Space Race

The growth in data volumes, regulatory compliance, and fresh interest in disaster recovery are causing more than a need for bigger and better storage. They are also the forces behind a new push for data center space.

It's more than a matter of where to put it all. Companies are outgrowing their data centers in part because of regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, which require firms to have one full replica of key data within a given geographic range. Other factors include a new focus on disaster preparedness, motivated by the aftermath of Katrina and other dire acts of man and nature.

Online services, requiring a sizeable data center infrastructure, have also become a fact of life instead of an oddity. "Businesses now know how to make money online," says Pervez Delawalla, CEO of Net2Ez, which provides managed data center services in Los Angeles.

But Delawalla and others in the business of providing data center space say demand isn't growing just because firms need more floor space. There's also a power struggle underway of an electrical nature.

"Equipment may take up a smaller footprint now, but power requirements can be much higher," says Stephanie Rapp, director of market relationships at Equinix Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), which provides outsourced data centers along with its other services. (See Equinix Nabs New LA Data Center.) As a result, she says, companies must often use up more space just to accommodate their power needs."We've seen a quadrupling of power requirements in the last three years," says Miles Kelly, VP of marketing at 365 Main Inc., a company that buys and builds data center space to rent to enterprise customers, Web hosting companies, and Internet service providers – including Net2Ez. (See 365 Main and A Space for the Oakland Raiders.) A high-end, six-unit server typically needs four times the power it did back in 2002, he notes.

Certainly, suppliers aren't turning away from the high-density power-hogging trend in IT hardware. More blade servers are on the way, including Sun's, which had ditched the design a few months back. (See Sun Glints Off Blades, HP Brandishes Blades, and IBM Sharpens SMB Blades.)

While it's clear that many organizations are going to need outside data center help, there are also trends underway that could contribute to a more efficient use of existing wares. Of course, the main one is virtualization, which promises expeditious use of hardware, even as that hardware grows in density and power appetite. (See Vamping Virtualization.)

So it seems the pundits would put two things on your agenda: Start scouting for extra space, but keep an eye on shrinking your need for it.

— Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and Switch0