Intelligent Data Centres Issue 27 | Page 40

EXPERT OPINION

The importance of testing data centre demand

Samuel Tumma , Head of Engineering at Aggreko Africa , tells us why it ’ s so important to prioritise reliable power and comprehensive loadbank testing when investing in a robust data centre strategy . lobal data centre spend is expected to reach an

G impressive total of US $ 208 billion by the end of 2020 . Demand , thanks to expanding business footprints and the move to the cloud and alternative infrastructure solutions , has pushed the market into overdrive with an estimated 628 hyperscalers expected to rise by 2021 . The Edge , Artificial Intelligence , cloud IT infrastructure investment , Machine Learning and the rise of emergent technologies are shifting the data centre into high gear and centre stage .

But what if the data centre fails ? What if demand overtakes infrastructure ? Downtime can incur huge costs , put an organisation ’ s reputation on the line and can have unexpected knock-on ripple effects throughout the company and its infrastructure . Therefore , it is essential to tick two particularly important boxes when investing in a robust data centre strategy – reliable power and comprehensive loadbank testing .
As data centre usage continues to rise exponentially alongside technology advances and rapidly changing business requirements , providers must ensure that their facilities can handle this demand . If they miss a crucial step , ignore a potential problem , then the results can be expensive . And damaging . Even if the power outage is not the fault of the service provider , the resultant power and temperature control infrastructure must be prepared for such an eventuality . Especially in Africa .
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