RINGING IN NEW , HIGHLY EFFICIENT CHIPS CAN NOT ONLY IMPROVE PERFORMANCE , BUT ALSO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF SERVERS IN DATA CENTRES . www . intelligentdatacentres . com
THE EDGE
IOs with tightened budgets are faced with a data
C centre-sized conundrum . Where can they cut the fat while preserving essential services and investing in technologies that are essential to growing revenue ? One area that stands out on any budget sheet : data centres , given they are consistently one of the largest cost centres for IT and continue to grow .
In fact , core IT spending around data centre needs – systems , software , devices and IT services – is projected to account for nearly 70 % of total IT spend in 2023 , according to Gartner . That ’ s an increase of more than 20 % since a decade ago .
Of course , CIOs can ’ t just gut their data centre budgets . Their infrastructure – whether on-prem , colocation , public or private cloud ( or likely , some combination ) – is now critical to operating in the modern world . Data and compute are accelerating faster than ever before , thanks in part to the pandemic turning our lives even more digital , as well as the explosion of data and memory-heavy AI workloads . And CIOs must meet their mandate to ensure their workforce is armed with software stacks that are robust , better than the competition ’ s and , critically , agile for developers to build and deploy cutting-edge solutions .
That ’ s not to say bloat is better . As CIOs contend with what ’ s best for the business , their customers and their bottom line , there are areas in their data centres that may be overlooked for long-term growth and right-sizing . Several tips for CIOs to evaluate the total cost of ownership of data centre solutions and generate efficiencies include :
1 . Reevaluating legacy systems
Life cycles for data centre hardware are contracting . While chips from three , five , or 10 years ago may still be functioning , advances in Moore ’ s Law , or the exponential improvement in semiconductors , means those systems are not just unable to compete with modern servers , they ’ re leagues behind .
Legacy systems are oftentimes seen as ‘ good enough ’ and blanket investments in upgrades strike many as too costly and time-consuming . But the ROI is undeniable . Outdated servers cost more in upkeep and energy and result in larger footprints than ultra-efficient and performance-friendly modern servers .
In contrast , modern data centre processors can create multifold upgrades in performance and efficiency . While every CIO will have different needs , data centre footprints are not infinite and investing in new physical real estate is difficult to execute in this economic climate . Bringing in new , highly efficient chips can not only improve performance , but also reduce the number of servers in data centres . This opens up worlds of possibilities , from leaving room for scale for future growth ( such as new AIpowered software solutions ) to adding
RINGING IN NEW , HIGHLY EFFICIENT CHIPS CAN NOT ONLY IMPROVE PERFORMANCE , BUT ALSO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF SERVERS IN DATA CENTRES . www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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