2022 Data Center Industry Landscape Report: Architecture, Equipment, and Emerging Technologies

Data centers are technology‑intensive new infrastructure that, driven by cloud computing and other upper‑layer technologies, demand higher performance from IT equipment, networks, and supporting facilities. New hardware such as full‑height rack servers, edge servers, intelligent lossless networks, smart NICs, and programmable networking have become hot research directions, while the physical infrastructure also includes power, cooling, and fire‑safety systems.

Overall Industry Map

The data‑center industry spans a wide range of fields and a long value chain, attracting many players. It is capital‑intensive with large upfront investment and long payback cycles. Leading companies leverage financing strength, energy‑efficiency metrics, and large‑customer relationships to build barriers. The chain consists of upstream equipment, facility and software suppliers, mid‑stream IDC builders and service providers, and downstream users such as cloud providers, internet firms, finance, government, and power utilities.

Upstream: Equipment and Software Providers

Upstream firms supply the essential infrastructure: ICT devices (power‑distribution, cooling, and low‑level infrastructure) and IT/network devices (switches, servers, storage). Software vendors provide data‑center management systems, including DCIM and environmental monitoring platforms.

Midstream: Service Providers

Midstream includes telecom operators, neutral‑host IDC providers, cloud vendors, and new entrants from various industries. They integrate upstream resources to build efficient, stable data‑centers, playing a core role in the ecosystem.

Downstream: Users

Downstream users are the data‑center consumers—cloud enterprises, internet companies, and other industry customers (financial institutions, government, power utilities, etc.).

Key Technology Areas

(1) Micro‑Modules – Fast‑delivery modular data‑centers are gaining traction in China, improving reliability and user experience through deep integration of construction and modular technologies, with AI increasingly applied for intelligent operation.

(2) Power Distribution Cabinets – Medium‑ and low‑voltage cabinets control and protect power flow in data‑centers, available in fixed and pull‑out forms. Policy‑driven “new‑infrastructure” initiatives forecast rapid market growth.

(3) Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) & HVDC – Domestic UPS markets have matured, with Chinese vendors overtaking overseas players after 2015. HVDC and intelligent UPS are expected to replace traditional UPS, offering superior reliability, safety, scalability, and efficiency.

(4) Air‑Cooling Systems – Air cooling is the second largest energy consumer after IT equipment. New fluor‑pump and chilled‑water cooling solutions are gaining market share to meet the high‑density, large‑scale demands of modern data‑centers.

(5) Liquid‑Cooling Systems – Liquid cooling is an innovative technology that is moving from exploration to commercial deployment, supporting ultra‑high‑density computing and requiring new standards and operational practices.

(6) Switches – High‑capacity switches (e.g., 400G) form the backbone of data‑center architecture, with vendors rolling out 400G products since 2018 to support large‑scale cloud and HPC workloads.

(7) Servers – Servers account for roughly 70% of data‑center hardware cost. High‑performance CPUs, GPUs, DRAM, SSDs, and BMCs dominate chip cost, ranging from 30% in basic servers to 50‑80% in high‑performance models.

(8) Storage – Data‑center storage must handle massive, high‑value data. Physical media include optical, magnetic, and semiconductor storage, organized into hot, warm, and cold tiers, with ZB‑scale capacities on the horizon.

(9) Environmental Monitoring Systems – Provide real‑time power and environment monitoring, essential for incident analysis and operational reliability.

(10) Data‑Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) – Evolved from traditional monitoring, DCIM offers comprehensive management of IT and facility assets, driven by AI, big data, and blockchain to enable intelligent, low‑cost operations.

(11) Prefabricated Modular Data Centers – Combine civil (L0) and electromechanical (L1) engineering into factory‑built modules that can be quickly assembled on site, reducing construction time and enabling vertical scalability.

Source: China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).