management
FACILITIES ener gy
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http://www.dcseurope.info/n/ehye
Energy wastage through resistance
The British data centre industry has a lot to learn from Merlin. Yes, the wizard; because although Merlin has appeared in many guises, he is best known as a mentor and for his belief in youth to deliver results. British data centres were once revered for leading innovation in the IT industry and driving change. But in time, lethargy and an unwillingness to break the mould has led to a period of stagnation. By Eddie Desouza, global marketing and communications director at Enlogic.
THE GENERATION that joined the industry at its conception and made the data centre so great is resistant to change and presides over it using old, familiar technologies. While experience is rarely a bad thing, especially from such a talented peer group, an unwillingness to rejuvenate the data centre has put it in peril. Very few industries would tolerate the level of wastage that is endemic in the data centre today. Currently, energy related costs account for around 12 per cent of a data centre’s budget and energy prices have increased by 20 per cent since 2007, with no sign of letting up.
To ensure the future of the data centre, the current generation of data centre managers (DCMs) must act, and act fast, to address two pillars of weakness in the industry: fresh, young talent must be encouraged
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and attitudes towards new, innovative technologies have to change. Recent studies by Gartner and McKinsey & Co show that most data centres are wasting 90 per cent of their electricity to guarantee the availability of idle servers in case of unplanned downtime. This energy wastage seeps from a generation used to outdated technology that fears what gets turned off may not turn back on. While this is understandable, because businesses lose 300,000 hours and $2billion annually through unplanned downtime, this practise must stop. It is a shocking waste and is not sustainable for the future. The sad truth? DCMs have built a business based on wasted energy.
Innovation is key
The UK has a significant opportunity to lead through innovation and set a progressive example for the rest of the world to follow. This is a
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