IT PROVISION
Containerised data centres: evolutiondeservingattention
Chris Wellfair, Projects director at Secure I.T. Environments, explains how data centres are evolving, with a form factor that can help overcome a number of challenges in the healthcare sector.
In recent years, we have watched customers battle to overcome the same challenges time and time again: making effective use of space, and, secondly, trying to build data centres as quickly and efficiently as possible. While the modular panel constructed data centre remains a really great way to overcome these challenges, it is not always the best one. For some their data centre needs are simple enough that they can consider a ‘micro data centre’ approach, using cabinets housed in offices or rooms. However, for those needing something a bit more ‘substantial’, containerised solutions are the latest evolution in the modular world fighting for your attention.
Several ongoing challenges There are a number of ongoing challenges for healthcare facilities when it comes to working out the best way to update their IT infrastructure to be fit for the increasing role that technology plays in every aspect of say, a hospital’s operation – from communications, to medical equipment, CCTV, data storage, and administration, to name but a few.
The first is space, which is usually limited on hospital sites. Naturally, any healthcare provider will be keen to devote as much space as possible to the needs of patients and staff, rather than IT equipment. Hospital sites – particularly in the case of older, acute such facilities – are often in restrictive city settings, where a dedicated building for IT is impractical, and, in many cases, cost- prohibitive, and where dedicating additional rooms to IT is undesirable.
Energy efficiency and carbon reduction are also ever-more important, particularly in the NHS for both Estates and Facilities and IT staff, and any decisions to make changes to a data centre come with the caveat of needing to be as efficient as possible. Finally, whatever form factor it takes, a data centre needs to be a long- term investment, that is secure, both in terms of physical security to protect from theft, and access to patient or staff data, as well as risks such as flood and fire.
A new ‘form factor’
A traditional modular panel data centre construction does remain a really great way to overcome these challenges, but it
The advent of ‘edge computing’ For example, for a long-time edge computing has been associated with the Internet of Things, and those with naturally distributed networks, such as ‘telcos’, or industrial networks that connect multiple sites. Where an organisation would have previously pushed data back to the corporate network for processing, say from a sensor, and then a corresponding action back to a valve, with edge computing this analysis happens at the perimeter, sometimes in a perimeter data centre, or on the device itself. This not only overcomes the risks of dropped connectivity, but also enables performance improvements. By processing devices or application data at the extremities of the network, traffic is reduced, and devices can even be given the autonomy to act as a self-contained unit. This could apply to any organisation with a distributed IT infrastructure, including a multi-site healthcare setting or NHS Trust.
Why a container?
For those restricted by space or wanting maximum flexibility, a relatively new form factor – the containerised data centre – ‘might just be a great solution’.
Containerised solutions can form small data centres, where they help resolve space, deployment time, build complexity, and cost challenges. Additionally, they are
July 2021 Health Estate Journal 61
is not always the best option. For those restricted by space or wanting maximum flexibility, a relatively new form factor – the containerised data centre – might just be a great solution. If you have come across this form factor before, the image that enters your head may be one of an old shipping container, which would be enough to give anyone a fright. While containers can often take this shape – read on – as what they offer can compete with any purpose-built data centre. You probably associate the term ‘containerised data centre’ with huge data centre projects, such as those run by the public ‘cloud’ vendors, with tens of thousands of servers, and the need for constant growth. In those instances, they are chosen for speed, cost-effectiveness and ease of installation, but those benefits are not only true when working at scale. There are several scenarios where a containerised data centre might be just right for your healthcare setting.
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