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Simon Campbell-Whyte DCA Executive Director looks at the Data Centre’s European Digital Agenda
News of the political and economic problems across the European Union has been making the headlines in recent months. However for data centre owners and operators of online businesses, which is nearly all of us to some extent these days, the EU can and does possess a great deal of insight into our current problems. While this month we look at the output from a
recent event for the UK’s public sector it’s worth noting that Europe’s “Digital Agenda” sets out some sensible action points to encourage the expansion of the online economy and also to remove the barriers to the adoption of new technologies and more resource efficient ways of working.
If you think about it, the availability of information hasn’t yet changed all of the ways we live and work, some remain hard to shift - imagine how it would affect transport capacity if the majority of us didn’t pack all the trains for the same couple of hours in the morning and evening, or if the major roads were navigable at 8am on a Monday morning?
At the core of the programme is the call to get involved in developing the Digital Agenda and this sits remarkably close to the DCA’s objectives. The EU has identified a lack of R&D, lack of skills, lack of standards and a lack of network investment; in addition it also cites barriers to adoption of new technologies such as cybercrime, trust and interoperability. The EU commission has backed up this call with funds made available for projects to deliver the “Digital Agenda”. The data centre has a huge role to play in all these areas and for most organisations demands an international strategy, R&D for example has to be invested in at a EU level, guidelines that influence the industry are rarely tested independently, manufacturer’s claims
on the merits of their technology isn’t verified and without R&D investment we can expect little innovation. The industry’s need to develop standards and skills is well documented, but this should also include security, this is an area that can’t be avoided if we are to build confidence for cloud technologies.
It is unfortunate that the data centre industry hasn’t organised itself before now in order to apply for EU investment, other sectors of ICT do benefit from considerable funds. Although it is no easy task, EU rules require a minimum partnership of private sector, regional government and academic institute in each member state, replicated across a minimum of three member states. However the DCA is now taking these first steps, after nine months of existence we have a wide enough membership across the EU to make a start.
At the time of writing we are working with our members in the Netherlands, Germany and UK to put forward a proposal for a Pan European Data Centre Academy (PEDCA). Crucially it is underpinned by research facilities across four universities working within the DCA. University of Leeds, University of East London, Goethe University of Frankfurt and TU Delft University in Amsterdam, their facilities will provide the initial platform they also have a strong interest in the data centre community due to their proximity to large data centre footprint.
The function of the academy will be independent Industry and technology research, development, training, education and skills development via work experience. This will be a good start but it is envisaged the academy will expand to more EU states as recognition of the data centre as an important factor of economic development is realised. For more information and to get involved contact me or my colleagues at the DCA.
“Don’t Close The Door To Energy Efficiency!” By Steve Hone, Operations Director, Data Centre Alliance
It was a pleasure to attend the recent GovToday event held at the Brewery in London, the Data Centre Alliance (DCA) were invited to attend and host one of the Master Classes to try to help highlight ICT as an area where a large percentage of their carbon reduction targets could be realised. The Data Centre Alliance exists to support the interests of the Industry and the
promotion of energy efficient best practice so we were happy to help.
The DCA stand was ideally positioned between the auditoriums and the food/coffee so most of the public sector delegates attending the Master Classes passed by the DCA stand and as a passive observer it occurred to me that most seemed to have a “this isn’t relevant to me” look on their faces, it was not until later when I had an opportunity to chat with some of the delegates did it become apparent that most
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simply did not even realise they had a data centre/IT server room at all! let alone that it represented such “low hanging fruit” when it came to potential power/cost savings.
My guess was that probably 60% + of their total power bill for their whole facility could be found in a 6ft Sq. room with a black door and a sign stuck on it saying “KEEP OUT – Strictly No Admittance” , if only we could get inside, then efficiency saving would surely follow. I will leave you with one final thought “realising just a 10% saving within your server room could have a massive effect in achieving ones overall efficiency goals, if you multiply this out across the entire public sector then a real dent could be made in reaching the Government’s 2015 carbon emissions commitments”.
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