Powering the digital age: the critical role of resilient data centres

This introductory article from Peter Lo sets the scene for our Data Centre Thought Leadership Series and examines how SLR can support you in developing this critical infrastructure. Peter works in SLR’s Energy Advisory business as Global Head of New Energy Systems & Technology and specialises in strategy informed by cutting edge simulation of key energy generation and storage solutions optimising the transition to net zero for our clients.

Sustainably powering digital transformation

Digital transformation continues to accelerate at a rapid pace across industries and our way of life. This is especially the case these days with the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) spurring a greater need for storing and processing huge quantities of data.

The data centre boom

The global data centre market is experiencing significant growth, driven by the increasing demand for cloud services, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. According to Fortune Business Insights, the market was valued at approximately $219.23 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $584.86 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6%[1] during this period.

This growth highlights not just the increasing demand for data centres but also the urgent need for sustainable energy solutions to power these. With electricity costs forming a major part of data centre operational expenses, the industry’s ability to integrate low-carbon energy sources, along with other technologies, will be pivotal in its journey to net zero.

However, these data centre facilities are also extremely energy-intensive, making sustainable power solutions a top priority. At SLR, we understand the complex challenges facing data centre developers and operators, from sustainability and energy efficiency to grid resilience, cooling, and regulatory compliance. In this series, we will set the scene of the current data centre landscape, explore key trends shaping the sector and examine the role of innovative solutions in ensuring a resilient and sustainable future.

Understanding data centre types and sectors

Data centres can be classified according to size and function, each designed to meet specific industry needs.

• Hyperscale data centres are large-scale facilities operated by technology giants such as AWS, Google, Microsoft, Meta and are gaining rapid popularity. They cater for substantial cloud computing, AI workloads, and big data analytics.
• Colocation data centres are multi-tenant facilities where different businesses can lease space, power, and cooling, and scale these needs accordingly. Equinix and Digital Realty are examples.
• Enterprise data centres are private facilities by large corporations for internal IT requirements and help ensure data security, regulatory compliance, and control over operations. Sectors such as banking and financial services use these types of data centres for secure transactions.
• Edge data centres are typically smaller, decentralised facilities located closer to users and support real-time applications like 5G, IoT, and autonomous vehicles for smart cities and industrial IoT zones
• Modular & micro data centres are compact, pre-built units deployed quickly for remote or mobile applications in defence, disaster recovery, and remote industrial site applications such as mining and oil and gas.
• Green & sustainable data centres are designed with renewable energy, liquid cooling, and carbon-neutral operations as an objective. Google’s 100% renewable-powered data centres are an example.

Data centre applications

A broad and ever-expanding range of sectors rely on these data centres to power their operations. Some of the prominent ones include:

• Finance & banking - high-security enterprise data centres for real-time trading, fraud detection, and blockchain transactions
• E-commerce & retail - cloud and AI-driven hyperscale data centres supporting personalised shopping, logistics, and payments.
• Healthcare & life sciences - secure colocation & private data centres for electronic medical records (EMR), telemedicine, and AI diagnostics.
• Automotive & smart mobility - edge data centres processing autonomous vehicle & connected car data in real time.
• Telecomms & 5G Networks - edge & colocation data centres enabling low latency 5G, IoT, and smart city applications.
• Gaming & entertainment - cloud-based hyperscale data centres for streaming, esports, and virtual reality (VR) platforms.
• Industrial & manufacturing - typically use IoT-driven edge data centres for predictive maintenance, automation, and supply chain management.
• AI & high-performance computing (HPC) - hyperscale data centres for AI model training, scientific research, and quantum computing.

In just a short space of time, this massive growth across industries reflects the penetration of AI and data centres into our everyday way of life at work and at play, and this list of applications helps to illustrate why there are differing requirements for data centre up time.

No time for downtime

Data centres are handling ever increasing demands for data storage and processing, and for many businesses particularly in the finance, healthcare and industrial sectors, they need to be permanently operational. Efficiency and reliability are key requirements, and service disruptions and downtime are costly. This is solved by adding redundancy for key data centre componentry and infrastructure requirements. This is measured through data centre uptime as a percentage of time that services remain operational and this metric can be affected by power supply reliability, cooling and environment and cyber-attack / natural disaster recovery.

There are myriad sustainability challenges with the high energy intensity of data centres which currently consume up to 2% of global electricity, so improving energy and water efficiency is crucial. Regulations continue to impact data centres with the introduction of more ESG and compliance requirements.

Understanding data centre tiers

The Uptime Institute’s Tier Classification System [2] helps categorise data centres based on redundancy, fault tolerance, and expected uptime.

The higher the tier, the higher the capital cost but this also drives higher data centre uptime performance. Choosing the right tier is a balance between these elements for operators and developers.

How SLR supports data centre developers and operators

We support the sector by providing turnkey advisory solutions to the challenges of changing regulatory landscapes, carbon footprint reduction, energy supply and increasing energy efficient technologies, reducing water use, and the consumption of natural resources. ​

SLR is uniquely placed to provide solutions through the full life cycle of a data centre and our network of technical experts support clients in quickly bringing projects from concept to feasibility and planning to delivery.​ Our breadth of expertise and experience in this sector enables us to provide strategic advice and value which can unlock investment much more quickly and de-risk decision making.

• Site selection & feasibility studies
  • Evaluating geographical risks (such as; seismic, flooding, extreme weather)
  • Assessing grid reliability & energy supply
• Sustainability & ESG compliance
  • Implementing energy-efficient cooling & heat recovery solutions
  • Supporting carbon-neutral & renewable-powered data centre development
  • Conducting lifecycle emissions & environmental impact assessments (EIA)
• Risk, resilience & uptime optimisation
  • Designing for redundancy & disaster recovery planning
  • Optimising power & water usage efficiency (PUE & WUE)
• Planning, permitting & regulatory compliance
  • Successfully navigating planning & permitting regulations

The need for resilient, energy-efficient, and sustainable data centres has never been greater. By taking proactive steps today, data centre operators can future proof their infrastructure while supporting a greener, more connected world.

Our next article, "Energy solutions for data centres" will dive deeper into some of the key challenges and the energy strategies that can support sustainable growth.

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References

1. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/data-center-market-109851
2. https://uptimeinstitute.com/about-ui