What will 2025 bring to data centers? Plenty—especially for data centers moving into power-hungry fields such as AI and facilities planning for equipment upgrades, moves to new locations, or migrations soon.
These are the data center trends to watch for in 2025.
1. Network capacity is more important than ever.
High-capacity fiber network usage has skyrocketed over the past few years because of AI and the corresponding growth in data center demand. Existing fiber networks will become a scarce resource.
Data centers laying new fiber networks may opt to install a built-in reservoir of additional network capacity in the form of dark fiber—fiber that’s dormant until it’s needed.
Dark fiber is a trend we expect to see more of in 2025 and beyond. We also foresee changes in pricing for network capacity tiers, perhaps with price and data volume increases.
2. Natural gas usage is up.
Power grids struggle to keep up with the massive demand from data centers, which is a problem when data centers must keep critical services up and running. AI is a power-hungry and unpredictable technology, with occasional periods of extremely high power usage. Additionally, traditional power grids have a long setup time, which means data centers have to wait to be connected with new grids.
This makes creative backup power generation a must. However, typical alternative energy sources—wind and solar, for example—aren’t always reliable or readily available.
In response, data centers are looking at natural gas generation as a low-cost, easily scalable solution. Natural gas is abundant, and right now, there is no other better option. Small modular reactors (SMRs) will emerge within ten to fifteen years, but natural gas could be a good answer for the current energy generation problem.
3. Sustainability regulations are tightening.
The European Union has implemented the latest Energy Efficiency Directive. All 27 countries within the EU must report their water and energy usage and reduce their power consumption. This change officially took effect in September of 2024, so we haven’t yet seen how this could affect operations.
Globally, regulations will probably tighten even further. Energy disclosure requirements are more common in the United States and Asia, and some countries—China and Australia, for example—have set targets for power usage effectiveness (PUE) to decrease energy utilization in major data centers.
2025 may bring a few regulatory changes, but we estimate that many of the climate regulation rollouts will extend between now and 2028.
4. Cybersecurity and digital resilience face increased regulation.
The European Union wants to monitor more than power consumption. It has passed the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which requires financial institutions to boost resilience to meet specific standards. Additionally, the EU’s NIS2 cybersecurity standard is becoming more strict.
Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and other countries are also taking similar measures, so cybersecurity and resilience regulations will probably continue to expand globally for the next few years.
5. Local and community regulations are becoming increasingly prevalent.
Beyond global energy, cybersecurity, and resilience regulations, many local governments and communities are also enacting stricter data center regulations.
Local laws and community rules regulate zoning restrictions, noise pollution, building design, and more. Residential proximity restrictions may also make it more challenging to build data centers within certain distances of some neighborhoods.
The key to navigating all the regulations is to balance sustainability, security, and resilience goals by adopting innovative new technologies and having a competitive modern infrastructure.
6. Liquid cooling is growing more popular as power demands increase.
Power-hungry IT equipment generates a lot of heat. Traditional air-cooling methods have a hard time meeting cooling demands. Because of this, they tend to be more expensive to maintain in the long term.
Many data centers are adopting liquid cooling. Liquid cooling costs more to install—and may require an overhaul of a data center’s layout—but it is a worthwhile investment for the future.
Don’t fear change—ensure you’re prepared for it.
It’s daunting to replace old cooling systems and install new ones, rearrange your facility to make energy usage more efficient and sustainable, and bring in new equipment to meet stricter regulations. It’s tough moving all heavy IT equipment around safely.
If you’re facing a significant move or migration—or if you simply need a way to transport heavy equipment within your facility from time to time—there’s no need to stress. Server handling devices from ServerLIFT are purpose-built for data centers. With side-loading or front-loading configurations and features such as lift extension accessories, powerful safety straps and brakes, and fine-tuned platform control, you can make even the biggest job 100 percent safe and straightforward.
Get a quote here, or contact us with questions! We look forward to working with you.