SUSTAINABILITY IS NO LONGER BEING VIEWED AS A COST ON BUSINESS , AS MANY COMPANIES ARE NOW USING SUSTAINABILITY AS A CRITERION FOR VENDOR SELECTION .
E X P E R T O P I N I O N ata centres are
D grappling with an unprecedented surge in data generation . The rise of the internet , cloud services , Internet of Things ( IoT ) devices , social media and Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) has ushered in a data revolution . Moreover , the traditional role of data centres is rapidly evolving , transitioning from mere data storage hubs to interactive powerhouses , thanks to High-Performance Computing ( HPC ) and AI applications that propel vast data streams to the Edge of networks .
Sustainability is also a critical concern within the industry , driven in part by the implementation of the Paris Agreement – an internationally binding treaty aimed at combatting climate change since 2016 . Under this agreement , signatory countries have committed to cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050 .
Corporate sustainability goals are increasingly documented in environmental , social and governance ( ESG ) reports , as consumers and investors favour environmentally responsible companies . This push to reduce carbon footprints and limit water consumption of a data centre campus should easily be able to do the same at a remote location . This becomes particularly vital for telco providers navigating the challenges and costs of service and maintenance . With a multitude of remote sites in their network , minimising on-site maintenance emerges as a key cost-saving strategy .
Scalability
The traditional data centre is no longer the centre of our data . Today , workloads
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SUSTAINABILITY IS NO LONGER BEING VIEWED AS A COST ON BUSINESS , AS MANY COMPANIES ARE NOW USING SUSTAINABILITY AS A CRITERION FOR VENDOR SELECTION .
underscores the importance of sustainability in business considerations .
Amidst these challenges and opportunities , liquid cooling is emerging as a pivotal solution . Enterprises and data centre operators navigating their transition to liquid cooling should conscientiously weigh three pivotal factors : sustainability , serviceability and scalability .
Sustainability
The burgeoning energy usage , surging power costs and looming government regulations are casting a spotlight reducing data centre energy consumption . Sustainability is no longer being viewed as a cost on business , as many companies are now using sustainability as a criterion for vendor selection .
Serviceability
Whether within the heart of a data centre or at the remote Edges of networks , the clamour for simpler , cost-effective servicing of equipment reverberates . A technician capable of seamlessly swapping a module within the confines must scale from the cloud to the Edge , adapting to diverse environments , from single servers at cellular base stations to ruggedised Edge solutions to enterprisegrade data centres . Repackaging conventional IT solutions fall short in addressing the demands of harsh IT landscapes and nor the sustainability demands to reduce power consumption . Purpose-built solutions are needed to address these concerns .
The landscape of liquid cooling
Liquid cooling stands at the forefront of solutions capable of efficiently and cost-effectively accommodating modern compute requirements . However , not all liquid cooling solutions are the same .
Direct-to-chip , or cold plate cooling , allows for a heat transfer of fluid to be delivered to specific IT components requiring cooling . This technology offers peak cooling performance at the chip level but still necessitates auxiliary air cooling . It serves as an interim solution to cool the hottest chips but falls short of addressing long-term sustainability goals .
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