Taking data centre efficiencies to the next level.
For many years, as a country with the cheapest electricity in the world, South African businesses did not place the same focus on energy consumption and efficiency as companies situated in other countries. Now, we are finding that local CIOs have to work more closely with facilities managers to understand consumption and close the gap between facilities and business. So says Eben Owen, E&S manager at APC by Schneider Electric, who believes that these two areas, seen as very much separate in the past, are now bleeding together.
“One area under scrutiny for improved energy efficiency is the data centre, which historically fell within the responsibility of the facilities manager,” he explains. “Increasing power densities and rapid changes in IT technology, coupled with growing energy costs and uncertain long-term plans for capacity or density have flagged the data centre as an area of concern from a consumption perspective.
“Add to this the requirement by cloud computing for applications to be available at all times and it becomes clear that now is the time to take data centre efficiencies to the next level.”
Through the use of a solution like Schneider Electric’s StruxureWare for Data Centres, companies can address all aspects of the data centre physical infrastructure needed to maximise availability and efficiency. “This offering empowers data centre managers by giving them access to all the data and tools they need to operate data centres that are more reliable, efficient, productive, safe and green,” says Owen.
“Data centre environments traditionally rely on management tools that require the knowledge and experience of numerous IT and facility professionals leveraging specialised management dashboards to obtain the information they need. StruxureWare for Data Centres provides a toolset from which the data centre manager can access and manage across the domains of the IT room, building electrical power and power quality, facility and data centre cooling and physical security. This management software suite delivers comprehensive, accurate real-time data enabling them to take action based on the complete picture of the data centre.
“By using this type of approach, companies can gain better control over current inventories and dependencies, implement ‘smart monitoring’ for all critical devices and virtualise wherever possible. This will better prepare them to embrace the future of the data centre, where workloads are based on power and cooling requirements, excess server capacity is powered off when not needed and systems are being used as virtual desktops during the day and for batch processing during the night.”
For more information contact Roz Shuping, APC by Schneider Electric, +27 (0)11 254 6400, [email protected], www.apc.com
Buildings in Africa’s urban evolution Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Africa is now an urban continent. How does the continent mobilise to accommodate urban dwellers and maintain and implement critical infrastructure that allows for this expansion? Building management systems provide a tangible solution to optimise resource use, lower operations costs and ultimately contribute to a growing continent that also employs green practices.
Read more...Duct and plant room air quality (PRAQ) sensors Schneider Electric South Africa
Sensors & Transducers
Schneider Electric South Africa offers a comprehensive range of SpaceLogic duct and plant room air quality sensors. These cutting-edge sensors are designed to enhance building air quality and energy efficiency by combining multiple sensing capabilities into a single unit.
Read more...The sensory reaction of the BMS Schneider Electric South Africa
Sensors & Transducers
Today’s building management systems cannot function properly without sensors. Like our senses, they are an integral part of operations that run silently in the background, almost taken for granted.
Read more...Common automation panel for drill rigs
SCADA/HMI
Epiroc has announced the full availability of its common automation panel (CAP) for the RCS-based surface drill rig models, Pit Viper and SmartROC.
Read more...Digitalisation in mining - the advantage you need now Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Digitalisation offers immense and proven benefits such as streamlining operations, reducing error and accelerating workflows. Mining operators today leverage digital technologies to improve efficiency, sustainability and very importantly, safety.
Read more...The shape of water – automating hydropower operations Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Hydropower is undoubtedly one of the building blocks of today’s renewable energy industry and its operations need to be efficient, reliable and sustainable. Automation must therefore form part of today’s modern hydropower operations to improve resource management and enhance reliability.
Read more...What lies beneath – the hidden cost of AI Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
The world is quickly realising that with the rapid advancement in AI there are also caveats. In short, apart from environmental implications, it also has major significant financial ramifications.
Read more...Empowering businesses to prosper as prosumers Schneider Electric South Africa
Electrical Power & Protection
As more businesses adopt renewable energy solutions like rooftop solar and energy storage they become prosumers – both consumers and producers of energy – a trend that presents organisations with a significant opportunity to engage in the bi-directional flow of energy through distributed energy resources.
printer friendly version