Intelligent Data Centres Issue 31 | Page 23

INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE POWERED BY THE DCA
The reason for this is that Moore ’ s Law on CPU efficiency increases is slowing down ( and getting worse in low power mode , which is where servers spend a large amount of their time ).
Rather than refreshing to new , operators can upgrade memory and storage on the previous generation and get better results for a lower price . This may not be true in the future as new CPU technology is developed , but it is certainly true now . Which means the biggest lesson here is to analyse what you have , optimise this and keep up with the process regularly to check your homework .
Taking this to market , however , we are finding that there are significant logistical challenges to implementing this . For FinTech or colocation providers , for example , the purchase decisions on IT hardware are made by one group and the energy bill paid by another . are going to drive change , we need to look at the whole ecosystem .
The good news is that in doing this , data centres can achieve cost and environmental benefits as well as cashing in on the excellent PR of reducing electronic waste and delivering a green product . The sector already has a great story to tell . Data centres can facilitate communication without travel miles , develop the wherewithal for smart manufacturing and predict weather patterns to optimise energy usage . Optimising this means extending product life for as long as possible , not just accepting reuse , refurbishment and remanufacture , but designing for it . This means developing tools that optimise IT equipment over time but also designing systems that measure efficiencies across the whole value chain . ◊
It means that although there are significant savings when you look at life cycle costing , the financials are set up to ignore this , as is carbon reporting . If we
Finding the sweet spot of optimising electricity usage and reducing IT waste is the goal . www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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