Demand for data has been frantically expanding for years, and it shows no sign of stopping. In response to that frantically expanding demand, we found ourselves building entire data centers to handle it all. As the cloud took over, the need for on-premise data centers started to fall off, and growth is actually declining. So what’s the ultimate future of the on-premise data center?
The On-Premise Data Center Yet to Be
What does the future hold for the on-premise data center to come? It’s a strange mix.
Investment is still growing. A Gartner study noted that, in 2017, the growth rate for on-premise data center investment was 6.3% over 2016. In 2018, that number will drop further to 3.7%. Even now, with cloud technology widely available, on-premise spending is still on the rise. Some of this can be explained away by inflation, but the only slowdown so far is in the rate of growth.
An incomplete doomsday. Even some of the direst predictions aren’t a complete loss of on-premise data centers. Oracle’s CEO, Chris Hurd, predicted that 80% of on-premise data centers would be gone by 2025. Gartner further noted that, by 2020, more computing power would be sold by cloud providers than was put in on-premise data centers. Neither one, however, predicts a vanished data center.
Development continues. Dell EMC, just in 2017, made several moves toward supporting both the on-premise data center and its cloud cousin with several new advances in storage—its VMAX 950F was said to be 68% faster than its closest competitor—as well as servers and beyond. These technologies work for cloud providers as easily as on-premise data centers. So why would anyone want to scrap a current data center with new advancements available to improve it?
A hybrid future. Hybridized data centers—where elements of the cloud and the on-premise data center are used at the same time—have proven their value on several fronts. Why decommission a currently-working data center when it can be supplemented by the cloud? Take advantage of the benefits brought by both sides and you get the best data center you can have.
How to Get the Most Out of Your On-Premise Data Center
There is still value to be had in an on-premise data center, and it all starts with getting the right materials and expertise in place. To get those things to work in your business, just get in touch with us at EmconIT. We support not only Dell EMC but also HP 3Par and NetApp, among others, to make sure you get the most out of this still-valuable technology. All it takes to get the process started is to reach out to us.