Data centers are referred to as the ‘heart’ of the AI era. They serve as fundamental infrastructure that stores billions of digital data in real-time, analyzes them, and powers AI models worldwide. Without data centers, the modern digital economy, including generative AI, cloud computing, autonomous driving, and financial transactions, cannot be sustained for even a day.
A data center is a facility that houses computing resources on a large scale, including servers, storage, and network equipment. It integrates power supply devices, cooling systems, security equipment, and network backbone to maintain a stable data processing environment. Unlike the past, when they were considered merely ‘server storage warehouses,’ today’s data centers have established themselves as the central axis of national digital infrastructure.
The role of data centers can be broadly divided into three functions. First, they store large volumes of data. They collect and preserve data generated from various industrial sites, making it accessible at any time. Second, they perform data processing and computation. High-performance computing tasks, such as AI learning, cloud services, online payments, and video streaming, are carried out here. Third, as a network hub, they ensure the continuity of global services. If a data center stops, the online services of a company are immediately halted.
Recently, the data center industry has been experiencing explosive growth. With the spread of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, such as ChatGPT, the demand for GPUs (graphics processing units) has surged, and data center power consumption has exceeded 2% of the world’s total electricity usage. In the U.S. and Europe, the power usage of data centers poses a burden on the national power grid. South Korea is also facing the issue of power supply instability in the metropolitan area, leading to an increase in the establishment of eco-friendly data centers based on renewable energy.
The location of data centers is determined by power accessibility and cooling efficiency. Areas with low temperatures and inexpensive electricity costs, such as Northern Europe or Canada, have already emerged as global data hubs. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have built large-scale data centers in Northern Europe to reduce carbon emissions and have introduced energy-saving technologies that utilize seawater or outdoor air cooling.
The spread of AI is transforming the structure of data centers themselves. They are evolving from a centralized structure to a distributed, edge data center configuration to improve service response times and reduce network latency. In fields like autonomous driving, the Internet of Things (IoT), and smart cities, edge centers located near the site process data in real-time to support rapid decision-making.
However, the expansion of data centers has brought about environmental issues. The enormous amount of electricity required to operate servers and the use of cooling water have led to increased carbon emissions. In response, global big tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Meta are striving to achieve 100% renewable energy (RE100) to realize ‘carbon-neutral data centers.’ The eco-friendly transition of data centers has become a survival condition rather than a choice.
Data centers are now recognized as national strategic resources rather than mere IT infrastructure. As global competition for data sovereignty intensifies, countries are supporting the establishment of domestic data centers and strengthening legislation to limit the location of data storage. The physical storage space of data is now directly linked to national security.
Ultimately, data centers are the foundational facilities of digital civilization. As AI advances, the role of data centers becomes larger and more complex. When efficient power design, cooling technology, security infrastructure, and sustainable energy systems are combined, data centers will continue to beat as the heart of the AI economy.
