The data center industry is moving fast in its efforts to support AI workloads, scale edge infrastructure and more. Because of this, technology companies are under constant pressure to deliver faster, smarter and more integrated solutions.
Companies designing the next wave of AI-ready infrastructure solutions play a critical role in powering tomorrow’s digital experiences. But getting from concept to customer success? That’s where the friction begins.
Top 6 Challenges for Data Center Solutions
Below, dive into six of the top data center solution challenges technology companies face and how strategic outsourcing and smarter operations can help overcome them.
-
Expediting Time to Market
The competitiveness of the technology industry gives those who prioritize speed a strategic advantage. For many companies developing solutions for the data center, slowdowns during the design, integration and validation phases stall revenue and give competitors room to leap ahead.
What slows you down:
- Complex design-to-build timelines
- Bottlenecks in integration and testing
- Delays in validating data center equipment across multi-vendor environments
Where to focus:
- Streamline solution development with pre-integrated, validated systems
- Rely on outsourced partners who specialize in turnkey lifecycle management services
- Eliminate friction in your go-to-market path with scalable processes
Accelerating time to market means you can respond quickly to demand while staying ahead as data center solutions continue to evolve with complexity.
-
Ensuring Post-Deployment Integrity
Launching your solution is just the beginning. What happens after deployment defines the customer experience and, therefore, long-term brand trust.
From the moment your solution goes live, it needs to perform. That means tight control over maintenance, repair and technology upgrades at scale.
Key concerns for developing data center solutions include:
- Maintaining system uptime across global deployments
- Managing refreshes and decommissioning without service disruption
- Supporting full lifecycle operations without draining internal resources
By partnering with experts in technology lifecycle services, you can maintain consistent performance while keeping customer environments optimized from day one through end of life.
-
Navigating Multivendor Ecosystems
Today’s data center solutions are rarely delivered as a single-vendor stack. Most are built from a complex mix of hardware, software and cloud services, which can create a recipe for integration headaches.
Here’s where it gets tricky:
- Compatibility issues during deployment
- Complex fault isolation across multiple vendors
- Difficulties in ensuring seamless performance
What technology companies need:
- Integration and field service teams that specialize in multi-vendor data center equipment
- Proactive fault management and root cause analysis
- Simplified support models that reduce customer effort
The more cohesive your solution is right out of the box, the less your customers have to worry during deployment and scaling.
-
Sustaining Innovation Focus
Technology companies often face a tough tradeoff: Do you focus the majority of your resources on supporting existing products or pushing ahead with the next big idea?
Over time, ongoing operational demands — such as maintenance tickets, technical support and system updates — can eat away at engineering capacity. That equates to budget and time not spent on developing next-gen products or strengthening your core value proposition.
To stay focused, you should consider ways to:
- Offload operational tasks, such as logistics and depot repair support
- Keep engineering teams focused on core innovation
- Leverage partners who can handle field service and lifecycle operations at scale
Technology companies that prioritize innovation without being buried in support will stay more agile in a quickly shifting industry.
-
Operationalizing Advanced Technologies
With more companies designing solutions that are powered by AI, machine learning and edge computing, deploying them efficiently becomes both a major hurdle and a necessity.
Every customer environment is different. Without repeatable models or expert integration support, advanced solutions can quickly become one-off projects, causing adoption to slow and costs to increase.
Technology companies can overcome this challenge by:
- Leveraging scalable deployment playbooks for next-gen data center equipment
- Partnering with experts in AI and edge integration
- Providing customers with guidance and support to reduce the learning curve
Whether it’s at the edge or in a core data center, ensuring your solutions deliver value quickly and consistently is the goal.
-
Managing the Full Technology Lifecycle
Delivering the solution is only half the story. Managing it across its full lifecycle — from integration and installation to deployment and maintenance to repair and decommissioning — is where long-term value is created.
Common lifecycle management challenges include:
- Maintaining operational efficiency over time
- Scaling depot repair and tech support without inflating costs
- Gathering and using field data to improve product design and performance
For many technology companies, this is where outsourcing to specialized lifecycle services providers can make a measurable impact. In addition to keeping systems running, these partners also provide critical insights that feed back into research and development, improve reliability and enhance customer satisfaction.
The Path Forward: Simplify, Scale, Innovate — With a Partner
The technology industry is dynamic, demanding and full of opportunity. But to lead, technology companies must overcome a unique set of operational and technical hurdles.
You can deliver smarter, more reliable solutions that scale by focusing on the right priorities: accelerating time to market, simplifying integration, offloading lifecycle service operations and enabling innovation.
A single strategic partnerships with a trusted outsourcing provider of data center solution lifecycle services can lighten the load while driving better outcomes for both you and your customers.
If you’re ready to reinforce your competitive edge, download the eBook “From Innovation to AI-Ready With an Outsourcing Partner” to discover how outsourcing technology lifecycle services can help simplify operations, reduce risk and achieve faster growth.
About the Author
Jared Eckelkamp serves as Vice President and General Manager of Global Field Services. With nearly two decades of experience in the technology sector, Jared leads the global field services (GFS) organization and is focused on driving continued improvements and enhanced profitability for Shyft’s GFS business and customers. Jared has been with the company since 2018, previously serving in finance leadership positions. His expertise has been instrumental in strategic acquisitions and shaping Shyft's continued growth and evolution.
