Emerson Network Power Wants Input on Future of Data Centers

Data centers have emerged as a prominent way that organizations around the world manage, store and distribute information. With the rapid pace of new technologies being developed, no one quite knows how data centers will look years from now.

To gain some insight into this matter, data center infrastructure management solutions provider Emerson Network Power has launched a four-month global initiative entitled "Data Center 2025" that will compile input from those in the data center field regarding exceptions for the facilities in the future.

Data center providers and managers, original equipment managers, industry analysts and IT professionals are encouraged to partake in this project which will consist of surveys, interviews, social media engagement and reviews of existing forecasts of the data center industry.

Topics of conversation will include what kind of converged technologies will be available and how they will affect the data center model, where data center facilities will be located and how they will be powered and managed, and the types of skills that data center and IT personnel will need to have.

To start the discussion, Emerson Network Power has created potential scenarios on how the data center industry could look later down the road based on existing technologies and new ones. Those participating in the initiative will give their thoughts on how the scenarios might affect different aspects of the data center, as well as how the data center could eventually evolve to support changes to the facility.

"As an industry, we must maintain a sharp focus on the horizon in order to not just meet our customers’ changing needs but to drive the data center industry in smart, responsible ways," President Steve Hassell of Emerson Network Power's Data Center Solutions business said in a statement. "Our intent with this initiative is to provide a lens through which many various perspectives on a longer-term future may be viewed and evaluated."