Over 90% of large companies canvassed by Tech Monitor believe their future digital strategy will be significant or critical to their success over the next 3-5 years. ‘Growing Footprints’, a Tech Monitor report written in partnership with Khazna Data Centers, seeks to investigate such fast expanding digital requirements are impacting the data centre selection process. Tech Monitor surveyed over 200 key decision makers from businesses across all industries, finding that an array of requirements, including increased flexibility and resilience, greater levels of innovation and environmental performance are fast creeping up the agenda.
These factors demonstrate the shifting demands that enterprises are now pressured to meet if they are to remain competitive. Data centre revenues are expected to double from $466 billion in 2020 to a staggering $948bn by 2030, reflective of the unprecedented speed at which businesses are looking to progress their digital strategies to do so. ‘Growing Footprints’, published in November 2023, provides insights into the evolving data centre landscape and the decision-making of enterprises at different stages along their digital expansion journey. It outlines the macro trends driving demand and how these trends are informing the shifting selection criteria for business leaders and decision makers.
New capabilities to meet greater demands
From the transformation of remote working catalysed by the pandemic to the explosive impact of generative AI, the rapid onset of digitisation in recent years has fuelled the need for enterprises to adopt new technologies that will improve and optimise business, enhance process management, automate workflows, reduce costs and provide more successful customer experiences to retain customer loyalty – all of which require undergoing significant digital transformation.
Businesses will therefore require more robust and comprehensive computing power and storage capabilities provided by data centres to fulfil their future digital strategies if they are to continually meet evolving customer demands in a rapidly changing world. This is prompting business leaders to assess their data centre needs and requirements and consider the latest technology trends when selecting a data centre partner or colocation provider. In turn, data centre providers will need to align their operations alongside evolving business needs and strategies if they are to remain competitive.
The data centre industry is set to grow
‘Growing Footprints’ explores emerging data centre considerations such as the impacts of AI, automation, and environmental concerns. It also offers a unique perspective on the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region and its efforts to expand data centre capabilities. Bolstered by expert opinion and thought leadership from Khazna Data Centers, with insights from decision makers across a vast range of industries, the whitepaper takes a deep dive into how businesses are requiring more from their data centres as it relates to sustainability credentials, automation, real-time monitoring and adaptability, so they can provide the digital capabilities that enterprises need for success.
A key focus of the paper explores how enterprises will look to expand their IT capabilities, and how this additional workload required will be hosted in their digital expansion journeys, with options to accommodate this either on-premise or off-premise by relying on third-party data centres, or utilising a hybrid approach. As businesses and industries look to develop their digital strategies, adopting cloud technologies will become an increasing focus, helping businesses to save costs, reduce risks of downtime and operate at scale, with more expertise managing the data to allow businesses to focus on core goals.
Keeping data centres competitive in a complex future
In a vastly interconnected world, consumers are making greater demands on the quality of connectivity, and businesses seek more robust measures to reduce downtime and the implicated costs for unexpected incidents. The greater need to follow net zero guidelines and reduce carbon emissions will also determine how data centres operate and manage enterprises’ data, particularly for technology businesses.
‘Growing Footprints’ outlines how data centre providers that can collaborate with third parties, harness the latest technology and adapt to changing digital trends will differentiate themselves. Enterprises are assessing their data centre providers’ approaches to ensure they remain dynamic in an increasingly complex and competitive future. Data centre facilities and operations will be a crucial element in the journey towards digital transformation, and the right provider can be the differentiator for a business’s success.
