The cloud. 5G technology. Autonomous cars. Artificial intelligence. With so much new technology being created and filtering into the market, Dallas-Fort Worth data centers are looking at a 20-year future that rivals all previous decades for capturing information, managing traffic and finding a niche in the midst of a rapidly shifting technology sector.
Experts attending Bisnow's DICE 2019 event in Plano discussed all of the above, along with top trends in the DFW data space.
Trend 1: Will More Googles And Facebooks Build Hyperscale In DFW?
Google's decision last year to commit to the construction of a hyperscale data center on 375 acres in Midlothian, south of Dallas, had DFW data centers asking if they should prepare for more tech giants to build their own centers, eliminating the need to tap into existing supply.
While some DICE panelists said they have heard rumors of a few other larger players shopping to build hyperscale data centers in DFW, overall, hyperscale is not necessarily a big part of the data center space in Dallas or surrounding areas. Still, DICE attendees are watching the hyperscale space closely to see if it picks up in the future.
Trend 2: Supply Is Robust, But Oversaturation Is Not Necessarily A Concern.
While DICE panelists noted DFW's data center market is a little oversupplied at the moment, it isn't a pressing concern. DFW is still a top three data center destination in the U.S.
DICE attendees said they continually receive requests for proposals from companies outside of DFW that are looking for a local data presence in North Texas. With this in mind, attendees are confident current data center supplies will be consumed in the Metroplex.
Trend 3: Security And Governance Is A Big Issue For Data Centers.
With so much private data now online, from Social Security numbers to addresses and healthcare information, security issues are a major concern for data centers.
DICE attendees said one of the areas where data centers need to fine-tune their focus is in the adoption of comprehensive security guidelines to prevent data breaches.
While data centers can never be perfect on the issue of security preservation, DICE attendees said governance of data and overall system security are hot topics now and should be met with some thoughtfulness and high-level planning at the data center level.
