Data Centre Magazine December 2020 | Page 26

HYPERSCALE

Industry 4.0 and the COVID-19 have driven demand for massive data centres to an all-time high . Welcome to the golden age of hyperscale .

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The modern data centre is an engineering marvel , a confluence of fuel , cooling , data transmission and storage systems , all working in perfect harmony to power the digital age . Global demand for data is swelling like a great wave , as the growth of IoT , 5G and AI adoption spurs on the creation of more and more information on a daily basis .

That information needs to be housed somewhere and , while they represent less than 10 % of all data centres in operation by number , it ’ s hyperscale facilities that are attracting the most investment , home to the most powerful innovations , and forming the backbone of Industry 4.0 . This month , we ’ re taking a closer look at the past , present and future of the hyperscale data centre market , as well as two of the biggest disruptors the industry faces : the edge and climate change .
The hyperscale data centre market is a relatively new one . Before 2016 , it was rare that data centre leases exceeded 10MW of capacity . By the end of 2017 , there were more than 390 data centres
DECEMBER 2020