As 2013 opens with new prospects for data center operations, we’ll see new looks at some old themes, especially around energy efficiency. Increased power costs and pressure from environmental groups will lead data center designers to look to new technologies to cut their traditional energy needs. But that’s not all we’ll see; here are five important trends you can expect to see gain strength in 2013.

1. Location Drives Energy Efficiency

There is one data center concern that overwhelms all others: the need for energy efficiency. At one time, energy costs were viewed as a given, compared to the expenses in hardware purchases and labor for operations. But as hardware became more efficient and automated procedures more prevalent, the cost of energy has steadily risen to capture 25% of total operating costs, and it now sits close to the top of the list.

In addition, there is a clash building between environmentalists versus smartphone and tablet users and data center operators. As the evidence builds for global warming, the unbridled growth of computing in many forms is coming under attack as a wasteful contributor to global warming. Indeed, such an attack was the theme of a landmark New York Times story published Sept. 22, “The Cloud Factories: Power, Pollution and the Internet.”
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