With the growing demand for computing capacity and the data center market projected to expand by 10 percent annually until 2030, operators need a predictable supply chain to protect both their bottom lines and reputations. With this demand comes opportunity, but operators now face a race to build amid a perfect storm of challenges.

The combination of supply chain disruption, higher sustainability expectations, and an ongoing skills shortage complicates efforts to scale and increase capacity. In fact, two-thirds of vendors expect data center projects to be affected by supply chain delays in the next two years.

Given the high demand for and investment in data centers, teams responsible for building new sites or adapting existing ones must overcome three key challenges:

1. Tackling spiraling costs and complex supply chains: The supply chain underpinning data center construction continues to present significant issues. This is partly due to continually rising costs, driven by global economic fluctuations and black swan events that have made sourcing materials more complex. Delays due to global material shortages and geopolitical issues have become commonplace, with 83 percent of operators reporting project delays. This has been exacerbated by the reliance on just-in-time principles, which are risky in such an unstable environment. The specialized equipment and technologies required for data center projects further complicate matters, making it challenging to deliver projects on budget and on time.
2. Energy efficiency and sustainability: Making data centers more sustainable is crucial given their high energy usage. However, aligning operations with ESG standards remains a major challenge for operators, especially as regulatory pressure mounts. Failure to progress on ESG metrics can lead to revenue loss, reputational damage, and potential investment withdrawal. Therefore, operators need to embrace sustainable practices and report ESG metrics accurately. The flip side of the sustainability coin is that more environmentally conscious data centers are more energy-efficient and cheaper to run – even if regulation isn’t forcing change, there is a financial incentive to do so.
3. Skills shortages: Like much of the technology sector, the data center industry is experiencing a critical shortage of skilled personnel. Research indicates that operators are struggling to find qualified staff, with 53 percent experiencing difficulty and 42 percent losing employees to competitors. This not only increases pressure on existing teams but also poses a risk to the quality and safety of operations. This makes it more important than ever to retain talent to ensure operators can deliver high-quality projects. Additionally, the industry must focus on training and up-skilling as many people as possible to avoid future skills shortages.

Working together to reduce risk

Operators cannot tackle all three of these challenges alone. This is where leveraging strategic partnerships can help lighten the load without tying up internal resources – especially when it comes to filling the skills gap. By taking on partners with expertise in particular areas, such as cooling or power management, data center operators can ensure projects stay on track whilst meeting the stringent requirements needed to make data center projects a success.

Moreover, partners can relieve wider pressures on installation teams. Dealing with the significant amount of red tape associated with data center projects can be a challenge for anyone. However, partners that regularly work on data center projects are well-versed in putting together everything from digitized equipment drawings to auditing documentation. This means they can ensure everything meets required industry standards and other smaller tasks like registering warranties and creating installation guides are done without delay.

Partners also offer valuable vendor relationships that can be leveraged to soften supply chain hiccups or access more effective pricing. Data center projects require vast amounts of equipment, which might lead organizations to believe they can secure volume discounts by purchasing directly. However, given the number of projects partners can work on in a year, data center operators might actually be one of the smaller customers that suppliers deal with.

Leveraging partner relationships can unlock better pricing and enhanced SLAs, ensuring materials arrive on time and within budget. Additionally, if issues arise, partners are often better equipped to manage late project changes. They can ensure the right equipment is on hand, address knock-on effects, such as changing delivery times, and validate new configurations, thereby maintaining project momentum and minimizing delays.

Given the uncertainties faced by data center operators, leaning on partners can help to alleviate supply chain, skilled personnel shortages, and ESG challenges, helping to scale at pace and deliver the capacity organizations and end-users are demanding.