DATA CENTRE PREDICTIONS
We talk to the customer to find out what they expect for the coming five , 10 and 15 years . Then we design and build a solution which is upgradable and extendable for them .
How can organisations guarantee business-critical continuity , while also being able to scale for changing size and complexity ?
Business Continuity is extremely important because businesses cannot afford any disruption . However , the grid is failing more and more and we are increasingly installing solar panels and windmills as renewable energy sources .
We are also living in a time where electric cars are becoming more popular . When people come home from work between 5pm and 8pm , they are charging their cars . If there are 100 cars , that ’ s not a problem but when we are talking thousands , the grid in Europe is not ready for this .
Grid suppliers will ask retailers to provide support , whether via scalable UPS , installing solar panels or windmills , like we do in Spain for some of our customers , and then store the energy in the batteries of the UPS .
Should the grid go down , leaving no power in a store , they would have to throw away everything – costing hundreds of thousands of euros . That ’ s a critical situation and it will become more and more critical because of the increasing pressure on the grid .
I think retailers will play a crucial role in solving some of these grid challenges .
What advice would you offer retail organisations that are currently evaluating infrastructure investment opportunities to ensure that they are future-proof ?
I would reiterate that organisations should be thinking ahead . Try to standardise and not only consider price – but also delivery , installation , communication , monitoring and maintenance . Then we
ORGANISATIONS SHOULD BE THINKING AHEAD .
can try to make everything scalable to reduce CapEx and OpEx .
If you can make this happen , the total cost of ownership for the whole environment will go down and that ’ s what everybody wants to achieve .
Think ahead – consider the increasing instability of the grid and consider Edge Computing and whether that ’ s an area you want to invest in .
The conversations taking place in this sector are extremely interesting but it ’ s challenging too . That ’ s why organisations need help and support from companies who do have the experience with data centre and custom-built solutions . �
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