Data Centers Spearhead Renewable Energy

The utilization of renewable energy sources in the design of highly efficient data centers could be spearheading the progress made in this area for the globe.  Some of the big cloud players are leading the charge of greening up their data centers in support of renewable energy for the future versus fossil fuels. Others in the data center market could be influenced by doing the same and this could change the shape of the world when it comes to energy regulation and consumer access.

While 62% of the global energy supply still lies in gas, coal and oil; the cost of these resources is rising while the cost of renewable energy is going down. For example, the cost of solar power has dropped significantly since 2009 and even in some countries renewable energy costs are in line with fossil fuels. The challenge will be matching fossil fuels’ ability to produce steady baseline power; therefore, the creation of smart grids will be needed to make the transition easier over to renewable energy sources.  This is where the work that data centers are doing as consumers of renewable power in such an influential way will benefit all of us and pave the way for easier access to renewable energy sources. Good for planet earth, read full article here.

Increasing Demands on Data Centers

As the future revolution in technology evolves with artificial intelligence, virtual reality and machine learning, the demand for data centers and our modern day reliance on them will skyrocket. Smart devices, smart spaces and the universal growth of connected things delivering huge amounts of information all intersecting at the data center over wireless connections creates the need for data centers to be able to scale for the future and the increased workload ahead.

New innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI), the development of computer systems to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, are being used with greater efficiency to optimize resource management and long-term planning for strategic business decisions.  Additionally,  AI driven data centers themselves are a necessity for any progressive business that wants to achieve an operationally efficient computing environment.  In order to compete, all companies will need to become data driven in gathering large amounts of information about their customers.  This only fuels the workload on the data center industry tremendously; as well as, the new types of businesses entering into the global economy to be able to interact with new technologies as they evolve. Exciting times are ahead for the data center market as futurist Steve Brown discusses at Open Compute Summit.  Read full article here.

Data Center Preparedness for Hurricane Season

Hurricane season starts June 1st; is your data center facility ready should this or any other natural disaster occur in your area?  Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 7-13, 2017 bringing attention to all the things that need to be considered for a potential land-falling tropical storm or hurricane resulting in wide spread power outages.  Keeping the power on in your data center is critical and one of the first things to have in place is backup power resources that are functioning properly and ready to kick in should the lights go out.

Regular service and maintenance to your backup generator will reduce the risk of potential problems occurring when the time comes that the generator is called to duty to ensure all your systems are kept working properly.  Annual or semi-annual services recommended by the manufacturer should not be overlooked with respect to your cooling and fueling systems, engine monitors, control panels, etc in addition to the routine generator service call or scheduled maintenance.  Another good idea is to perform regular testing of the transfer switch; as well as, turning the generator on to check for any fault codes that may show up.  Be prepared so you can rest assured that your data center’s prime power stays on. Read full article here.