2018 Data Center Industry Survey Results (8th annual) - report landing page

Overview

This record rests on the landing page announcing the results of Uptime Institute's eighth annual data center industry survey. The full report is available only through a registration form or an Uptime Intelligence subscription, so only the facts on the public page are used here. The page shows that the survey is organised around a list of themes reflecting what the industry was dealing with at the time, and it ties access to the report to completing a form.

The survey was run by email between February and May 2018 and reached nearly 900 data center operators and IT practitioners. The results therefore reflect a broad cross-section of the industry rather than a single region or operator type. It is, however, a survey and not a measurement campaign: the figures rest on what respondents reported, so they should be read as stated values and not as independently verified field measurements.

The themes listed on the landing page include the cost and risk of hybrid infrastructure, PUE, edge computing, rack density and the cooling challenges that come with it, DCIM adoption, the impact of climate change, and staffing. The list works as an agenda map showing which subjects designers and operators were wrestling with in 2018. The page itself gives no numerical findings on these topics; the detail is only in the report.

Outside the page, later Uptime publications cite two values from this survey: the 2018 average PUE was 1.58, and 38% of operators reported difficulty finding qualified candidates. These two numbers are the most useful outputs for design engineers, since they provide a fixed starting point for tracking energy efficiency and workforce trends over time. As a limit, these values are quoted second-hand and have not been checked against the full text of the report.

Key points

1. The eighth annual Uptime data center industry survey; the report can be downloaded after a form.
2. Run by email February-May 2018, reaching nearly 900 operators and IT practitioners.
3. Themes: hybrid infrastructure cost and risk, PUE, edge, rack density and cooling, DCIM, climate change, staffing.
4. Average PUE was reported as 1.58 in 2018 (as cited in a later Uptime publication).
5. 38% of operators reported difficulty finding qualified candidates in 2018 (as cited in a later press release).
6. The landing page carries no numerical findings; full findings are only in the report.

Using it in design

• Use as a historical data point for 2018 in a PUE and rack-density benchmark chart (PUE 1.58).
• When comparing a new facility's target PUE with the industry's past average, label the source as a reported average.
• Note in the design basis that rising rack density and its cooling challenge was already an industry theme, as context for assumptions.

Who should read it

Data center designers, operations managers and decision makers who want to benchmark against industry averages.

Publication details

Authors

Uptime Institute

Publisher

Uptime Institute

Year

2018

Document language

English

Source type

Industry body

Access

Citation only

Licence

Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document

Citation