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Defining Next-Gen Data Centers: A Moving Target in a Rapidly Evolving Industry
The term ‘next-gen data center’ is gaining momentum, but is it just industry jargon or does it signify real innovation? We explore the evolving definition and its impact.
4 Min Read
What is a ‘next-gen’ data center? Is it just a buzzword or something more?Image: Alamy
‘Next-gen data center’ is becoming an increasingly data center industry term. But is it more than a mere buzzword or empty label? Are there concrete features that set a next-generation data center apart from conventional facilities, or is this merely a marketing label that doesn’t really mean anything?
We can’t answer those questions definitively, but we can offer perspective on how folks are using the term next-gen data center and what it appears to mean.
What is a Next-Gen Data Center?
A ‘next-gen data center’ is a data center that leverages the latest technology to achieve the best possible outcomes.
OK, But What Is a Next-Generation Data Center, Really?
If you read the definition of next-gen data centers above and thought, “That sounds pretty unspecific,” you’re not wrong.
The challenge in defining next-gen data centers is that, while most folks agree that next-gen facilities employ the latest technology, there is not a great deal of consensus or precision about which types of technology, exactly, characterize the next-generation data centers.
Some discussions of next-generation data centers focus on innovations like automation, although they’re not always specific about exactly how the automation is implemented or what makes it different from traditional forms of data center automation.
Other definitions, like Network Cabling Services’ discussion of next-gen data centers, emphasize the idea that next-gen data centers will be deployed at the network’s edge. This may be true, but edge computing is not very new, so it’s hard to see why an edge data center necessarily qualifies as a next-generation data center.
In other cases, discussions of next-generation data centers focus not on the facilities themselves, but on the types of IT infrastructure they host. Hence Nvidia’s report of having deployed a next-generation data center that features some of the latest and greatest of the hardware vendor's CPUs and GPUs.
We could go on, but hopefully, you get the point: The definition of a next-generation data center is largely in the eye of the beholder.
Modern data centers push boundaries with new technologies, but how much of the ‘next-gen’ label is driven by real progress?
The Importance of Next-Generation Data Centers
Based on the above, it might seem tempting to write off next-generation data centers as a meaningless term.
Like AIOps (to cite one prominent example of another IT buzzword that no one can really define precisely), the next-gen data center concept may feel more like something that vendors use to market their products than a concrete type of facility.
However, there is arguably value in the concept of next-generation data centers, even if we struggle to define exactly what they mean. At this point, data centers have been around for decades, and it can be easy for them to feel like commodities – meaning that they all do essentially the same thing, in the same way.
Against that backdrop, the idea of the next-generation data center is important because it emphasizes that there remains plenty of room for innovation in the data center industry. From automation and sustainability to security and resilience, and far beyond, real innovation is happening, and data centers that benefit from it are truly different from facilities that don’t.
So, although it's impossible to draw clear lines between traditional and next-generation data centers, it is possible to point to various types of technologies and areas of innovation that can distinguish advanced facilities from conventional ones. Doing so is important for ensuring that data centers deliver the best possible outcomes in whichever areas (like sustainability or reliability) matter most to organizations that use data centers.
Looking Forward to the Next Generation of Data Centers
We’ll likely be hearing more and more about “next-generation data centers” for the next several years, as more and more vendors and data center operators glom onto the term. It’s also likely that they will all use the term to refer to different things.
But before dismissing the next-gen data center concept as meaningless marketing jargon, consider how the term stands to benefit the industry as a way of underscoring opportunities for innovation.
Next-generation data centers may not really be a thing, but next-generation data center technology is.
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