Five Salute predictions for 2025
2024 has seen the rapid growth of investment in new data center platforms to support technological advancements in artificial intelligence, innovations such as powerful GPUs as well as the continued growth in adopting techniques like cloud-native elastic scaling. Salute, a global leader in data center lifecycle services is a reputable voice on the resourcing, management, commissioning and operations for hyperscale and cloud, AI, colocation and edge models.
James Feeney, Senior Technical Director and Chris Schager, Director SME Services at Salute, share their five predictions for 2025.
Prediction 1: Upskilling a workforce to prepare for a new era of data center model will be crucial
Artificial intelligence is becoming the driving force of the digital era, and much like the oil and gas industry, will power daily life and global industries. While oil and gas remains the largest industry in the world, AI is one of the fastest-growing, already reshaping industries such as healthcare insurance, biotech, manufacturing, retail, and robotics.
Enter the data center industry! By 2025, AI-driven workloads in the data center will play an even larger role in the design, build and operations of facilities. Demand has already overtaken supply and the growth of server technology such as GPUs, is bringing unique challenges. The need to manage dynamic environments with rapid surges in power and cooling demands will require expertise that is different to the traditional steady-state systems. AI and HPC workloads will require infrastructure and resources that can adapt quickly to fluctuating conditions.
The industry’s workforce must evolve to support these HPC environments. Data center teams will need to develop expertise in servicing AI systems, with a focus on mitigating risks and improving technical knowledge of innovative hardware, agile operations and advanced quality assurance practices. Managing these systems will require not only technical knowledge of GPUs and cooling technologies but also the ability to design existing or new facilities that can respond to real-time solutions in high-density, rapidly changing environments.
We predict that one particular data center platform likely to experience significant change is edge. AI advancements will redefine the concept of edge computing, reshaping latency requirements and the relationship between compute and storage proximities. Edge will continue to evolve, moving away from the traditional micro-deployment vision to include large 100MW facilities in remote locations functioning as part of the edge ecosystem.
Prediction 2: Testing the water – 2025 will see a surge in investment for third-party cooling solutions and R&D
For some time, the rising thermal demands of AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads have pushed traditional cooling systems to their limits. The introduction of technologies like direct-to-chip cooling and immersion cooling has yet to evolve due to the risk of uncertainty, the high level of infrastructure investment required by operators and the availability of the cooling equipment from the supply chain.
To address these challenges, we will see further investment in third-party cooling solutions and greater research and development by cooling manufacturers. Data center investors and operators seeking to attract AI customers will prioritize due diligence and the design of optimal cooling strategies. Upgrading older infrastructure will be the greatest challenge for operators.
The need for a highly skilled workforce capable of managing and operating diverse cooling technologies will also be a critical issue. The industry will start to see the introduction of bespoke training programs that focus purely on equipping teams with the skills to operate and maintain cooling technologies.
Prediction 3: Energy shortage will result in operators taking more of an active role in community initiatives
Investment in energy storage solutions will surge at greater levels than 2024. As traditional systems can no longer keep pace with HPC workloads or ongoing regulatory challenges, we will see further investment in sustainable battery technologies, on site energy campuses, thermal storage systems, and fast-response energy systems.
Across the supply chain hardware vendors will be forced to collaborate with data center infrastructure management software providers to automate energy efficiency, and we will see a range of operators collaborating with energy providers to seek alternative power solutions. Sufficient metering will continue to be pushed by the need for transparent and accurate reporting by customers and governments.
One major step will be the industry’s investment in educating local and central governments, legislators and communities on the data center eco system – everything from economic benefit and local labor to energy provision. Without this, data center growth will continue to be hindered.
Prediction 4: Commissioning and QA will expand beyond the construction phase with more investment being made in quality infrastructure
As speed-to-market pressures grow, maintaining quality and reliability has become a significant challenge. This race to build quickly has resulted in many companies failing to evolve their acquisition and procurement processes, often compromising quality for speed and cost. Yet to be determined, this short-term focus may have created significant long-term risks, including safety and reduced infrastructure durability. Through insufficient design, planning and resource allocation, we may see some developments facing greater investment risks down the line.
As experts in Commissioning and QA, we expect to see commissioning no longer limited to the construction phase but evolve as a continuous process that spans the entire lifecycle of a facility. We will see organizations adopt a more fluid approach to commissioning where operators are introducing commissioning practices as early as IT operations.
Prediction 5: Quantum computing could unlock future data center developments
While quantum computing is a few decades away, it cannot be excluded from a digital transformation predictions piece! Google’s exciting announcement of its quantum computing chip breakthrough, Willow, endorses the globe’s leading technology companies’ commitment to speeding up compute capabilities – solving complex challenges faster than the classical supercomputers. Add to this is Apple’s implementation of quantum- resilient cryptographic upgrades, the future of computing is changing and more investment in new technology innovations will continue to break boundaries.
In 2025, hyperscale and cloud providers will continue to invest in their quantum computing infrastructure in a competitive race to support future customers. Platforms like Amazon Braket and Microsoft Azure already offer cloud-based quantum ecosystems, enabling experimentation and development without the huge costs and risks of building specialized architectures. What this means for the diverse range of models and providers in the data center ecosystem remains to be seen but the exciting part is that quantum computing could surpass human expectations and where autonomous vehicles that talk to each other and smart cities that become more efficient do become a reality.