The flood of new AI technology is ratcheting up the pressure on current data centre capabilities, with those managing these facilities beginning to feel the strain, according to a new report from electronic systems design firm Cadence.

The company’s latest report, Data Center Evolution: The Innovation Imperative, found that almost three-quarters (74%) of data centre IT, facility, and business decision makers report being under increased pressure from AI-driven demands. 

However, the benefits of the technology are undeniable, with a similar number of data centre leaders (73%) currently using AI within their facilities for issues like fault detection, demand forecasting, automating capacity management, and even filling manual labour gaps.

While 73% of all respondents agree that the use of AI within data centres is still in its infancy, three-quarters (75%) believe that in the future, AI will run data centres in place of human operators, beginning more immediately with the 50% of respondents that plan to use AI for energy management to drive efficiency and sustainability.

Despite the apparent enthusiasm to adopt emerging tech, the report, which draws on insights from 400 IT, facility, and business leaders in the UK and US, warns that opportunities for data centre innovation are being lost through a reluctance to innovate, along with a lack of preparedness to incorporate transformative technology solutions.

For instance, although 80% of decision-makers believe their organisation has the capability to leverage transformative data centre technology, this confidence isn’t fully reflected in adoption rates, with key innovations like renewable energy sources (63%), liquid cooling (45%), and digital twins (42%) yet to gain widespread support.

In particular, the report highlights the potential for digital twinning technology within the sector. According to Cadence, 73% of decision-makers believe digital twins are a ‘game changer’ for driving technological innovation in data centres, rising to 81% among those already using digital twins.

More than half (58%) of decision-makers said they were currently using digital twins to manage AI, while 42% are also using digital twins to introduce and manage liquid cooling systems.

Added to that, digital twinning tech is aiding data centre’s sustainability practices, with 72% of decision-makers agreeing they are a powerful tool in reducing carbon emissions and 68% saying digital twins can help facilities gain more capacity, giving those that use them a competitive edge as AI developments continue to demand more power.

“When it comes to introducing data centre digital twins, many people have a black-and-white view of ‘garbage in, garbage out’, believing that without perfect data, it isn’t worth the effort,” said Aitor Zabalegui, senior principal application engineer at Cadence.

“This mindset needs to shift. It’s vital that people understand that digital twins are designed to improve over time, becoming more accurate as gaps in data are identified and filled. 

“It’s okay to start small and trust that the technology will snowball in quality and effectiveness.”

Although the majority of data centre leaders (86%) agree that failing to innovate in such ways could lead to serious or moderate consequences, for many, that transformation is easier said than done. 

Among the main challenges data centre leaders face when implementing innovation are the prohibitive costs of new technologies (42%), a lack of skilled staff (35%), unclear ROI (33%), and incompatibility with legacy systems (31%).

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The good news is that data centre leaders’ confidence is growing, with 60% of decision-makers more confident in their organisation’s ability to implement innovative technologies than they were a year ago.

Confident or not, the pressure on data centre managers will continue to ramp up, with Big Tech firms urging the UK Government to restructure energy prices in order to benefit from increased data centre infrastructure so as not miss out on the AI boom.  

Most recently, Amazon and OpenAI commissioned a study from the Social Market Foundation (SMF), which found that the high cost of industrial electricity, planning restrictions, and long delays in grid connection are hindering data centre development, potentially risking the UK’s position in the AI and digital innovations market.