University of Kwazulu-Natal

What 2026 Will Mean For Data Centres Acceleration Innovation

Bonisiwe Shabane
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what 2026 will mean for data centres acceleration innovation

The pace of development in 2026 will be just as rapid, according to LiquidStack global commercial director Stuart Crump. “Earlier this year CBRE said vacancy rates continued to fall, while ever persistent power constraints were not enough to hold back growth. Instead, hyperscalers and cloud operators would look for alternative locations,” he explained. “Around the same time, Knight Frank forecast that global live IT capacity for 2025 would hit 55,646 MW, up 22% on the previous year. Next year, things will cruise another 20% higher to 66,504 MW.” Crump examines some of the key trends impacting the global data centre sector in 2026.

Crump said certain markets like the Middle East are expected to show almost 50% growth next year. Coinciding with this was another wave of large investments, including Meta’s plans to create a data centre the size of Manhattan. From AI and energy consumption to investment and social issues In 2026, the data center sector stands at a decisive crossroads, driven by rapid advancements in AI, increasing energy constraints, and rising societal expectations for sustainability. These forces are fundamentally reshaping the industry's priorities. Below, we explore the ten major trends shaping data centers.

AI is now a primary driver of both technological and economic transformation. Data centers are the backbone supporting AI, providing essential infrastructure for training, hosting, and running both generative and foundational AI models. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that global data center power consumption could reach as much as 1,050TWh by 2026, largely due to the growing demands of AI workloads and the use of GPUs,... For our Data Centres team, the question now isn’t whether growth will continue into 2026, but how the next phase will be managed - and who has the skills to deliver it. 2025 has seen unprecedented investment in data centre capacity and the United States has remained the global centre of construction, with Northern Virginia, Texas and Oregon continuing to attract large scale builds due to... Hyperscalers have set the pace - AWS, Google and Microsoft expanded their AI ready campuses and placed sustainability at the heart of their designs.

Google has maintained its position as a leader in renewable energy usage, while Microsoft’s facilities in locations including Phoenix and Chicago have advanced low emission cooling and water saving methods. Meta, Apple and Oracle have followed a similar path, investing heavily in high efficiency builds. Every major project this year has moved through a clear sequence. Feasibility and site selection. Design. Permitting.

Site preparation. Structural works. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing installation. Network integration. Testing and commissioning. These stages reflect the full data centre lifecycle and require teams with deep technical knowledge, from power distribution specialists to commissioning managers and network engineers.

The hyperscaler presence has continued to influence the entire market. AWS, Azure and Google Cloud have dominated US construction pipelines - their focus on energy efficiency, high performance design and future ready capacity has raised expectations for the whole sector. TechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business Combine.TechTarget and Informa Together, we power an unparalleled network of 220+ online properties covering 10,000+ granular topics, serving an audience of 50+ million professionals with original, objective content from trusted sources. We help you gain critical insights and make more informed decisions across your business priorities. Insight and analysis on the data center space from industry thought leaders.

By 2026, success will hinge on adaptability, sustainability, and the ability to integrate disciplines, scale globally, and innovate under grid and resource constraints. As AI and high-performance computing continue to drive demand, data center design is developing at an equally exceptional pace. What were once high-density racks are now standard, cooling systems are being re-engineered in months rather than years, and projects are increasing in scale and complexity across every region. The data center industry is entering an unprecedented period of transformation. The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing, and expanding sustainability mandates is reshaping how facilities are designed, powered, cooled, and secured. As we move toward 2026, operators will face both significant challenges and major opportunities as digital infrastructure evolves at speed.

Below, we explore six defining trends that will shape the next generation of data center environments. AI is fundamentally redefining data center architecture. Facilities once optimized for general IT workloads are giving way to environments purpose-built for dense GPU clusters, ultra-high-speed networking, and exceptional compute intensity. As AI workloads grow, modular solutions and scalable designs will become the foundation for both new builds and retrofit projects, enabling operators to expand capacity without disrupting operations. Prediction: AI-optimized architecture will move firmly into the mainstream. Scalability, modularity, and thermal resilience will become baseline requirements for modern facility design.

The data center industry ends 2025 on the cusp of one of the most significant transformations in its history. After a year defined by rapid scaling, accelerating GPU innovation and rising global demand, the sector now stands at an inflection point. Core technologies are advancing faster than the facilities built to support them. Connectivity systems are being redesigned for workloads that barely existed three years ago. Cooling and power strategies are being pushed into new territory. What makes this moment distinctive is the convergence of these forces.

AI is reshaping infrastructure expectations. Enterprises are modernizing at unprecedented speed. Regional markets are facing capacity constraints. Sustainability requirements are deepening. Meanwhile, copper and optical systems are evolving in parallel, each racing to meet new performance and density demands. With insight from Gary Bernstein, Senior Director of Global Data Center Solutions; Ryan Harris, Director of Systems Engineering for High-Speed Interconnect; and Peter Thickett, Director of Product Management (Data Centers), this outlook highlights the...

By the end of 2026, AI will no longer be a distinct design consideration. It will become the baseline that shapes data center architecture. GPU innovation is advancing at remarkable speed, with NVIDIA progressing from Blackwell GB200 connecting GPUs at 400G speeds to GB300 connecting at 800G in 2025 and already outlining the Vera Rubin and Rubin Ultra... This near six-month cadence introduces continual shifts in power, cooling and performance expectations, pushing operators toward infrastructure that can adapt as quickly as platforms change. This shift is extending deeply into the enterprise. Sectors including finance, government, automotive and higher education are now planning GPUs at scale, bringing AI-driven requirements into environments originally designed for more traditional workloads.

As a result, 2026 will bring a rise in retrofit activity alongside growing pressure on colocation sites where mixed densities must coexist efficiently. The data centre industry is already under immense pressure. By 2026, that pressure will inte... The data centre industry is already under immense pressure. By 2026, that pressure will intensify as AI workloads, sustainability regulation, security expectations and new deployment models collide. But what is applying the pressure?

And what will the industry look like in 12 months time? AI is no longer a niche workload; it is becoming the primary driver of new data centre investment. Citigroup estimates AI-related infrastructure spend could reach around $490 billion as early as 2026, as hyperscalers and enterprises race to deploy AI capabilities at scale. Recent market analysis suggests global data centre infrastructure spending could pass $1 trillion annually by 2030, with AI the single biggest catalyst. This shift is changing the physical fabric of data centres. High-density racks packed with GPUs and specialised accelerators require far more power and cooling than traditional CPU-centric estates.

Industry reports now forecast that AI-focused data centres could drive electricity demand increases of more than 100% over the next few years, with some estimates pointing to a 165% surge in power consumption from... The data center market grew rapidly in 2025 as innovative technologies emerged and user expectations evolved. We expect this demand to continue increasing in 2026, and factors including energy constraints, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technologies, and sustainability will each play a role in shaping priorities in the data center... Growth and Challenges in 2026: Energy Consumption, Sustainability, and Talent In 2025, we observed a shift in the role data centers play for many organizations. Beyond storing data and business workflow information, data centers are now a central component of IT infrastructure strategy with enhanced security that drives digital transformation for many businesses.

The global data center market size is expected to reach an annual growth rate of over 11% by 2034, with North America currently holding the largest market share. The International Energy Agency predicts that global data center power consumption could reach up to 1,050 terawatt-hours by 2026, largely attributable to increasing demand of AI workloads and the use of GPUs (which consume... While some solutions have evolved to help mitigate the effects of higher energy consumption and keep up with rising power demands, such as installing cooling systems to offset the heat generated by GPUs, the... The industry is also facing a talent shortage of professionals with specialized knowledge of engineering, mechanics, energy construction, and infrastructure AI. Organizations that can attract and retain these specific talents will gain a competitive advantage in 2026. Therefore, we can expect to see additional focus on sustainability and responsibility in connection with building data centers, as providers are incentivized to keep processes as efficient as possible while minimizing impact on the...

This may include integrating renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, which businesses should consider when negotiating for and building data centers.

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