DATACENTERS data center
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During the microcomputer industry boom of the 1980s, computers started to be deployed everywhere, in many cases with little or no care about operating requirements. However, as information technology (IT) operations started to grow in complexity, organizations grew aware of the need to control IT resources. The availability of inexpensive networking equipment, coupled with new standards for the network structured cabling, made it possible to use a hierarchical design that put servers in a specific room inside the company. The use of the term data center, as applied to specially designed computer rooms, started to gain popular recognition about this time.
During the dot-com bubble (1997–2000), there was a boom in data center construction because companies needed fast Internet connectivity and non-stop operation to establish their Internet presence. Many companies started building very large facilities, called internet data centers (IDCs), which provided enhanced capabilities, such as crossover backup: "If a Bell Atlantic line is cut, we can transfer them to ... to minimize the time of outage."
The global data center market saw steady growth in the 2010s, with a notable acceleration in the latter half of the decade. According to Gartner, worldwide data center infrastructure spending reached $200 billion in 2021, representing a 6% increase from 2020 despite economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2024, global energy consumption from data centers was 620 TWh, with 80% of that consumption concentrated in the U.S., China, and the United Kingdom. Colocation centers were the most common category worldwide, with 4,799 colocation centers in 127 countries. In that year, the largest data center in the world was Citadel, owned by Switch, at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center in Reno, Nevada, occupying 7.2 million square feet.
Growth of the data center industry has prompted local resistance. A 2023 survey found social mobilizations against the industry in Europe, the U.S., and South America. These movements expressed concern about the centers' energy and water use, pollution, and impact on agriculture or the landscape. A 2026 poll by Politico suggested that resistance to growth of the industry would make candidates' stance on data centers a significant issue for voters in the U.S.
=== In the United States ===
The U.S. hosted 5,381 data centers in March 2024, the highest number of any country worldwide, accounting for 40% of the global market in 2023. As of 2023, about 80% of U.S. data center load was concentrated in 15 states, led by Virginia and Texas. As of 2025, roughly one third of America's data centers were in three states: Virginia (643), Texas (395), and California (319).
The largest concentration of data centers in the world is in Northern Virginia, with over 250 facilities in the region. In 2025, Georgia was the fastest growing data center hub in the U.S., having enacted several state tax exemptions for the industry and hosting between 100 and 150 centers in the state. Local governments have responded to the growing industry in Georgia with a variety of local ordinances to guide permitting of these facilities.
The consultancy firm McKinsey & Co., projected U.S. demand to double to 35 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 17 GW in 2022. A study published by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in May 2024 estimated that data centers could consume between 4.6% and 9.1% of the country's electricity generation by 2030. In 2025, it was estimated that the U.S. GDP growth was only 0.1% without the investments in data centers for artificial intelligence.
== Design and architecture ==
Data centers house critical computing resources in a controlled environment and must generally operate with very high availability. Key design elements include providing power for the equipment, temperature and humidity control, cabling, fire safety, and security.
Information security is also a concern. For this reason, a data center has to offer a secure environment that minimizes the chances of a security breach.
=== Obsolescence and modernization ===
Industry research company International Data Corporation (IDC) puts the average age of a data center at nine years old. Gartner, another research company, says data centers older than seven years are obsolete. The growth in data (163 zettabytes by 2025) is one factor driving the need for data centers to modernize.
Focus on modernization is not new. Rapid obsolescence of data center equipment was a concern by at least 2007, and in 2011, Uptime Institute was concerned about aging equipment.
=== Industry standards ===
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)'s Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers specifies the minimum requirements for telecommunications infrastructure of data centers and computer rooms, including single tenant enterprise data centers and multi-tenant Internet hosting data centers. The topology proposed in this document is intended to be applicable to any size data center.