The coronavirus pandemic has ramped up digital transformation in unthinkable ways and data centers play a crucial role in supporting the development. Data centers are dedicated spaces that house computers, data storage systems and associated components. These housing units store a volume of data, backed up and easy to recover by users.Data centers have become an essential part of our digital lives and the pandemic only highlighted its value. Demand for data centers witnessed a significant boost due to increased access to Internet-related services during lockdowns. The global market witnessed investment in more than 400 data center facilities last year. With impressive developments in providing efficient power solutions to reduce carbon emissions, the use of free cooling techniques and adoption of liquid immersion cooling systems, the space will see unprecedented demand in the future.While data centers aided in ensuring business continuity and connectivity during the lockdowns, there are several new trends that will continue to aid growth in 2021 and beyond --As intelligent sensors, autonomous vehicles, big data and quantum computing come into the limelight, these generate a colossal amount of data that needs to be processed in real-time. At certain times, sending these data to the cloud for processing could become a problem. Here, on-board computer processing through edge computing comes into play. Microdata centers at the edge of these networks help in high-speed computation without data loss.Emerging trends like 5G will also boost the adoption of data centers. In fact, the 5G rollout will have a domino effect on data center growth. Why? 5G promises higher bandwidth, much lower latency and increased connection density. Hence, it will boost artificial intelligence and machine learning-based technologies and generate a vast amount of data that needs to be processed. Data centers, especially cloud-scale data centers that offer more localized and low-latency services, will see a boost in demand.Further, just like software-as-a-service, data centers also offer their infrastructure and solutions in a consumption-based and pay-per-use model. Companies like VMware and Dell that offer datacenter-as-a-service allow customers to use Dell hardware on-premises through a cloud-like subscription model. Recently, Equinix, Inc. EQIX has planned to build 32 of its hyperscale-focused xScale data centers globally. The xScale data centers are tailor-made to serve hyperscale cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft.5 Stocks to Keep an Eye onThe data center market is expected to grow in leap and bounds with investment in cloud computing services, 5G rollout and digital transformation. And with Biden’s plans to expand broadband infrastructure, data centers will be the foundation of the new digital age. Per an Arizton research report, the global data center market size will reach $251 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 4.5%.Given such positives, we have shortlisted five stocks that provide data center services, infrastructure or deal in pure play data centers that investors should keep a close watch on.Western Digital Corporation WDC develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions. The company’s Ultrastar Edge servers are easy to transport, deploy and scale in the field, at colocation facilities, or in a factory, or in remote data centers. Western Digital belongs to the Zacks Computer- Storage Devices industry and has a projected earnings growth rate of nearly 26% for the current year.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this company’s current-year earnings has been revised 26% upward over the past 90 days. Western Digital flaunts a Zack Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.NVIDIA Corporation NVDA offers an accelerated computing platform for data centers. Its platform gives modern data centers the power to accelerate deep learning, machine learning and high-performance computing workloads. This Zack Rank #1 company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 58.8% compared with the Zacks Semiconductor - General industry’s projected growth of 24.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this company’s current-year earnings has been revised 16.7% upward over the past 60 days.Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD offers data center chips and next-generation EPYC data center processor. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 68.2% compared with the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry’s projected growth of 36.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this company’s current-year earnings has been revised 0.5% upward over the past 60 days. Advanced Micro Devices sports a Zack Rank #2 (Buy).Equinix is a digital infrastructure company and a leader in the global colocation data center market share, with 210 data centers in 25 countries. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 10.3% compared with the Zacks REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry’s projected growth of 3.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this company’s current-year earnings has been revised 0.5% upward over the past 60 days. Equinix carries a Zack Rank #3 (Hold).CoreSite Realty Corporation COR delivers secure, reliable, high-performance data center, cloud access and interconnection solutions. This Zack Rank #3 company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 3.6% compared with the Zacks REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry’s projected growth of 2.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this company’s current-year earnings has been revised 0.4% upward over the past 90 days. Bitcoin, Like the Internet Itself, Could Change Everything Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities. Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly. See 3 crypto-related stocks now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD): Free Stock Analysis Report Equinix, Inc. (EQIX): Free Stock Analysis Report Western Digital Corporation (WDC): Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report CoreSite Realty Corporation (COR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.