveals Shifting Trends in Cloud Computing Usage and Data Center Density

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AFCOM, the leading membership association for data center professionals, and Data Center World, the leading global conference for data center, facilities and IT infrastructure, will reveal the results of its fifth annual State of the Data Center Industry research report during a virtual event on May 13. The report, which has been a fixture at the annual Data Center World industry conference, will show that cloud computing usage is shifting dramatically toward a hybrid approach, jumping 26% in one year, and that the increase in data center density is outpacing new data center growth. Register to attend the State of the Data Center virtual event here.

The comprehensive report, conducted by AFCOM and Data Center World, surveyed data center professionals to determine implementation trends and buying patterns in such areas as servers, cooling, edge computing, storage, DCIM, and security. Other issues covered by the report include budgeting; hiring; skills and training; energy consumption; and diversity.

Key highlights of the report include:

• More than 40% of respondents said they’d be deploying robotics and automation for data center monitoring and maintenance over the next three years
• Up to 62% of those surveyed said they are all set for new data center space for the next three years and will focus more on increasing the density of the racks they have
• Colocation and private data centers are benefiting from a shift away from public cloud options, as 58% report such a move
• Almost three in four companies (72%) report they are implementing or expanding their diversity, equality, or inclusion programs
• Security remains a top concern as many focus on securing their environment from outside human threats, ransomware (59%), and persistent DDoS attacks (34%). Further, respondents are now looking at zero trust to truly create perimeter-less security models.

Bill Kleyman, the author of the report, contributing editor to AFCOM and Data Center World and Executive Vice President of Digital Solutions for Switch, will keynote the virtual event and will provide detail and context of the report’s findings. It will be followed by a panel discussion by distinguished members of AFCOM’s Data Center Institute who will provide attendees with practical advice on how to interpret the report and prepare their data centers for the coming trends.

Kleyman said, “It was an extraordinary year for everyone. In the data center space and technology space, we witnessed firsthand just how critical digital infrastructure is to a connected society. In this report, we asked several first-time questions including impacts from the pandemic, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and even the adoption of new security methodologies like zero trust. In this special report, we’ll take an even deeper look into what supports the most critical infrastructures in our digital economy.”

Virtual event attendees can download the complete 16-page report, which includes charts providing detailed responses of each question. In addition, professionals who register for the Data Center World conference by June 30 will also be sent a complimentary copy of the report.

Click here to register for the State of the Data Center Virtual Event. And click here to register to attend Data Center World 2021 taking place August 16-19, 2021 at the Orange County Convention Center, in Orlando, Florida. Media interested in attending the webinar or live event, email Meryl Franzman at Franzman@beyondwords.com.

Stay connected with Data Center World on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

About Data Center World

Data Center World is the global conference for data center, facilities, and IT professionals. It offers premier education, abundant networking, and the broadest access to best-in-class vendors. Designed to help data center and IT infrastructure professionals with challenging issues, Data Center World presents top quality knowledge without bias towards a specific vendor product or service. Data Center World will be held August 16-19, 2021 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Data Center World is brought to you by Informa Tech.

About AFCOM

AFCOM advances data center and IT infrastructure professionals by delivering comprehensive and vendor-neutral education and peer-to-peer networking to its members around the world. Through forward-looking research, AFCOM supports thousands of IT, operations, facilities, builders/designers and vendors working in the data center and IT infrastructure industry. In serving the data center industry for more than 40 years, AFCOM has earned recognition as the market leader in educating, connecting and guiding the data center community.

About Informa Tech

Informa Tech is a market leading provider of integrated research, media, training and events to the global Technology community. We’re an international business of more than 600 colleagues, operating in more than 20 markets. Our aim is to inspire the Technology community to design, build and run a better digital world through research, media, training and event brands that inform, educate and connect. Over 7,000 professionals subscribe to our research, with 225,000 delegates attending our events and over 18,000 students participating in our training programs each year, and nearly 4 million people visiting our digital communities each month. Learn more about Informa Tech.