E D I T O R ' S Q U E S T I O N

nprecedented

Although the digital infrastructure sector has advanced over the last few years , global events like climate crises , invasions and COVID-19 have accumulated uncertainty among supply chains with increased costs , as well as pressures to perform sustainably .

Operators are facing a continued state of flux which widens opportunities for growth , or if managed insufficiently could lead to fragile performance and interrupted operations .

2023 was recorded as the warmest calendar year in global temperature data records going back to 1850 , according to The Copernicus Climate Change Service ( C3S ). Billy Durie , Global Sector Head Data Centres , Aggreko , mentioned in Uptime on the Line that heatwaves are causing facilities to power down their servers to avoid irreparable damage , and countries such as France and the Netherlands are seeing rivers and reservoirs run dry , complicating temperature control where water storage is used .

The resilience of data centres is being challenged from these threats , and while operators may use these to fuel the progress of operations – such as more sustainable practices – the prospect of continual uptime is fading from those ignoring the necessity of reliable power supplies , Disaster

Recovery efforts and centralised monitoring systems .

Data centre customers will gradually become more conscious of the management models that operators use and if they can cope with the hand being dealt regarding unprecedented events . This will inevitably apply more pressure to facilities and the talent inside them .

A recent trends report released by Uptime Institute discusses how Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) will help make operational decisions , relating to resiliency and energy efficiency . While this prediction for 2024 highlights the tools available to assist in critical system management , it is yet to be seen whether the infrastructure can balance out the power requirements of new technology along with its own set of onpremise challenges .

While extreme weather conditions are expected to continue , the instances of when and how it will affect each facility will remain unpredictable and erratic . The dependency on data for Business Continuity is growing and data centre organisations will need to prove their reliability . It ’ s important to consider a dynamic and humble approach to adapt to external and autonomous environments .

Offering their views on how to tackle service disruptions and

preventative measures for ensuring uptime , are industry experts : Shane Kilfoil , President Mission Critical Environments , Subzero Engineering ; Alexandre Silvestre , Data Centre Fabric Business Development Manager , Nokia ; and Matthew Farnell , Global Director , EkkoSense . . .

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