DATA CENTRE PREDICTIONS top priority was IT service delivery within the higher business ; reducing downtime to zero ( a key metric that counts towards meeting cost-cutting objectives ) was the next most important metric .
However , protecting the company from downtime is also listed as the biggest cause of sleepless nights ( reported by 45 %) and meeting IT service delivery commitments was the next most cited challenge ( 40 %). The findings essentially reveal that if technical professionals meet their challenges , they will also meet their KPIs .
Cadence ( Future Facilities is now Cadence ) carried out market research , interviewing over 750 technical practitioners and digital strategists to investigate some of the industry ’ s most pressing trends . Respondents included small , mid-sized and large companies across a range of sectors , including Software / Technology , Financial Services , Government , Manufacturing and Healthcare .
budget increase over the past year . This is only set to continue , with an even higher number expecting their budget to rise over the next 12 months . Software / Technology ( 71 %), Financial Services ( 70 %) and Retail ( 70 %) are the sectors most confident in a budget increase in the next 12 months .
Despite there being an upward trend , businesses are facing mixed budget availability . Regardless , all companies are trying to tighten their belts and an expedient way of doing so is making the most of current infrastructure .
Is your organisation prioritising a green data centre ?
Capacity is also a critical issue for many businesses , but environmental , social and governance ( ESG ) policies are also reemerging as key concerns . Respondents to the survey revealed that their priorities concerning ESG are varied :
• 43 % want to reduce their power bill
• 41 % include their infrastructure within the corporate ESG policy
• 38 % have carbon and power usage effectiveness ( PUE ) targets
But regardless – the unifying factor across these is the need to cut costs . This might , however , be easier said than done and is a fine line for businesses .
Measuring success
While cost is a key concern for many businesses , it is not the only key performance ( KPI ) businesses take into account . Two-thirds of respondents ’
However , while PUE is listed as one of the top green concerns , fewer than 10 % of businesses consider PUE as a metric for success . This is odd , since reducing PUE – including cooling , IT equipment and additional facility functions – directly contributes to reducing costs .
Overall , the research found that strong demand for IT services and zero downtime are battling with the increasing importance of the IT infrastructure being scrutinised in ESG policy . However , when the data is split between industries , it is clear that there is no ‘ one-size-fits-all ’ approach – rather , each business needs to understand their needs and how they can best meet them . A powerful tool for achieving this is the digital twin .
“ Digital twins should be a key part of any data centre professional ’ s arsenal ,” said Mark Fenton , Senior Product Marketing Manager at Cadence . “ Powerful computational fluid dynamics ( CFD ) software seamlessly connects with DCIM , BI tools , monitoring systems , ticketing systems and a range of other functions under one roof . With this in place , users can remove the silos from their business and look at their data centre performance holistically . This will help them to understand key issues such as how to optimise their cooling management and increase energy efficiency – both of which will reduce overall costs .” �
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