Study: Half of Data Centers May Relocate

"By 2010, more than half of all data centers will have to relocate to new facilities or outsource some applications." This was one of the "five bold predictions" presented Tuesday at the Spring Data Center World conference in Atlanta. The predictions by the Data Center Institute were based upon an extensive survey of members of AFCOM, a leading association for data center professionals and the sponsor of Data Center World.

The planned relocations will come as no surprise to data center landlords, builders and service providers, who say they've been seeing strong demand for facilities that can accommodate high-density blade server installations. Blade servers offer potential cost savings to corporations seeking to consolidate sprawling data center infrastructures. But many comopanies are finding their existing facilities are unable to manage "hot spots" created by high-density racks and cabinets.

The Data Center Institute research found that 53 percent of respondents expect to expand or relocate their data center operations by 2010, and 13 percent expect to both expand and outsource. The findings were presented in the keynote of Tuesday's session at the Georgia World Congress Center. Watch Data Center Knowledge in coming days for additional coverage of the DCI findings and a full roundup of Data Center World.