OLYMPICSSUPPLEMENT 13
OLYMPICS SPOTLIGHTS POWER PLANS
R
etail data centre operators are being advised to prepare for the signifi cant increase in power consumption
across the UK capital, as well as any conceivable disruptions occurring during its six-week schedule. “It’s virtually impossible to predict the
true impact the Olympics will have on power consumption, but it is imperative that those responsible for maintaining the most critical facilities have adequate safeguards in place,” commented Mike Elms, technical services manager for Uninterruptible Power Supplies Limited, a Kohler company. “The critical nature of most data centres means they are likely to have multiple power sources entering the facility, but that doesn’t take in to account the possible impact of a catastrophic event, such as an act of terrorism, or even human error, which accounts for around 75% of data centre downtime. “The only thing that would stop your operation from grinding to a halt is an
onsite power protection system, with the capacity to comfortably cope with the entire load – and that’s means a UPS [uninterruptible power supply] facilitating the transition to a back up generator.” Elms added. Technology analysts Ovum have suggested that operators manage potential power shortfalls by switching off non- critical applications. However, as Conleth McCallan, managing director for hosting and connectivity provider Datanet, explained how, for many, this is simply not possible.
“I don’t think anyone is expecting major
disruptions throughout the Games. Having said that, we are making sure all maintenance is completed beforehand and our existing procedures ensure all systems have appropriate levels of back-up power protection.” Elms added that some data centre loads
might have outgrown the UPS capacity. So, he urged that it was vital “data centre operators spend some time assessing their system and formulating a plan to deal with any eventuality,” during the Olympics and into the future.
LIBERTY WINES PREPS FOR OLYMPIC DELIVERIES
London-based national wine wholesaler Liberty Wines is boosting its delivery service with an advanced route planning and scheduling system from Paragon Software Systems.
The routing software incorporates
street-level mapping for accurate routing and has integrated Olympics planning functionality to ensure that Liberty’s customers receive their daily orders on time during the games. It will also integrate with Liberty’s order processing system from Vintner to speed the planning process. Liberty also anticipates that Paragon’s Single Depot software system will enable better use of its delivery fl eet resources, given that it also offers London customers the ability to place orders at any time of the day or night for delivery the next day.
“Paragon will enable us to plan more
effi ciently and effectively, making better use of our vehicle fl eet and improving the service to our customers,” said Ben Marriott, customer services manager at Liberty Wines. “The street-level mapping option we have selected takes account of road constraints such as one-way streets, no entries and turn restrictions. This will help us to plan and manage our London deliveries with greater accuracy, where timed deliveries to leading restaurants are a key part of our service offering. The pre-programmed Olympic planning feature is extremely important as we are located on the Olympic Route Network and this will ensure we provide the best service during the games.” To streamline order processing and fulfi lment, the company’s Vintner system
will export the order and delivery requirements into Paragon, which will then automatically create the delivery routes and schedules. This information is uploaded back to the order processing system to update the customer records. This also provides accurate data for management reporting on delivery performance. “The majority of our drivers are long-
term subcontractors who are paid a daily rate. When we plan manually, we can only estimate start and fi nish of their runs. But, with Paragon, we’ll have visibility of their workloads,” added Marriott. “We’ll also have the added benefi t of knowing precisely which vehicle and driver is delivering each order without searching through paperwork; the information will be available to us at the push of a button.”
MAY/JUNE 2012 RETAIL TECHNOLOGY
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