As 2023 comes to a close, it has been another exciting year for data centers. From advancements in technology to shifts in sustainability practices, here is a summary of some of the updates we’ve seen:

Quantum Computing Integration:
Quantum computing made an entrance into the data center landscape in 2023, and will likely continue making strides until it is more mainstream. Major players introduced quantum-compatible infrastructure, shifting the expectations of computational capabilities and challenging the traditional bounds of data processing.

AI-Optimized Hardware:
The integration of AI in data centers reached new heights, including more hands-off operation of monitoring and controls. Just as AI has been applied to so many other industries, hardware leaders announced AI-optimized hardware architectures, enhancing data processing speeds, efficiency, and the ability to handle complex machine learning workloads.

Edge Expansion:
The demand for low-latency processing continues, and edge data centers have been more strategically positioned to become instrumental in supporting emerging technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, IoT, and more.

Advanced Cooling Solutions:
Sustainability and energy efficiency remain key focal points, and with the expansion of AI requirements, the adoption of innovative cooling solutions, such as liquid cooling and advanced air circulation systems, have accelerated with the aim to reduce environmental impact and operational costs.

Hybrid Cloud Expansion:
The hybrid cloud model evolved further to meet the growing needs of businesses. More data centers supporting cloud solutions seamlessly integrated on-premises infrastructure with public and private cloud services, offering flexibility and scalability.

Cybersecurity Innovations:
With cyber threats becoming more sophisticated (and leveraging AI), data centers invested heavily in cybersecurity measures. The result was advancement of threat detection systems, encryption protocols, and comprehensive cybersecurity frameworks to safeguard critical data. With new tools, detection and dynamic reactions have been faster than ever, with more succinct capabilities to isolate and prevent without affecting broad ranges of users.

Renewable Energy Adoption:
Sustainability commitments took another large step forward with industry-wide implementation of renewable energy sources more specific to data center facilities. Data centers added more solar, wind, and clean energy credits, as the major companies aim to achieve carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative development and operations, with targets set only years away.

Modular Data Center Solutions:
The demand for scalable and rapidly deployable data center solutions led to the rise of more modular architectures for faster, cheaper deployment. Prefabricated mechanical & electrical modules gained traction, offering data centers the flexibility to expand infrastructure as needed, but more importantly allowing them to turn up distinct capacity earlier while still monitoring on the signals for more.

Regulatory Compliance Initiatives:
Stricter regulations surrounding data privacy and environmental impact prompted data centers to enhance their compliance measures in APAC and EMEA. There was increased collaboration with regulatory bodies to ensure adherence to evolving standards and maintain trust with users and the overseeing agencies to avoid fines or loss of business.

Mergers and acquisitions continued in 2023, with some of major ones listed below.

Acquiring Company	Acquired Company	Deal Size (Billion)	Date
KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners	CyrusOne	$15	January 5, 2023
DigitalBridge and IFM	Switch	$11	February 10, 2023
American Tower Corporation	CoreSite	$10.1	March 15, 2023
Brookfield and Ontario Teacher’s Plan	Compass Datacenters	$5.5	June, 2023
Brookfield	Data4	$3.8	April, 2023
KDDI (Telehouse)	Allied Properties	$1	June, 2023
Brookfield	Cyxtera Technologies	$0.76	Nov, 2023

Construction projects began in earnest throughout the world as well, with the biggest public projects listed here:  

Project / Company Name	Location	Value (Million)	Owner	Contractor	Starting Date
Paulinia Data Center	Paulínia, São Paulo, Brazil	$1,500	Ascenty	Turner Construction	January 2, 2023
Project Echo	Ashburn, Virginia, USA	$1,200	Digital Realty	DPR Construction	January 15, 2023
Project Oasis	Henderson, Nevada, USA	$600	Google	HITT Contracting	March 15, 2023
Vantage	Quincy, Washington, USA	$500	Vantage Data Centers	Fortis Construction	April 15, 2023
AirTrunk	Inzai, Chiba, Japan	$500	AirTrunk	Kajima Corporation	May 1, 2023
CyrusOne	Frankfurt, Germany	$400	CyrusOne	Mace Group	June 1, 2023
Switch	Milan, Italy	$300	Switch	Clayco	June 15, 2023
Facebook	Gallatin, Tennessee, USA	$300	Facebook	Whiting-Turner	July 1, 2023
Alibaba	Jakarta, Indonesia	$300	Alibaba Cloud	PT PP	July 15, 2023
Project GDS	Shanghai, China	$300	GDS Holdings	Shanghai Construction Group	August 1, 2023
QTS	Hillsboro, Oregon, USA	$250	QTS Realty Trust	Mortenson	August 15, 2023
Iron Mountain	Manassas, Virginia, USA	$200	Iron Mountain	Clune Construction	September 1, 2023
RagingWire	Garland, Texas, USA	$200	RagingWire Data Centers (NTT)	JE Dunn	September 15, 2023
Compass	Phoenix, Arizona, USA	$200	Compass Datacenters	Skanska	October 1, 2023
EdgeConneX	Santiago, Chile	$150	EdgeConneX	Gray Construction	October 15, 2023
Stream	Goodyear, Arizona, USA	$150	Stream Data Centers	AECOM	November 1, 2023
STACK	Atlanta, Georgia, USA	$150	STACK Infrastructure	McCarthy	November 15, 2023
NTT	Chicago, Illinois, USA	$150	NTT Global Data Centers	M.C. Dean	December 1, 2023
Sabey	Ashburn, Virginia, USA	$100	Sabey Data Centers	Suffolk	December 15, 2023

With all of these projects, it is still important to review the efficiency and sustainability of the data center facilities, and whether young or old, below are some notable facilities throughout the world. Note that there are many from the top cloud providers that easily outperform those in the UK, however the effort to document and compare all of those achieving LEED Gold (or higher) or being supported indirectly by renewable energy offsets is a bit too numerous to collect and issue here.

• Google Cloud Hamina Data Center: Still going strong in Finland, and based on reusing an paper process plant water system, the facility uses seawater from the Gulf of Finland for cooling and runs on 100% renewable energy from wind and hydro sources. 
• Digital Realty Dublin Data Center: This facility in Ireland uses free cooling technology, which takes advantage of outside air to reduce the need for mechanical cooling.  It also runs on 100% renewable energy from wind and solar sources. 
• Schneider Electric Smartbunker FX Data Center: The company developed a modular data center that can be deployed in any location.  In the UK location it uses natural ventilation, free cooling, and solar power to achieve a PUE of 1.25 or less and reduce carbon emissions by 80%. 
• Scala Data Centers SP3 Data Center: This facility in Brazil is the first data center in Latin America to receive the LEED Gold certification for its sustainable design and operation.  It uses an innovative cooling system that reduces water consumption by 90% and energy consumption by 40%. 
• EdgeConneX Amsterdam Data Center: Located in the Netherlands, the facility is powered by 100% renewable energy from wind, solar, and biomass sources. It also uses a direct fresh air cooling system that eliminates the need for chillers and compressors. 
• EcoDataCenter Falun Data Center: This facility in Sweden is the world’s first climate-positive data center, meaning that it reduces more carbon emissions than it produces.  It uses waste heat from its servers to support nearby buildings, and runs on 100% renewable energy from hydro and wind sources. 
• Switch Citadel Campus Data Center: The company touts this facility in Nevada is the largest and most advanced data center in the world, with a capacity of 7.2 million square feet.  It runs on 100% renewable energy from solar and geothermal sources and uses a cooling system that reduces the overall water consumption.  The actual calculations require vetting, as the amount of renewable energy on site and water use reduction are to be verified.   
• Equinix LD6 Data Center: This facility in the UK is one of the most energy-efficient data centers in Europe, with a PUE of 1.2.  It runs on 100% renewable energy from wind, solar, and biomass sources, and uses an innovative adiabatic cooling system that reduces water usage by 73%. 
• Kao Data London One: This was the first data center in Europe to use 100% renewable HVO biofuel for its backup generators, reducing carbon emissions by 90%.  It also uses indirect evaporative cooling technology and does not use refrigerants or water treatment chemicals. 
• VIRTUS LONDON5 Data Center: This facility in the UK is powered by 100% renewable energy from wind, solar, and hydro sources. It also uses a highly efficient cooling system that reduces energy consumption by 22% and water consumption by 70%.