Intelligent Data Centres Issue 27 | Page 31

TO KEEP UP WITH THE INCREASING PACE OF CHANGE , DATA CENTRE LEADERS SHOULD ADOPT A JUST-IN-TIME ( JIT ) APPROACH TO BUILD THE LIFE CYCLE OF A DATA CENTRE .
EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
LEIGH HALL , HEAD OF DATA CENTRE ENGAGEMENT , VYSIION
he increasing reliance

T on technologies such as IoT , AI , hyperscale cloud ecosystems , Blockchain , HPC platforms and connectivity solutions , are all driving vast volumes of data . In fact , 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are produced every single day and the number of IoT connections is predicted to double from 12 billion to 25 billion by 2022 . That ’ s why the importance of data centres will not diminish any time soon and many more data centres will be required in the future to keep up with the increasing demand .

But businesses need rapid access to this data ; it must be instantly accessible , processable and available to the end-user whenever access is required , while at the same time remaining secure and meeting compliance standards . To keep up with the increasing pace of change , data centre leaders should adopt a just-in-time ( JIT ) approach to build the life cycle of a data centre , as integrating a modular design of the data centre allows for a repeatable construction process . Modular data centres are more cost-effective than fixed installations as they match the IT needs and investment budget at any given time , meaning it has the ability to respond to innovation or bespoke requests as quickly as possible . They also allow for more rapid deployment in the future and provide an easy way to expand existing data centres . For example , hyperscale cloud providers are ravenous consumers of data centre space and while they build and manage data centres themselves , they have to procure data centre facilities from other providers too . However , these are tough customers as they have very precise requirements and are a dominant force in the market . This is why data centre providers must be able to meet these requirements exactly , in order to win this business .

TO KEEP UP WITH THE INCREASING PACE OF CHANGE , DATA CENTRE LEADERS SHOULD ADOPT A JUST-IN-TIME ( JIT ) APPROACH TO BUILD THE LIFE CYCLE OF A DATA CENTRE .

The hyperscalers are mainly focused on achieving vast capacity at the cheapest possible price . They require far greater power density per square metre and larger data halls . Therefore , the mechanical and electrical infrastructure needs to be able to deliver and support this requirement . This means the data centre infrastructure has to be ‘ beefed up ’, for example through larger energy centres , bigger transformers and higher density network fibre . The location of the data centres is also very important when it comes to meeting the requirements of the hyperscalers . The ‘ storage ’ data centres need to be within a predetermined distance , approximately 25 km from the availability zones , and triangulated to form the ‘ brain ’ of the public cloud service .
But of course , we can ’ t forget that data centres are huge consumers of energy ; with the launch of 5G , the new wave of IoT devices and a booming cryptocurrency scene only aggravating the situation further . So , as data centre leaders look to optimise their infrastructure , it ’ s vital that they make strides to become as efficient as possible and reduce their carbon footprint . This can be done by aiming to use renewable electricity instead of diesel generators . The ongoing trend for hyperscale data centre construction should be seen as an opportunity for the industry to lead with an energy-efficient design from the get-go . www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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