Roundup: Gartner, Fujitsu, SoftLayer, Akamai

Here’s our review of noteworthy news in the data center industry:

Gartner: $99 billion in 2011 data center hardware spending.  Gartner announced that worldwide data center hardware spending is projected to reach $98.9 billion in 2011, up 12.7 percent from 2010 spending of $87.8 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. Data center hardware spending is forecast to total $106.4 billion in 2012, and surpass $126.2 billion in 2015. In 2010, 2 percent of data centers contained 52 percent of total data center floorspace and accounted for 63 percent of data center hardware spending. In 2015, 2 percent of data centers will contain 60 percent of data center floorspace and account for 71 percent of data center hardware spending. Additional information is available in the Gartner report "Forecast: Data Centers, Worldwide, 2010-2015"

Fujitsu Develops Data Center Simulator.  Fujitsu Laboratories announced development of simulation technology that can instantly test for changes in power consumption throughout a data center—where numerous servers are operated—when operating status of servers or air-conditioning equipment is altered. The technology developed can determine thermal flows inside a building at calculation speeds over 1,000 times faster than was previously possible. Additionally it will model all hardware and infrastructure in a data center to enable accurate calculations of overall power consumption. Recent power shortages in Japan have forced data centers to deal with emergency energy-conservation requirements. This technology also enables a variety of measures to be tested on short notice. The technology will undergo field testing and application at Fujitsu's data centers with the goal of making data centers more power-efficient.

SoftLayer Opens Data Center in The Netherlands.  SoftLayer announced that the company has selected Amsterdam in The Netherlands for its European headquarters and first data center. The company opened its new Singapore data center earlier this month. As a part of their European initiative they have appointed Jonathan Wisler as General Manager for European Operations and they have joined the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX). The new Amsterdam facility will have capacity for over 15,000 servers, feature a fully automated platform, redundant network infrastructure and a unique pod design concept. "SoftLayer is a name well-known in the US, but it’s already establishing a prestigious European reputation for delivering flexibility and control to businesses that live on a browser," said Wisler. "The technology approach is ground-breaking; the business model unique—we think that an increasing number of Dutch enterprises and organizations will quickly catch on to a new way of managing their digital infrastructures."

Akamai advances its Intelligent Platform.  Akamai Technologies (AKAM) unveiled wide-ranging technology advancements to its Akamai Intelligent Platform. During its annual customer conference, the company demonstrated new solutions for application acceleration from the enterprise to the cloud, mobile site acceleration and adaptation, security, and the monetization and distribution of rich media – all designed specifically to meet the evolving requirements of doing business in a hyper-connected world.  "We now live in an always-connected, multi-device world, where workers and consumers expect to be able to immediately access rich, interactive experiences, with high levels of performance and quality, as well as the assurance of security. As site complexity and user expectations continue to increase, organizations will continue to seek out partners that they can trust to simplify the intricacies of successful content and applications delivery, improve the user experience, and allow them to focus on their core competencies," said Lydia Leong, research vice president, Gartner. Akamai also introduced two new solutions, DDoS Defender and Akamai Compliance Management modules.