As data center managers strive to meet the growing demands of computing while seeking ways to become more sustainable, they are investigating new approaches to thermal management. Today, enterprises are increasingly interested in purchasing goods and services from companies with ecofriendly credentials that help to decrease greenhouse gases.

Omdia's new Data Center Thermal Management and Sustainability Intelligence Service combine its existing data center, energy management, and sustainability intelligence tools with a thermal monitoring solution that detects underperforming equipment before it damages permanently.

The service analyzes best practices for sustainable data-center operations. In addition, it investigates The use of new technologies, such as energy storage and liquid cooling systems, which can help reduce the impact of carbon footprint.

Despite the dominance of air-cooled equipment in today's data centers, liquid cooling solutions are in growing demand from operators grappling with increasing sustainability initiatives and workload requirements.

Significant growth is expected in the global data center thermal market, including liquid cooling. By 2020, it's projected that this technology will account for $4 billion of revenue; by 2025—just five years later—it will be a $7.7-billion business.

Innovations in technology, such as more efficient and smaller equipment and using artificial intelligence for data analysis, can help businesses achieve sustainability goals.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is a strategy designed for corporate accountability that has its supporters and detractors. For some, ESG makes companies more environmentally and socially responsible for their business.

To others investors, ESG represents a regulatory burden that forces companies to act based on new rules and standards even when doing so is not in their best interest. But, for now, ESG is little more than an afterthought for many data center operators. says Moises Levy, the senior principal analyst at Omdia.

Vendors like Google, Meta, and Amazon are also driving the trend. "these establishments are looking for Environmental, Social, and Governance because they're in the aspiration of profitable long-term solutions—and they have resources to invest in sustainability technology heavily," said Moises.

It's easy to find a hardware vendor, colo provider, and data center provider that offers green-friendly services and products—every dollar you save by becoming more energy efficient impacts your bottom line.

Energy efficiency is in vendors' best interests—regardless of how much or little they talk about.

"The data-center community is making great strides toward sustainability, but we should not lose sight of the bigger picture: a truly sustainable center needs to consider more than just energy efficiency."

Customers care about their impact on the environment, and businesses are increasingly offering incentives to customers who take steps toward environmental stewardship. "There are now loans to finance more sustainable data centers," Levy said. "Say you were building a greener facility than the norm—then financing might be available to help with your project if it had sustainability goals attached."