Data Centre Spending Expected to Rise 1.8% in 2015

The latest research from Gartner indicates that spending in the data centre sector should rise by as much as 1.8% over the next 12 months.  Although the increase is not as much as previously projected, it is still good news to those in the IT industry.  Increased data centre spending means more equipment, more infrastructure and more opportunity.

Gartner projects global IT spending to be somewhere in the region of US $3.8 trillion for 2015.  Of that total amount, they expect some $143 billion to be spent on data centre systems.  Previous projections suggested an increase of 3.9% in global IT spending this year; current projections are closer to 2.4%, representing a 1.5% reduction.

Gartner explains that the rising US dollar and an improving economy are affecting the numbers on paper however, when accounting for currency movement, the real reduction in predicted global expenditures is only 0.1%.  In other words, Gartner expects a very healthy year for the IT sector in general and the data centre industry specifically.

In addition to strong growth for data centre equipment and infrastructure, December research from Mordor indicates a very strong future for both collocation and enterprise software.  They expect the worldwide collocation market to grow to as much as $45 billion over the next four years.  Spending on enterprise software could go as high as $335 billion over the same period.  Both projections are good for the IT services sector.

Healthy IT, Healthy Economy

Those of us in the IT industry should greet the news with plenty of optimism.  Any time the IT market is healthy, it provides an undercurrent for a healthy economy across the board.  Why?  Because so much of the modern economy is linked to global Internet use.  Without the proliferation of the World Wide Web, the modern marketplace would look vastly different therefore a healthy IT industry means that the global network that is now sustaining modern business will continue moving along.

The increased spending on data centres in 2015 is likely to be primarily focused on building new centres and upgrading existing ones in order to keep up with increased demand.  As we move ever more quickly into the age of connectivity, older facilities will simply not have the muscle to compete.  These will be upgraded or replaced entirely.

Another area to keep an eye on is green technology for the IT sector.  This year should be a big year for green energy, more efficient cooling systems and projects that are able to harness data centre heat for reuse in other ways.  This could be the year that we see the development of a completely self-sustaining data centre that utilises renewable energy sources while also contributing to the grid.

It is an exciting time to be part of the IT industry.  We look forward to seeing what advancements will make our industry better; and what old technologies and methodologies are left behind.  What we do in 2015 will set the stage for many years to come.

Source: Tech Week Europe – http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/cloud/datacenter/data-centre-spending-2015-158891#SgWlO7ge1Eulr23B.99