Data Centers Strain Traditional Facilities Software, Vendor Says
A July 8, 2026 opinion piece published by Facilities Dive argued that facilities management software used in data centers has not kept up with the sector's growth. The piece, written by a Planon partnerships director, cited JLL's 2026 Global Data Center Outlook projections for capacity growth through 2030.
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Key takeaways
Global data center sector projected to grow at 14% compound annual rate through 2030, requiring roughly $3 trillion in combined real estate and technology investment
Facilities teams often operate separate, non-integrated systems for infrastructure monitoring, building controls, power management, and maintenance tracking
Current facilities management platforms may lack capabilities needed for data center operations including asset-level maintenance histories, compliance documentation, and tenant-specific visibility for colocation arrangements
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A July 8, 2026 opinion piece in Facilities Dive argued that facilities management software commonly used in data centers has failed to keep pace with the industry's growth. The piece was written by Bob Mostachetti, director of partnerships at Planon, a building management and workplace management software company. Facilities Dive labeled the piece as opinion, and Mostachetti's employer has a commercial stake in the argument he makes.
What the growth projections show
The opinion piece referenced JLL's 2026 Global Data Center Outlook, which projects the global data center sector will grow at a 14% compound annual rate through 2030, with close to 100 gigawatts of new capacity added in that period, according to JLL. JLL also estimated that reaching that new capacity could require roughly $3 trillion in combined real estate and technology investment, including tenant spending on IT fit-out.
Mostachetti's piece argued that this scale of growth increases the operational stakes for facilities teams, since data center infrastructure functions as revenue-generating capacity for owners and tenants rather than as a background cost, unlike typical office space.
The vendor's case for integration
According to the opinion piece, facilities teams operating data centers often run separate systems for infrastructure monitoring, building controls, power management and maintenance tracking, and these systems frequently do not share data automatically. Mostachetti wrote that this separation can require manual work to connect an infrastructure alarm to a maintenance work order, and that growing compliance documentation requirements and multi-tenant colocation arrangements add further complexity that general-purpose platforms may not address.
Mostachetti recommended that facilities management software integrate directly with data center infrastructure management, building management and power management systems, maintain asset-level maintenance and audit histories, and provide tenant-specific visibility for colocation service agreements. These are recommendations from a vendor executive rather than independently verified requirements.
Readers evaluating facilities software for data center operations should treat the JLL growth figures as third-party market research and treat Mostachetti's specific software recommendations as the perspective of a company that sells integrated workplace and building management platforms.
Sources
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