As even casual observers of the data center industry must notice, on a weekly and even daily basis, there's just...A LOT of news.
Therefore, while other sites' year-end data center sector roundups might give you their "Top 10" most popular stories of the year, at Data Center Frontier, we're here to contend that, for this particular industry, after this particular year - a mere 10 whopping stories simply isn't enough.
So here's a look at Data Center Frontier's Top 23 data center industry news and trends stories for the landmark year of 2023.
Hyperscale and megacampus data center doings made for some of our biggest headlines, along with coverage of liquid cooling technologies being deployed to meet burgeoning AI workload demands, the prospects for nuclear-powered data centers, and chronicling land and power developments in the crucial state of Virginia.
Without further adieu then, here are the 23 most popular stories at Data Center Frontier for the year 2023, as ranked by page views:
Meta Will Run its Servers For Up to 5 Years - In February 2023, Meta confirmed that it would cancel multiple data center construction projects, and also extend the expected life span of its servers to 5 years. Both moves were designed to optimize Meta's investment in its massive data infrastructure.
The Eight Trends That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2023 - This year saw numerous pockets of vibrant activity in an industry grappling with higher costs, a turbulent economy, and a challenging landscape for delivering new data center capacity.
Colocation Provider Cyxtera Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy - Cyxtera Technologies filed for Chapter 11 after working for months to find a buyer or reduce its debt load. After restructuring through a pre-packaged bankruptcy, in November it was announced that Brookfield acquired substantially all of Cyxtera's data center assets for $775 million.
The New MegaCampuses: The World’s Largest Data Center Projects - Sorting out the largest data centers is a tricky task. But the trend toward larger campuses is undeniable, so we sought to quantify the largest projects in the pipeline.
Meta Previews New Data Center Design for an AI-Powered Future - Meta in May announced it is retooling its massive digital infrastructure for AI, fine-tuning everything from tiny chips to giant data centers. As part of that shift, Meta confirmed that its new design will make extensive use of liquid cooling.
Liquid Cooling in the Spotlight - Liquid cooling is having a moment this year, as was seen in the many demos on the expo floor at May's Data Center World tradeshow. This photo feature highlighted some of the liquid cooling gear on display at the event.
Skybox, Prologis Plan Massive 600-Megawatt Data Center Campus in Austin - Exemplifying the megacampus trend in hyperscale development, Skybox Datacenters and Prologis this Spring announced plans to build a massive 600-megawatt campus near Austin, Texas which will offer up to 4 million square feet of data center space.
Stafford County Weighs Proposal for Massive Data Center MegaCampus - In April, we reported on how Stafford County has been working to become part of the data center building boom in Virginia, while suggesting that a new proposal for a 5.5 million square foot campus featuring 25 data centers could do the trick.
Report: Meta Plans Shift to Liquid Cooling in AI-Centric Data Center Redesign - As Meta adapts its data centers for an AI-powered future, its new data center design will feature more extensive use of liquid cooling, revealed early reporting from Reuters.
Atlanta Prepares for Data Center Building Boom Amid Growing Interest from Hyperscale Users - As data center leasing numbers hit record highs, we reported in September on how new players are looking to enter the Atlanta market, with massive projects in the pipeline.
Meta Rethinks its Data Center Design for an AI-Powered Future - More of DCF's ongoing reporting on how Meta is revamping its data center design to optimize for AI, and paused construction to "rescope" a number of its projects.
Amazon Plans Major Data Center Expansion in Virginia's Spotsylvania County - In June, we reported on how AWS has filed plans to rezone nearly 2,000 acres of land in Spotsylvania County for future data center projects, which could bring more than 10 million square feet of facilities.
Google Developing New Climate-Conscious Cooling Tech to Save Water - In March, we reported on how Google is working on new cooling technologies that could dramatically slash the use of water in its data center operations. The initiative is part of the company's multi-faceted commitment to "climate-conscious" data center cooling.
Equinix Begins Running Liquid-Cooled Servers in Production on Metal - Early in the year, Equinix announced it had begun using liquid-cooled servers in production environments for its Metal service, representing a crucial step in its shift to broader use of liquid cooling across its infrastructure.
Dominion: Virginia’s Data Center Cluster Could Double in Size - Dominion Energy says it has customer contracts that could double the amount of data center capacity in Virginia by 2028 and is planning new power lines to support this growth.
Nuclear-Powered Data Centers: Modular Reactors on the Horizon - DCF's David Chernicoff reported in March on several projects featuring data center campuses being colocated with existing nuclear power plants, with hopes that on-site nuclear power generation should be possible by the end of the decade.
Virginia Data Center Project Plans to Transition to Small Modular Reactors - Chernicoff's follow-up reporting in April described how Green Energy Partners is planning a data center and energy campus near the Surry Nuclear Power Plant in Virginia, calling for 30 data centers and on-site power from small modular reactors and hydrogen generation.
Reports: “Tsunami” of AI Demand Drives Record Data Center Leasing - Reports last summer from research firm datacenterHawk and investment firm TD Cowen found data center leasing at record levels, as cloud providers seek to secure capacity for AI workloads.
Data Center Design: From Legacy to Modern - Bill Kleyman's article series examined how, during an era of unprecedented digital infrastructure growth, data center leaders are embracing design modernization to impact time-to-market and sustainability.
Microsoft Unveils Custom-Designed Data Center AI Chips, Racks and Liquid Cooling - At this year's Microsoft Ignite, the company introduced two custom-designed AI chips and associated integrated systems including racks and liquid cooling.
The Beginning of the End for FLAP? - In this DCF 'Voices of the Industry' essay, Eric Boonstra, Vice President and General Manager, Europe for Iron Mountain Data Centers discussed shifts in data center design and market geography.
Virginia Updates Incentives to Land $35 Billion Data Center Buildout by AWS - Last January, Amazon Web Services announced plans to invest $35 billion in new data center campuses in the state, supported by new tax incentives and grants.
After a Record 2022, Limits on Land and Power May Slow Data Center Growth in 2023 - After 2022 leasing smashed previous records, we correctly predicted that tthe data center sector would struggle to keep pace with demand in 2023, amid longer delivery timelines and shortages of power and land in key markets.
Matt Vincent
A B2B technology journalist and editor with more than two decades of experience, Matt Vincent is Editor in Chief of Data Center Frontier.
