A survey of data centres by Forbes Insights and Vertiv indicates that not all companies are prepared for our evolving data ecosystem. Just 29 per cent of the 150 business leaders and data centre engineers surveyed say that their facilities are meeting current needs, with only six per cent feeling that data centres were updated in time to meet future demands. The deluge of data that businesses rely on isn’t going to hold its floodgates any time soon, so how can we futureproof our data centres? Here John Young, APAC director at industrial equipment supplier EU Automation, investigates.
With the world’s data set to grow to 175 zettabytes by 2025, data centres will continue to play a central role in the ingestion, computing, storage and management of our information. In the context of this growth, Forbes Insights’ and Vertiv’s survey data is worrying — how can data centre engineers keep pace with our data evolution?
Leaner and greener
Current data centres aren’t renowned for their energy efficiency. Electricity consumption from China’s data centre industry is on track to jump by two thirds over the next five years. By 2023, the sector is projected to consume 267 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity — more than Australia’s total 2018 electricity consumption.
Much of the energy data centres require comes from the need to keep their processors cool, which often uses ambient air-cooling with cold water-recirculation coolers. If data centres are cooled inefficiently, it can lead to high operational costs and unnecessary spending…Click here to find out more.
