UNCOVERING THE LAYERS
Greger Ruud , Sector Development Manager – Nordics Data Centres at Aggreko
and around cities such as Helsinki , Copenhagen and Oslo , alongside hyperscale sites handling low-latency data in rural areas .
If effective testing is to be guaranteed despite these variations , appropriate technical expertise is required . A wide array of commissioning experts exist to meet this need , operating the specialist equipment required to help owners and
operators put preventative strategies in place . As such , it is recommended facility owners engage these organisations to negate the possibility of failure .
Market trends
The impact of the Coronavirus and recent labour shortages in the data centre market complicate this ongoing concern . The constantly shifting travel restrictions enforced by many nations in the wake of COVID-19 can hamper the availability of data centre professionals from the UK and Ireland that are often sought after for the construction phase .
Similarly , skilled worker shortfalls in British construction , as highlighted by the Construction Skills Networks ’ recent announcement that the industry will require 217,000 workers to meet demand by 2025 , could pose problems .
Complicating this even more is predictions of further data centre market growth , with one marketing intelligence firm suggesting a compound annual growth rate of 4 % from 2021 to 2026 in Western Europe and the Nordics .
However , by looking at the possibility of hiring third-party expertise and equipment from suppliers such as Aggreko , data centre owners and operators could negate supply chain issues . Considering the potentially severe ramifications of inadequate testing , the ready availability of such resources , combined with ever-tightening deadlines for facility construction , could make this approach very attractive .
Global standardisation
When sourcing contractor expertise for testing , it is also key that project stakeholders ensure consistent quality regardless of the varying environments and complications that may arise from loadbank testing at differing facilities . This extends to pre-functional , individual and integrated systems testing , as well as factory and site acceptance testing .
Additionally , this expertise can also help improve a facility ’ s overall operational efficiency . By implementing strategies around the maintenance of key systems , including cooling and power infrastructure , data centre stakeholders www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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