Sustainability in IT sector needs push in the back

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Sustainability of IT sector needs push in the back

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Sustainability in the IT sector needs push in the back

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Interesting report by ABN-Amro about sustainability in the IT sector (read the article here, in Dutch). What is already largely known, is confirmed: IT is the elephant in the room when it comes to data center sustainability.

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Three things stand out:

Only a minority of IT decision makers (35 %) include sustainability as a procurement criterion.
One of the main reasons cited is the lack of transparency by IT suppliers about the sustainability performance of their products & services, leading in turn to a lack of knowledge with the IT procurement department.
The software sector seems to largely escape the sustainability debate.
Not only are software companies expected (in comparison with data center & cloud service providers) to do the least in the area of sustainability, there is also hardly any focus in the software sector on how to write code energy-efficiently. This is a missed opportunity because a lot (35 % energy savings) can be gained from energy-conscious software design.
Building in overcapacity is commonplace and already starts at the IT layer.
This is then further duplicated at the DC building /technical facilities level leading to equipment (cooling machines, UPS) energy efficiency loss because of (too) low utilization levels.

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Conclusion

If we want to address the overcapacity/sustainability issue in the DC sector, we need to start by looking at rightsizing the IT and software layers first. Do you agree? Feel free to contact us and rely on our experience and knowledge to improve the sustainability in your data center.

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Cooling down your data centers to save energy

Cooling down your data centers as 4G/5G hot up

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O2 cooling down its data centers as 4G and 5G hot up

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Telefonica UK (O2), the UK's largest network, is cooling down its data centres to save energy as 4G and 5G hot up.
This phrase is probably familiar to a lot of mobile operators/telco's as mobile data use continues hotting up to record levels.

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To meet soaring data demand, prevent overheating and save energy, O2 is upgrading its data centres and core network sites with new cooling technology including brand new smart sensors and intuitive software. This will deliver energy savings equivalent to 1 million kilograms of CO2 year-on-year and help the mobile network operator on track to its 2025 net zero commitment.

AI brings perfect storm to data center operations

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AI to address 3 common human/operations related problems

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Gartner predicted that by 2020 more than 30 % of data centers that failed to sufficiently prepare for AI would no longer be operationally or economically viable. Well, we’re 2021 and it has become clear that AI, when deployed strategically and paired with adept human oversight, can generate a host of new efficiencies for next-generation data centers and can address at least these 3 human/operations related problems in today’s data centers. In addition, the energy and carbon savings produced by AI/software-driven data center optimization solutions will help data center operators on their net zero journey towards carbon neutrality in 2030 (as specified by the EU Green Deal).

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1. Prevent data center outages by predictive analytics & early warning capabilities.

According to Uptime Institute research, outages are becoming bigger and more painful but more importantly, 75% of data center operators admit most outages were caused by human error and were preventable with better management/processes or configuration. With only 5% of data center managers gathering the real-time and highly granular data they need to effectively manage the thermal performance of their data center, it’s no surprise that at any given time 10-15% of data center racks are well out of ASHRAE thermal compliance. AI and smart sensors can greatly assist here for monitoring & compliance purposes.

2. Mitigate skills & staff shortage.

The shortage of skilled candidates in the data center industry is a problem that has been around for many years and is now nearing a crisis. According again to Uptime research, 50% of operators has difficulty finding qualified candidates for open jobs causing them to recruit outside the industry, retrain staff or turn to outsourced resources. Choosing an AI assisted hybrid management model, where AI tools support operators with some of the management, monitoring functions, provides a happy medium between outright automation and chronic understaffing.

3. Remote monitoring of critical sites during Covid-19 pandemic.

Maximizing data center performance is difficult enough during normal conditions, optimizing while also trying to accommodate the sustained added pressure due to the Covid crisis is challenging. Having visibility of thermal performance at critical sites becomes ever more important, certainly at a time when many data centers can’t get their teams physically on-site due to lockdown challenges. Remote thermal monitoring helps data centers manage their facilities during the Covid-19 lockdown.

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Feel free to contact us if you want to discuss how AI tools can assist your data center operations and improve the sustainability in your data center at the same time.

Interview in DataNews on DCONGREEN-EkkoSense partnership

AI to optimise data center operations management

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AI optimaliseert data center beheer

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Een toepassing van het Britse EkkoSense – gebaseerd op artificiële intelligentie – maakt kinderspel van wat traditioneel een bijzonder ingewikkelde oefening was: doorgedreven energieoptimalisering en koeling

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EkkoSense ging zes jaar geleden van start met een oplossing voor DCIM (Datacenter Infrastructure Management). Het uitgangspunt van het bedrijf was oorspronkelijk het verlagen van de zogenaamde thermal risk in het datacenter. Wanneer de koeling niet correct op de noden van de omgeving is afgestemd, kan dat al snel tot downtime leiden. “Overkoeling en niet-efficiënte koeling blijven een groot probleem, zeker in legacy datacenters”, zegt Johan Claes, CEO van DCONGREEN. Het bedrijf levert duurzaamheidsoplossingen aan datacenters en verdeelt de software van EkkoSense op de Benelux markt.

Nauwkeurig afgestelde koeling

De oplossing van EkkoSense biedt een combinatie van 3D-visualisatie en monitoring van de toestand in het datacenter. Aan de basis ligt de captatie van data bij de racks én de reële cooling duty van de koelmachines die zich in het datacenter bevinden. Dit is een belangrijk verschil met traditionele sensoren. Die meten wel de temperatuur in de racks maar niet hoe efficiënt de koelmachines die temperatuur bereiken of hoeveel energie ze daarbij verbruiken. De analyse van de data gebeurt met een AI-engine.

De doorgedreven analyse van de data zorgt voor een heel gedetailleerd zicht op de prestaties en de impact van iedere aparte koelmachine in het datacenter. “Zo kun je de koeling heel nauwkeurig finetunen”, legt Paul Milburn uit. “Wanneer je iets bijstelt aan één toestel, weten we welke impact dat heeft op welke luchtstromen en wat er daardoor verandert voor welke racks.” Tegelijk zorgt de analyse van de data voor een nauwgezette monitoring van wat er in het datacenter gebeurt. “Het is belangrijk iedere kleine afwijking op de normale prestaties op te merken. Zo kun je ingrijpen, lang voor er zich een echt probleem voordoet.” Dat vermijdt downtime en de schade die daarmee samenhangt.

Doorlopende oefening

De nieuwste datacenters – en al zeker die van de grote spelers – zijn over het algemeen ingericht met bijzondere aandacht voor energie-efficiëntie. “Maar lang niet iedereen werkt vandaag in de cloud”, zegt Johan Claes. “Zowat 60 tot 70 procent van alle IT draait op legacy datacenters, waar er veel ruimte blijft voor optimalisering. Dat geldt in het bijzonder voor België. Ons land staat niet bepaald bekend als een grote datacenterhub. Het landschap omvat relatief weinig nieuwbouwprojecten, veel oudere, corporate en colo datacenters en – in vergelijking met andere landen – een vertraagde adoptie van de cloud.” Het zijn net die marktomstandigheden waar EkkoSense op inspeelt. “We zien bij projecten een gemiddelde besparing van dertig procent op de stroomfactuur voor koeling. De terugverdientijd bedraagt doorgaans tien maanden.”

Toepassingen voor monitoring in datacenters bestaan echter al langer. Is dit meer van hetzelfde, overgoten met een AI-saus? “Er is wel degelijk een groot verschil”, stelt Johan Claes. “Vroeger vroeg de optimalisering van het datacenter telkens weer een grote inspanning. Eenmaal de oefening achter de rug, ebde het effect langzaam maar zeker weg.” Vandaag liggen de kaarten anders. “Er is een continue datastroom waar in real time analyse op gebeurt. Dat laat toe om voortdurend bij te sturen en altijd de optimale situatie na te streven.” EkkoSense richt zich op datacenters met een omvang vanaf honderd racks.

DCONGREEN first to distribute EkkoSense platform

EkkoSoft Critical SaaS 3D visualisation software now available in Benelux region

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EkkoSoft Critical SaaS 3D visualisation software now available in Benelux region

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14th August 2020: Benelux-based DCONGREEN, a leader in the provision of sustainability management solutions and consultancy for data centres, is the latest addition to the rapidly-expanding EkkoSense global partner network.

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DCONGREEN is focused on helping organisations to achieve more balance in their data centre ecosystem by implementing a Sustainable Cost of Ownership approach, particularly in relation to their EU 2030 sustainability targets. DCONGREEN has added EkkoSense’s EkkoSoft Critical SaaS 3D visualisation/analytics solution and Critical Things range of sensors to its portfolio of solutions.

The EkkoSoft Critical data center monitoring solution – with its proven record of reducing energy cooling costs by 20% - will be offered to the DCONGREEN client base.

DCONGREEN’s owner Johan Claes said: “EkkoSoft Critical distinguishes itself from traditional DCIM and CFID offerings because it provides organisations with a true real-time visualisation of their data centre’s thermal, capacity and power performance. Its ability to track the impact of any changes on capacity or cooling energy saving, has the potential to unlock significant cooling energy savings – providing an impressive ROI that will be attractive to our customers across the Benelux region. We expect particularly strong interest from organisations with older data centre installations, where the opportunities for performance optimisation will be significant.”

Dean Boyle, CEO of EkkoSense added: “We are obviously delighted to welcome Johan and DCONGREEN to the EkkoSense partner network, and we look forward to growing our presence across both Belgium and the broader Benelux region. Our EkkoSoft Critical solution is already delivering impressive benefits for organisations worldwide, and we have a proven record of helping our customers to reduce their data centre energy cooling costs by some 20%. It will be great to see organisations working with DCONGREEN and taking advantage of our software’s powerful capabilities.”

About EkkoSoft Critical
EkkoSoft Critical enables true real-time M&E Capacity Planning for power, cooling and space - at a fraction of the cost of expensive and complex DCIM solutions. Our powerful advanced software analytics draws on EkkoSoft Critical’s real-time data to help maximise your data centre performance.

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About DCONGREEN:
DCONGREEN assists data centers with their sustainability management and projects. Going from BREEAM environmental assessment consultancy over thermal / energy optimizations and associated cost savings/risk mitigation in legacy data centers to modular, highly energy-efficient new designs & builds.

About EkkoSense:
EkkoSense is an industry leader in the provision of advanced sensing technology, SaaS DCIM-class visualisation & monitoring software and analytics solutions for critical facilities such as data centres. The company is committed to eliminating thermal risk and helping organisations to monitor, manage and maximise their data centre performance.