Are Robots The Future Of The Data Center Workforce?
Unless you’ve been completely unplugged from the world of technology, you’ve likely heard about the growing interest in using robotics and AI to improve efficiency and operations. The data center industry is no exception. From IBM’s iRobot designed to track the data center’s temperature to the Scout bot created to monitor KAIST’s iCubeCloud Data Center, the use of robotics to streamline data center operations is a long-time desire for the industry as a whole for automating monotonous processes, facility monitoring, and security. Fold in a catalyst such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which is suggested to have boosted the idea of “ lights-out ”, or unmanned data centers, and you have a trend that seems to be moving full speed ahead.
According to Gartner, half of cloud data centers will leverage advanced robots with AI and Machine Learning capabilities by 2025, which will reportedly increase data center operating efficiency by 30%. With a growing gap between the number of servers and storage volumes at data centers and the capable workers to oversee them, deploying robots will be critical for facilities in the coming years. Likewise, the 2021 AFCOM State of the Data Center Report finds that 40% of surveyed respondents expect robotics and automation to soon become a regular piece of the data center landscape. Additionally, 16% of those surveyed already leverage robotics and autonomous systems in their centers, while another 35% indicated they plan to deploy similar solutions in the next three years.
