I’m sure you noticed a different face on this page, but I still want to take up a few lines here to introduce myself. My name is Amy Al-Katib, and I am the new editor-in-chief for Mission Critical magazine. I’m excited to learn about the industry, but I’m even more excited to learn about our audience. I moved here from another BNP brand that maybe you’ve heard of — ACHR NEWS. That brand focuses on HVACR contractors, so figuring out what they wanted to read about was easy — new HVACR equipment, trends in technology, and any sort of business management/marketing tips that can make them more money. But here at Mission Critical, we have a lot more to talk about than just HVAC; we have cybersecurity, IT networking, design engineering, facility management, edge and cloud computing, power and backup power, energy management, and anything else I may have missed.

So that’s my problem. But the good news is, there’s a really easy solution: I just need you guys to tell me who you are and what you want to hear about. To make it even easier, there are several ways for you to do this: You can join our social media networks to like, retweet, share, or comment on the content you like (Facebook - @MissionCritical, Twitter - @MCritical, and LinkedIn – Mission Critical magazine); you can send me an email (al-katiba@bnpmedia.com); or you can simply visit the website and click on the stories that interest you.

I will also be at the 7x24 Exchange International 2019 Fall Conference at the end of this month to celebrate International Data Center day and hopefully get a chance to make a few connections.

And though you probably could have guessed this on your own, the next thing I wanted to point out to you is that we may be making some changes here at Mission Critical over the next couple months. Though we haven’t figured everything out just yet — because we’re still waiting to hear from you — here’s what we do know:

  • The look and content of the eNewsletter will change slightly.
  • We are adding a podcast channel to our website.
  • We will be redesigning the website, so it’s easier to navigate.
  • We’ll be posting more content to the website.

So far, in my short time here, the topics I’ve heard mentioned repeatedly are:

  • The rise of 5G.
  • Colocation and the future of data centers.
  • Five nines, and whether or not that’s good enough.
  • Increasing data center temperature.
  • Utilizing a mix of energy sources in order to ensure uptime.

And what that’s made me realize is, Mission Critical magazine isn’t the only thing that’s changing. The entire industry is changing. In fact, Vertiv recently released a report titled “Data Center 2025 — Closer to the Edge.” In it, they asked more than 800 industry professionals a myriad of questions that cover all aspects of the data center. 

One of the questions in the Vertiv report was: “Will data centers cluster in regions with low energy costs and cool climates, or will proximity to users drive location decisions?”

And, surprisingly, the answer is… both.

The report went on to explain that the trend toward edge computing with be accelerated by 5G — one of the most significant technological advances of the forecast period (2014-2025).

“Today, we have two evolutions occurring simultaneously,” according to the report — “one in technology itself, and one in the increasing segmentation of the industry, which has evolved from primarily on-premise, core-focused data centers to increasingly distributed and dynamic data center networks.”

The segmentation includes enterprise, HPC, edge, hyperscale, and colocation facilities, all of which have unique characteristics.

“It’s … clear we are at the front end of a significant shift — not necessarily away from centralized computing but toward edge computing,” the report continued. “We expect managing the growth in edge computing sites to be the single biggest challenge — and opportunity — data center professionals face between now and 2025.”

I don’t know about you, but when I read that, all I could think was: “Challenge accepted!”