The article further highlights the next wave of ecosystems with AI plugins, which could potentially reshape existing data center ecosystems around specific industries or data sources. It concludes by emphasizing the need for data center industry participants to develop proactive, flexible strategies to navigate this new era and build the right data center capacity in the right markets. The AI revolution is driving increased data storage demand, which is expected to outstrip supply in the near term, necessitating flexible data center infrastructure strategies.
Key takeaways:
- The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) is leading to a rapid increase in data use and a new era of potential data center industry growth.
- Key considerations for data center industry executives and investors should include scenario planning to capitalize on the evolving needs of the market and proactive, yet flexible, strategies for market selection and facility design.
- AI workloads require power-hungry graphics processor units (GPU), resulting in much higher power density requirements within the data center. This necessitates effective cooling solutions and considerations for environmental, social and governance (ESG) demands.
- OpenAI's announcement of plugins to support third-party services could potentially reshape existing data center ecosystems around specific industries or data sources, making it essential for operators to identify future “magnets” for these communities of interest.