Many predictions were made, but in this blog, we’re highlighting just five of them. Five trends that we think are arguably the most important for businesses to consider over the next six to twelve months.
 

1. Edge computing will continue to develop

For those that don’t know, edge computing is a bit of a buzz word and it refers to the fact that, because most of the services that can be centralised in the cloud have already been centralised. The only space where there are opportunities for the cloud to continue to grow, lie at the “edge”. 

The edge in this context literally refers to geographic distribution, because edge computing is done near the source of the data, rather than relying on the cloud at one of a handful of data centres to do the work. In other words, the cloud is coming to you. For more information on what edge computing actually is, we recommend this blog from The Verge.

The reason edge computing is predicted to grow over 2019 is that it provides a chance for data centre operators to lighten the load on their central servers and for businesses it can seriously reduce response times. There are a few niggly bits that still need to be figured out though, like who’s going to pay for it. But watch this space because we don’t think we’re that far away from finding out the answers.
 

2. More businesses will swap from air cooling to water cooling

Now the idea of liquid or specifically water cooling has been floating around since the 1960s but it wasn’t until the 2000s that the concept started to really gain some traction, albeit among largely niche groups. Now however, liquid cooling is moving into the mainstream. In particular Google’s parent company Alphabet recently had to introduce liquid cooling in their data centres after the launch of their brand new TensorFlow 3.0 AI processors in the middle of 2018. The result was an eight-fold improvement in performance. With gains like that to be made, it’s no surprise we’ll be seeing more and more businesses investing in more powerful chips and as a result moving to fluid cooling.
 

3. The data centre will not die

“The data centre is dying” or “the data centre is dead” is a phrase that was banded about during 2018 and it’s true that cloud services and the IoT have taken over some of the work previously belonging to data centres alone. However, we at Dynamic believe that data centres are not only still alive and kicking, but that they are also set to grow. A new survey from AFCOM found that companies are destined to actually invest more in data centres over the coming years even if the primary purpose of that investment isn’t to do with computing. Instead ,data centres are going to be renovated and repurposed to handle the data that is too expensive to be moved to the cloud, improve versatility and increase power. At Dynamic, we are very aware of this problem, however we have a solution for you! Our robust on-site Tier 2 data centre offers a resilient and secure space, everything you'd expect from a purpose-built data centre. We look after cloud-based data for growing organisations that require maximum security, future-proof IT infrastructure and total peace of mind. For more information see here. We also offer an Enterprise level data centre offering through our trusted Critical Cloud partner, Secura. Secura operate from three UK Tier 3+ data centres which are interconnected by a Secura owned 10Gbps MPLS ring network, and with ISO 27001, ISO 20000 and ISO 9001, you can rest assured your data is in safe hands.

4. More vendors will focus on the hybrid cloud

As the cloud market started to grow, relative newcomers to the field Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google dived in with both feet first going for full cloud solutions while on the other hand, longstanding players IBM and Microsoft pitched “the hybrid cloud”. In the end, it was Microsoft and IBM that saw the biggest gains from their pitch and as a result, Google and Amazon have started sitting up and paying attention. AWS has now launched a collection of on-premise solutions while Google is also showing signs of building up their on-premise services as well. With the big four now all seeming on the same page, it’s no wonder experts are predicting an increase in businesses embracing hybrid cloud solutions.
 

5. More artificial intelligence will be used to limit human error

Data centres are already very complex beasts and as we mentioned in the prediction that “the data centre will not die” they are expected to become even more complex over the next few years. Historically data centres have been manually set up and configured and then left well alone but going forward, as a result of this increasing complexity, this will no longer be enough and a new class of artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to be the answer. With AI, businesses can handle ongoing and continuous optimisation of their data centres instead, all without the risk of human error.

There will most likely always be those technologies and business processes that a business will want to hold close to its chest, and for that reason alone, the data centre remains an important part of their IT. But as technology changes, so will data centres, both in use and implementation. In 2019, we will see more of the same as well as pointers toward the data centres of the future.

If you are after a safe haven for your data, talk to us.