The Evolution and Challenges of Data Centers – Expert Insights

As our digital lives expand, so does the demand on data centers—the silent powerhouses keeping our apps, cloud services, and online interactions running seamlessly. Behind every click, stream, and any online input and output, data centers work tirelessly to manage data, sustain connectivity, and deliver nearly flawless uptime.

We sat down with Simon Besteman, Director of the Dutch Cloud Community, to discuss the considerations of today—and what the future looks like. Here are the highlights of our conversation:

So, the journey to meet data center demands is far from simple. With the evolution and growth of digital infrastructure, data centers are now required to integrate high-performance storage and advanced memory solutions with secure and sustainable practices while also facing unprecedented power challenges. With this, the landscape is changing quickly, and as Besteman explains:

The data center world is actually in the middle of a revolution right now.

This revolution includes many elements—from power and cooling requirements to advanced security, storage, and sustainability. Besteman offers his insights into the key factors driving this shift and what it means for the future of data center infrastructure.

Power, Cooling, and Sustainability

Data centers operate 24/7, supporting essential services. This kind of operation requires an uninterrupted and stable power supply, but not always where you’d think. According to Besteman, "Data centers tend to have redundant cooling, high-performance cooling, in order to manage the temperature…and the humidity," which is necessary to avoid overheating servers.

But the power demands have grown to levels where even mid-sized data centers now consume as much energy as small towns and cities. This creates substantial barriers to data center expansion, especially in Europe, where power availability can be a limiting factor.

Data centers also face pressures to not only perform, but to do so sustainably. Many data centers are integrating metrics like Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) to track their energy consumption relative to their IT output, reducing overall power consumption wherever possible.

Additionally, data centers have adopted new Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) metrics to minimize water waste, critical as traditional cooling systems often use substantial amounts of water. As Besteman explains, data centers are moving toward liquid cooling systems that are more efficient than their air-based counterparts.

Liquid cooling enables data centers to manage the increasing heat generated by high-performance servers. While immersion cooling offers huge cooling benefits, it also requires substantial investment. However, there could be a middle ground. Besteman explains that:

Cooling-on-chip technology is relatively easy to implement in your existing infrastructure.

Besteman goes on to indicate that increasing numbers of data centers are looking to retrofit “on-chip” liquid cooling within their current environments.

Advanced Storage Solutions: Embracing SSDs

As data demands increase, so do the storage needs within data centers. While traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) were once the norm, SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) and NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) SSDs are taking their place due to their superior speed and durability.

Unlike HDDs, SSDs are highly resilient, offering low-latency data access—an advantage critical to real-time applications ranging from virtual environments, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning to growing use cases, like Digital Twins. As Besteman points out:

The technology of hard disks is no longer suited for the demands of the future.

This transition is key as data centers not only seek faster access times but also more efficient use of physical space. SSDs allow greater storage performance per rack, enabling data centers to store and transfer more data while also reducing physical footprints.

This reduction in required space can also offer a decrease in the need for cooling per data unit, ultimately contributing to lower operating costs and aligning with improved efficiency targets.

A close-up shot of a Kingston server memory on a server rack

Memory: The Backbone of Performance & Efficiency

In addition to storage, memory optimization has become pivotal in supporting the high-speed operations that data centers need to run effectively. As data centers evolve, their memory requirements must adapt, with newer applications demanding faster and more robust memory configurations.

Modern data centers are also beginning to transition from DDR4 memory to DDR5. The upgrade to DDR5 enables data centers to achieve faster data processing, which is essential for applications like AI and big data analytics, both of which place high demands on memory resources.

Besteman explains that choosing the correct memory configuration is a critical step in optimizing data center operations, as it directly impacts response times, energy efficiency, and overall service quality.

Security: Protecting Continuous Operation

With the vast amounts of sensitive data they house, data centers must also prioritize security. Besteman highlights the increasing value of the data stored within data centers and the need to prevent unauthorized access by bad actors. Besteman goes on to say:

Security must be handled at both physical and IT levels.

This underlines the need for data protection through secure access layers, not only on a software level, but also the hardware—including the use of SSDs that come with encryption standards, such as hardware-encrypted SSDs like Kingston’s DC600ME SSD, which features AES 256-bit encryption and supports TCG OPAL 2.0 security standards.

Conclusion

Data centers are undergoing a transformative period, adapting to the demands of metrics like speed, bandwidth, efficiency, and security. SSDs, for their performance and security credentials, advancing memory configurations, and sustainable practices are now core elements in any data center strategy.

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