Smart devices will put pressure on data centres as they generate big data that needs to be processed and analysed in real time, according to the latest research.
Gartner predicts that there will be 26 billion Internet of Things (IoT) units installed by 2020 as IoT suppliers generate $300bn in revenue.
IoT refers to appliances enabled with sensors and assigned their own IP address that connect to the internet – thus creating a world where devices and machines can communicate with each other, interpret information and make intelligent decisions in real time as more and more devices connect to the internet.
Fabrizio Biscotti, a research director at Gartner, said: "Processing large quantities of IoT data in real time will increase as a proportion of workloads of data centres, leaving providers facing new security, capacity and analytics challenges."
Gartner outlined the following challenges for data centre technology providers.
1. Security – The increasing digitisation and automation of the multitudes of devices deployed across different areas of modern urban environments are set to create new security challenges to many industries.
2. Enterprise – Significant security challenges will remain as the big data created as a result of the deployment of myriad devices will drastically increase security complexity. This, in turn, will have an impact on availability requirements, which are also expected to increase, putting real-time business processes and, potentially, personal safety at risk.
3. Consumer Privacy – As is already the case with smart metering equipment and increasingly digitised automobiles, there will be a vast amount of data providing information on users’ personal use of devices that, if not secured, can give rise to breaches of privacy. This is particularly challenging as the information generated by IoT is a key to bringing better services and the management of such devices.
4. Data – The impact of the IoT on storage is two-pronged in types of data to be stored: personal data (consumer-driven) and big data (enterprise-driven). As consumers utilise apps and devices continue to learn about the user, significant data will be generated.
5. Storage Management – The impact of the IoT on storage infrastructure is another factor contributing to the increasing demand for more storage capacity, and one that will have to be addressed as this data becomes more prevalent. The focus today must be on storage capacity, as well as whether or not the business can harvest and use IoT data in a cost-effective manner.
6. Server Technologies – The impact of IoT on the server market will be largely focused on increased investment in key vertical industries and organisations related to those industries where IoT can be profitable or add significant value.
7. Data Centre Network – Existing data centre WAN links are sized for the moderate-bandwidth requirements generated by human interactions with applications. IoT promises to dramatically change these patterns by transferring massive amounts of small message sensor data to the data centre for processing, dramatically increasing inbound data centre bandwidth requirements.
