Next in Tech podcast: Datacenter slowdown?
Questions are being raised about whether the velocity of datacenter build-outs is now wavering. Analyst Dan Thompson returns to the podcast to explore the realities of the market with host Eric Hanselman.
Biography
Dan Thompson is a principal research analyst in the 451 Research technology research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence. He leads the Datacenter Services and Infrastructure team, which is charged with keeping tabs on the datacenter industry globally to better understand its trends and growth areas. His research includes analyses of datacenter providers, market size and supply/demand in key and emerging markets around the world. Dan also covers datacenter providers offering services beyond colocation, such as managed and cloud-type services. In addition, Dan provides research on the sustainability of the datacenter industry. Beyond renewable energy purchasing and carbon offsetting, he has been investigating full life-cycle emissions, including supply chain emissions as well as efficiency gains and water usage. Before joining S&P Global Market Intelligence, Dan spent 15 years as a practitioner in the IT industry, the last 10 years at a top managed/cloud service provider. Dan has worn many hats in the IT world, from systems administration to management, and was most recently an enterprise architect. In that role, he not only assisted in the launch of the company's security practice, but he also created security-specific products and designed security into every solution launched to the customer base. In addition to a good many IT industry certifications, Dan currently holds degrees in network security and forensics and information technology.
Recent Research from Dan Thompson
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Take 5: A role for sustainability
Sustainability is an important topic for many parts of an organization, including IT professionals, particularly in the context of datacenters and the increasing compute needs for cloud services, AI models and more. Take five minutes to read five Voice of the Customer qualitative interview comments and what they mean.
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Truths about how the power sector can (and cannot) respond to datacenter needs
The interplay between AI, datacenters and energy markets is evolving rapidly in multiple and sometimes conflicting ways. The surge in datacenter power demand, fueled largely by AI, is opening power sector investment opportunities that were simply uncontemplated just two years ago. This report is a collaboration between S&P Global Commodity Insights and S&P Global Market Intelligence.
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Organizations remain somewhat skeptical of vendor sustainability claims – Highlights from VotE: Datacenters
In an era where sustainability has become a cornerstone of corporate responsibility, the efficiency and environmental impact of datacenters are under increasing scrutiny. Our survey indicates that a significant majority — 83% — of respondents recognize the importance of sustainable operations, with more than half identifying it as a top priority.
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Survey Data Hub – Voice of the Enterprise: Datacenters, Sustainability 2025
Voice of the Enterprise: Datacenters examines the key dynamics driving the enterprise datacenter market, including company-owned and leased facilities, as well as colocation.
Combining 451 Research’s industry-leading analysis with a proprietary global panel of IT decision-makers, Voice of the Enterprise: Datacenters tracks the disruption occurring in the market and exposes the major opportunities for enterprises, IT vendors, suppliers and investors.
A combination of two online surveys was conducted from Jan. 7 through Feb. 24, 2025. The first survey with approximately 650 IT and line-of-business decision-makers focused on a variety of topics around enterprise technology including datacenters, and a follow up study was then conducted with approximately 230 respondents focusing on the sustainability of their datacenter operations.
Reports
Organizations remain somewhat skeptical of vendor sustainability claims – Highlights from VotE: Datacenters (Spotlight)
In an era where sustainability has become a cornerstone of corporate responsibility, the efficiency and environmental impact of datacenters are under increasing scrutiny. Our survey indicates that a significant majority — 83% — of respondents recognize the importance of sustainable operations, with more than half identifying it as a top priority.
Data files
Crosstabs (Excel tables | Download link in sidebar to the right) – Crosstabs of complete worldwide and regional survey results datasets, including key metrics and segmentation.
Charts and Figures (PowerPoint charts | Navigate charts in sidebar to the left | Download link in sidebar to the right) – PowerPoint slide deck of complete top-line survey results in charts and figures.
Data Insights Deck (PowerPoint charts | Coming soon) – PowerPoint slide deck of advanced charts supporting deeper analysis and insight.
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Organizations expanding datacenter footprints face rising energy challenges – Highlights from VotE: Datacenters
Enterprises working on expanding their datacenter footprints are increasingly encountering challenges related to power supply, with lead times for sourcing power, increase costs, new costs and a competitive environment among the most cited challenges.
More research from Dan Thompson
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