The cost of low-carbon green hydrogen will be prohibitive for primary power for many years – but some operators may adopt high-carbon (polluting) gray hydrogen ahead of transitioning to green hydrogen
The cost of low-carbon green hydrogen will be prohibitive for primary power for many years – but some operators may adopt high-carbon (polluting) gray hydrogen ahead of transitioning to green hydrogen
This summary of the 2025 predictions highlights the growing concerns and opportunities around AI for data centers.
Dedicated GPU infrastructure can beat the public cloud on cost. Companies considering purchasing an AI cluster need to consider utilization as the key variable in their calculations.
Uptime Intelligence looks beyond the more obvious trends of 2025 and identifies examines some of the latest developments and challenges shaping the data center industry.
As AI supercharges the growth in data center energy demands, new developments are likely to be increasingly politicized. Central governments may support their expansion, but opposition from local authorities and environmentalists will grow.
Supersized generative AI models are placing onerous demands on both IT and facilities infrastructure. The challenge for next-generation AI infrastructure will be power, forcing operators to explore new electrification architectures.
Power grids are under stress, struggling to meet future demand and increasingly prone to outages. More utilities will expect data centers to contribute power — and be more flexible in their use of power.
Hydrogen from renewable sources is in short supply. While future plentiful supplies are planned, currently only a very small number of data centers are using hydrogen for standby power.
Powerful solar storms have already brought warnings of disruption to electricity grids and their customers twice in 2024 — and the Sun’s activity has yet to peak. Why do data centers and power utilities appear to have escaped unscathed?
Some operators are using natural gas for on-site power where the local grid is constrained. This will increase their emissions — but gas is essential in the transition to renewable energy and operators’ use of it is best seen in this light.
AI training clusters can show rapid and large swings in power consumption. This behavior is likely driven by a combination of properties of both modern compute silicon and AI training software — and may be difficult to manage at scale.
Generative AI models brought about an influx of high-density cabinets. There has been much focus on how to best manage thermal issues, but the weight of power distribution equipment is a potentially overlooked concern.
Pulling reliable power consumption data from IT is increasingly important for operators. Although third-party software products offer promise, significant roadblocks still hinder adoption.
UPS systems are the number one root cause of significant and severe outages. Analysis of reliability data from data center management software provider Fulcrum Collaborations sheds more light on the prevalent UPS component failures.
Densification is — once again — high on the agenda, with runaway expectations largely due to compute power requirements of generative AI workloads. Will this time be different? Uptime’s 2024 global survey of data center managers offers some clues.