This new year will bring an accelerated deployment of new and evolving technologies around Data Centers globally. Among the main trends influencing these deployments are the growing demand for high-performance networks and the increase in network management efficiency. Let's take a closer look at these trends below:

Cloud migration will accelerate

Due to the changes that businesses have experienced since the pandemic began, companies are moving to the cloud, and this trend will only accelerate in 2021 regardless of what happens with COVID-19. Companies that were considering an eventual migration are moving quickly to adopt a cloud-based paradigm for their businesses.

In fact, many companies that told their workers to stay at home have adopted remote work policies that rely on cloud applications, while retailers are following the example of industry giants like Amazon in migrating sales tools to the cloud.

Another cloud-related trend we have observed is the accelerated adoption of private infrastructure. Not long ago, it was thought that everything would ultimately move to the public cloud. However, many companies have realized that they need to keep financial information, healthcare records, and other sensitive data in the private cloud.

Some applications simply cannot be converted to the public cloud, while companies maintaining large data centers are finding a economic advantage in the private cloud when comparing it to the public cloud. For reasons like these, many companies have adopted the hybrid cloud as the best solution for managing and storing their information.

Artificial Intelligence adoption will increase

The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications has been a consistent trend for Data Centers, and we see no signs of this slowing down in 2021. AI is being used to drive security and protection applications such as automatic temperature controls, contactless authorization, payment and control systems, and traffic monitoring, for example.

AI and Machine Learning (ML) data is typically hosted in very large data sets. Specialized servers equipped with accelerators, GPUs for example, are ideal for processing AI/ML tasks. Data Center networks are increasing bandwidth to feed these systems with very large data pipelines, enabling the cost-effective development of AI tools.

IoT deployments will increase

Internet of Things (IoT) applications are proliferating rapidly as companies seek to better manage facilities and their occupants. New connectivity protocols such as LTE-M and Zigbee are enabling wireless sensors for temperature, water usage, room occupancy, HVAC control, while Power over Ethernet (PoE) is enabling everything from Wi-Fi access points to surveillance cameras.

As IoT applications continue to multiply, the amount of data generated is expected to grow exponentially. Processing this information locally, near the edge, is perhaps the most effective way to handle the data. It has been predicted that approximately 65% of all servers will be deployed in Edge Data Centers by 2025.

The path to single-mode fiber optic

Remote workers and buyers are demanding immediate response times, and this will drive the widespread adoption of single-mode fiber optics that has existed for years, but as Data Centers accelerate the adoption of 400G Ethernet in 2021, we will see deployments accelerate. Adoption was a bit slower in 2020 due to difficulty obtaining materials from China, but this is expected to change during 2021.

Data Center capacity must continue to grow, but there must also be continuous improvement in its efficiency. This is precisely why fiber optic networks are changing bandwidth, creating a need for more efficient network switching elements and driving the use of "fiber to the server" as older generations of copper cabling reach speed and distance limitations. The IEEE 802.3db task force targets speeds of 100, 200, and 400Gbps for short-range server connections that will aid in the development of low-cost VCSEL-based optics.

Serving remote workers and customers, making facilities safer and more efficient, and driving higher performance and efficiency will be the keys to Data Center trends for 2021; companies that follow these proposals will be at the forefront of digital transformation as industry evolution continues in a world that will continue to face COVID-19.

(*) Ed Solis: VP Americas Enterprise Infrastructure Sales, CommScope