Data Centre Energy Efficiency Project of the Year
WINNER
TeleData UK
Battery storage with super low loss transformer and voltage optimisation
Founded in 2007, TeleData is an ISO27001 accredited data centre based in Manchester. It is the only data centre in the UK to offer an on-site NSI Gold Approved BS5979 security centre. TeleData offers colocation, cloud hosting, workplace recovery and data centre services to businesses across the UK.
In October 2019 TeleData invested £1.5 Million in a new battery storage system to enhance energy efficiencies at our facility - a project supported by the Business Growth Hub. The solution enables us to store electricity from the national grid at times of low demand and discharge it during the most beneficial periods, acting as a reserve during peak tariff times. The system also offers integrated variable voltage optimisation to deliver a stabilised voltage, thus boosting the resilience of the facility by improving the shelf life of equipment, while reducing unnecessary energy waste and optimising the incoming power supply.
We are the only colocation provider in the UK to have implemented these technologies.
The system allows us to save a huge amount of energy and carbon emissions, whilst also avoiding consuming energy at peak times (drawing power from the 2MW battery bank rather than the mains) and triad periods (the three half-hour settlement periods of the highest demand on the GB electricity transmission system between November and February).
This technology carries a number of advantages;
- The low loss transformer, with voltage optimisation is proven to save between 8-10% of annually consumed kwhs and therefore carbon emissions. - Customers are insulated against increases in power pricing at the most expensive times of day/year as we can intelligently switch our power source to battery storage during these periods. This saves a huge amount of cost on the annual electricity bill of an intensive user. - Voltage optimisation allows us to regulate voltage at 225v at the transformer level, reducing energy wastage and extending the lifespan of equipment by up to 40%. Eliminating spikes in power delivery also reduces the likelihood of under or over voltage ‘tripping’, meaning more reliability and less outages. - As a power generator, TeleData can participate in Firm Frequency Response (FFR) and as a service provider to the National Grid, can use our approved storage assets to quickly reduce demand or increase generation to help balance the grid and avoid power outages. The current UK power network is becoming increasingly challenging to balance and so this is a huge benefit to the grid.
In line with Manchester’s pledge to reduce CO2 levels by 41% by 2020, it is our mission to provide a sustainable and resilient service to our customers, mitigating against future cost increases to future proof in a turbulent marketplace.
The implementation of this system is an industry first. Data centres have the ideal ‘flat’ and consistent energy load to participate in these types of schemes with the grid, and to take advantage of the cost and energy saving potential that is associated with the system. Data centres traditionally don't like to be the first to implement a particular technology, but if this was implemented on a large scale then all parties would benefit - data centres, customers and of course, the environment.
Customers can state that they host with one of the most energy efficiency conscious providers in the UK and be more comfortable with cost certainty as we take control of the times of day that energy is consumed from the grid.
Our approach to energy efficiency is unrivalled, with power metered at every board and office in the building. We have been working closely with the Business Growth Hub and its consultants to intelligently reduce carbon emissions in all areas, including;
- Cooling consumption; where we have implemented highly intelligent control systems
- Cold aisle containment
- Under-floor cold air channeling to minimise wastage
- Variable fans within condenser units
- Free air cooling systems
- Office space air conditioning controls to minimise wastage out of hours
- Highly efficient cooling pumps
- Cold aisle blanking throughout the facility
and a number of other measures including the controlled raising of temperatures in the cold and warm aisles.
We have, and will continue to, invest in the most efficient solutions at all times, regardless of increased upfront costs.
“When we first started working with Teledata, they were clear in their focus and drive to reduce their environmental impact and make a positive contribution to their bottom line. With electricity usage equivalent to a third of their sales, this was their primary target. Using accurate sub metering data, baseline analysis and support from the Business Growth Hub, they had the knowledge and confidence needed to implement a comprehensive carbon and cost reduction programme. Through the adoption of cutting edge technologies, such as an energy efficient low loss transformer, load shifting through battery technology, and voltage management, Teledata has proven again its ability and willingness to stay ahead of the curve, combining innovative cost effective technologies to reduce its carbon footprint and costs.” Todd Holden, Director for Low Carbon, The Business Growth Hub
Founded in 2007, TeleData is an ISO27001 accredited data centre based in Manchester. It is the only data centre in the UK to offer an on-site NSI Gold Approved BS5979 security centre. TeleData offers colocation, cloud hosting, workplace recovery and data centre services to businesses across the UK.
In October 2019 TeleData invested £1.5 Million in a new battery storage system to enhance energy efficiencies at our facility - a project supported by the Business Growth Hub. The solution enables us to store electricity from the national grid at times of low demand and discharge it during the most beneficial periods, acting as a reserve during peak tariff times. The system also offers integrated variable voltage optimisation to deliver a stabilised voltage, thus boosting the resilience of the facility by improving the shelf life of equipment, while reducing unnecessary energy waste and optimising the incoming power supply.
We are the only colocation provider in the UK to have implemented these technologies.
The system allows us to save a huge amount of energy and carbon emissions, whilst also avoiding consuming energy at peak times (drawing power from the 2MW battery bank rather than the mains) and triad periods (the three half-hour settlement periods of the highest demand on the GB electricity transmission system between November and February).
This technology carries a number of advantages;
- The low loss transformer, with voltage optimisation is proven to save between 8-10% of annually consumed kwhs and therefore carbon emissions. - Customers are insulated against increases in power pricing at the most expensive times of day/year as we can intelligently switch our power source to battery storage during these periods. This saves a huge amount of cost on the annual electricity bill of an intensive user. - Voltage optimisation allows us to regulate voltage at 225v at the transformer level, reducing energy wastage and extending the lifespan of equipment by up to 40%. Eliminating spikes in power delivery also reduces the likelihood of under or over voltage ‘tripping’, meaning more reliability and less outages. - As a power generator, TeleData can participate in Firm Frequency Response (FFR) and as a service provider to the National Grid, can use our approved storage assets to quickly reduce demand or increase generation to help balance the grid and avoid power outages. The current UK power network is becoming increasingly challenging to balance and so this is a huge benefit to the grid.
In line with Manchester’s pledge to reduce CO2 levels by 41% by 2020, it is our mission to provide a sustainable and resilient service to our customers, mitigating against future cost increases to future proof in a turbulent marketplace.
The implementation of this system is an industry first. Data centres have the ideal ‘flat’ and consistent energy load to participate in these types of schemes with the grid, and to take advantage of the cost and energy saving potential that is associated with the system. Data centres traditionally don't like to be the first to implement a particular technology, but if this was implemented on a large scale then all parties would benefit - data centres, customers and of course, the environment.
Customers can state that they host with one of the most energy efficiency conscious providers in the UK and be more comfortable with cost certainty as we take control of the times of day that energy is consumed from the grid.
Our approach to energy efficiency is unrivalled, with power metered at every board and office in the building. We have been working closely with the Business Growth Hub and its consultants to intelligently reduce carbon emissions in all areas, including;
- Cooling consumption; where we have implemented highly intelligent control systems
- Cold aisle containment
- Under-floor cold air channeling to minimise wastage
- Variable fans within condenser units
- Free air cooling systems
- Office space air conditioning controls to minimise wastage out of hours
- Highly efficient cooling pumps
- Cold aisle blanking throughout the facility
and a number of other measures including the controlled raising of temperatures in the cold and warm aisles.
We have, and will continue to, invest in the most efficient solutions at all times, regardless of increased upfront costs.
“When we first started working with Teledata, they were clear in their focus and drive to reduce their environmental impact and make a positive contribution to their bottom line. With electricity usage equivalent to a third of their sales, this was their primary target. Using accurate sub metering data, baseline analysis and support from the Business Growth Hub, they had the knowledge and confidence needed to implement a comprehensive carbon and cost reduction programme. Through the adoption of cutting edge technologies, such as an energy efficient low loss transformer, load shifting through battery technology, and voltage management, Teledata has proven again its ability and willingness to stay ahead of the curve, combining innovative cost effective technologies to reduce its carbon footprint and costs.” Todd Holden, Director for Low Carbon, The Business Growth Hub
RUNNER UP
CBRE
Bedford Data Centre CRAC Unit Replacement
CBRE installed 10 No. VERTIV Econophase PDX downflow CRAC Units to replace 15 No. Conventional DX downflow CRAC units within the data centre along with 2 No. Displacement DX CRAC units with 2 No. Up-flow DX CRAC units within the UPS room. The recorded saving in the first six months (including during the installation) amounted to $60,000.
About the Client:
A Global Client that has 2 Data Centre’s in the UK. They provide professional services to thousands of clients worldwide, offering services backed up by their own CBRE managed data centres. Data centre space is also operated by CBRE with site resiliency levels for data, power and cooling at N + 1.
The Challenge:
The cooling system for their Bedford data centre consisted of 17 No. conventional DX CRAC downflow units that were at the end of their usable life, inefficient, unreliable & in need of replacement. As the data centre had to continue to operate, CBRE’s challenge was to replace the CRAC units without causing any hot spots or downtime whilst ensuring an N + 1 cooling resiliency throughout the works. What’s more, the client wanted to utilise free cooling to reduce carbon generation and energy usage. Due to the existing installation, space available and site, the data centre design was limited to a downflow CRAC unit type solution. The additional 2 No. CRAC units replaced were located within the UPS room, where the original down-flow units were not an ideal solution to cool the UPS units within the space they occupied.
The Solution:
The CBRE project team consulted a cooling and installation specialist and together with the client’s design consultant, designed an N + 1 resilient solution that offered the following:
- 10 No. free cooling VERTIV ECONOPHASE DX downflow CRAC units within the data centre (no chilled water is utilised in this free cooling solution)
- 2 No. VERTIV DX displacement CRAC units within the UPS room
All the above units were installed in a carefully planned and phased program over a period of 4 months. Most of the time, only 1 CRAC unit at time could be replaced to ensure the site upheld an N + 1 cooling resiliency. Replacing the CRAC units was made more challenging due to the arrangement of the external condensing units, meaning only certain units could be replaced in a certain order as a result of the external condensing units needing to operate to maintain the cooling resiliency. At times, the existing units needed to be relocated and reconnected to ensure they were operational as the new units local to area were replaced. 2 No. of the original 17 No. CRAC units located within the data centre were relatively new and were thus retained but left in standby should they be required at any point in the future. All of the units within the data centre now operate as a team, maintaining a constant under floor temperature and pressure as linked to the fire, BMS and Ekkosense monitoring system. This solution in partnership with VERTIV and Ekkosense, allows full control of every units as well as critically every rack’s inlet temperature. The 100% DX based free cooling system offers 100% free cooling for at least 8 months of the year, with an additional couple months of the year in part free cooling / part DX mode, with the remaining 2 months of the year, reverting to full DX mode due to external temperatures reaching a point where ambient temperatures do not allow condensing units to condense the refrigerant. As a result of the Ekkosense system, the CBRE site team were able to simulate the effect of switching individual CRAC units off before the works began, thus allowing the team to ensure the data centre would not suffer any hotspots and maintain the required cooling resiliency. The 2 No. displacement CRAC units in the UPS room additionally offer reduced energy usage due to their EC fans that operate at 25% of full capacity as a team, with only 1 No. of the 2 No. units' compressors cooling the space at part load, usually 50%, as and when temperatures require.
The Result:
The project was delivered on time, within budget & without any disruptions to service. An N + 1 cooling resiliency has been maintained, and along with its free cooling system, additional energy savings in EC fans, teamwork and close control of supply temperature and pressure amount to around 45% in energy savings. Full energy savings have not been realised yet as the completed installation has not reached a full year since final commissioning.
CBRE installed 10 No. VERTIV Econophase PDX downflow CRAC Units to replace 15 No. Conventional DX downflow CRAC units within the data centre along with 2 No. Displacement DX CRAC units with 2 No. Up-flow DX CRAC units within the UPS room. The recorded saving in the first six months (including during the installation) amounted to $60,000.
About the Client:
A Global Client that has 2 Data Centre’s in the UK. They provide professional services to thousands of clients worldwide, offering services backed up by their own CBRE managed data centres. Data centre space is also operated by CBRE with site resiliency levels for data, power and cooling at N + 1.
The Challenge:
The cooling system for their Bedford data centre consisted of 17 No. conventional DX CRAC downflow units that were at the end of their usable life, inefficient, unreliable & in need of replacement. As the data centre had to continue to operate, CBRE’s challenge was to replace the CRAC units without causing any hot spots or downtime whilst ensuring an N + 1 cooling resiliency throughout the works. What’s more, the client wanted to utilise free cooling to reduce carbon generation and energy usage. Due to the existing installation, space available and site, the data centre design was limited to a downflow CRAC unit type solution. The additional 2 No. CRAC units replaced were located within the UPS room, where the original down-flow units were not an ideal solution to cool the UPS units within the space they occupied.
The Solution:
The CBRE project team consulted a cooling and installation specialist and together with the client’s design consultant, designed an N + 1 resilient solution that offered the following:
- 10 No. free cooling VERTIV ECONOPHASE DX downflow CRAC units within the data centre (no chilled water is utilised in this free cooling solution)
- 2 No. VERTIV DX displacement CRAC units within the UPS room
All the above units were installed in a carefully planned and phased program over a period of 4 months. Most of the time, only 1 CRAC unit at time could be replaced to ensure the site upheld an N + 1 cooling resiliency. Replacing the CRAC units was made more challenging due to the arrangement of the external condensing units, meaning only certain units could be replaced in a certain order as a result of the external condensing units needing to operate to maintain the cooling resiliency. At times, the existing units needed to be relocated and reconnected to ensure they were operational as the new units local to area were replaced. 2 No. of the original 17 No. CRAC units located within the data centre were relatively new and were thus retained but left in standby should they be required at any point in the future. All of the units within the data centre now operate as a team, maintaining a constant under floor temperature and pressure as linked to the fire, BMS and Ekkosense monitoring system. This solution in partnership with VERTIV and Ekkosense, allows full control of every units as well as critically every rack’s inlet temperature. The 100% DX based free cooling system offers 100% free cooling for at least 8 months of the year, with an additional couple months of the year in part free cooling / part DX mode, with the remaining 2 months of the year, reverting to full DX mode due to external temperatures reaching a point where ambient temperatures do not allow condensing units to condense the refrigerant. As a result of the Ekkosense system, the CBRE site team were able to simulate the effect of switching individual CRAC units off before the works began, thus allowing the team to ensure the data centre would not suffer any hotspots and maintain the required cooling resiliency. The 2 No. displacement CRAC units in the UPS room additionally offer reduced energy usage due to their EC fans that operate at 25% of full capacity as a team, with only 1 No. of the 2 No. units' compressors cooling the space at part load, usually 50%, as and when temperatures require.
The Result:
The project was delivered on time, within budget & without any disruptions to service. An N + 1 cooling resiliency has been maintained, and along with its free cooling system, additional energy savings in EC fans, teamwork and close control of supply temperature and pressure amount to around 45% in energy savings. Full energy savings have not been realised yet as the completed installation has not reached a full year since final commissioning.
New Design/Build Data Centre Project of the Year
WINNER
Batelco (Bahrain Telecommunications Company)
Batelco Hamala Prefabricated Modular Data Center project
The growth of traditional telecom services of the customer slowed down, and Batelco was seeking transformation in terms of operation strategies. After strategic decision-making, Batelco decided to focus on digital transformation and invest in data centers to provide leasing services for governments, OTT players, colo companies, and potential customers. Batelco had received the tenant's leasing requirements, and the tenant needed to complete service rollout within 16 months. The cabinet usage of the existing data center of Batelco was almost saturated. Batelco was in urgent need of a new data center. Batelco faced the following challenges when building a new data center:
1. Capital pressure
According to the service plan, it is estimated that more than 1000 cabinets are required. One-time deployment will bring financial pressure to Batelco. After the deployment, a low rental rate will result in asset waste and unsatisfactory return on investment.
2. Construction Mode
The construction period of traditional buildings is longer than 32 months, which cannot meet tenants' requirements. At the same time, one-time deployment of buildings at the initial stage imposes great financial pressure.
The container solution has a simple appearance, poor quality, and poor physical protection capabilities, which will make it difficult to attract high-end customers in the future.
3. High PUE of existing data centers
The PUE of most existing data centers is greater than 2.0, resulting in high power consumption and huge electricity fees.
However, the tenant is ready. If services cannot be brought online in time, Batelco may turn to competitors.
Batelco is in urgent need of an innovative construction solution that features low investment, fast deployment, high reliability and good appearance, and low PUE.
•How did the solution address the challenges and were there any particularly innovative aspects that made it stand out?:
Huawei prefabricated data center uses prefabricated steel building modules as the platform to carry subsystems such as the power supply and distribution system, cooling system, and management system. The prefabricated modules are the basic units to deploy the data center. All pre-fab. modules are prefabricated and pre-tested in the factory. Only simple assembling is required onsite to complete the construction of the pre-fab. modular steel structure data center.
Huawei prefabricated modular data center has the following advantages:
1. Supports phased deployment, flexible capacity expansion, and reduced initial investment.
2. Compared with the traditional building construction mode, pre-fab. modular DC effectively reduces the E2E delivery time by more than 50%.
3. The 4.15 m high modules and external decorations are used to provide an excellent visual appearance and internal use experience for the prefabricated steel structure data center.
4. With efficient power supply and distribution system, cooling solution, architecture design, and AI technology, the PUE of the new data center is much lower than that of the existing data center.
•What major challenges were faced during the project and how were they overcome?: Bahrain Batelco DC project is the first application of Huawei pre-fab. modular DC in this region.
1. Strict government approval and local admission checks for electricity and fire protection.
The project team quickly demonstrated the complete and reliable certification system and excellent quality of the product, and quickly obtained the admission recognition.
2. Difficult delivery in high-temperature and sandstorm conditions
Use the digital tool BIM to assist delivery and improve delivery efficiency.
•What tangible benefits has the organization seen as a result of the project's implementation? Huawei prefabricated modular data center reduces the CAPEX by 10% compared with the traditional data center. The end-to-end delivery time is 14 months, and services are rolled out 18 months in advance, meeting tenants' service rollout requirements and bringing benefits in advance. The PUE is 1.7 and the PUE of existing data centers is 2.1, reducing power consumption by 24%. In addition, Huawei's efficient digital intelligent management system is used to improve O&M efficiency and asset utilization, increasing revenue by millions of dollars in 10 years. According to the overall project estimation, the project ROI of Huawei prefabricated modular data center is two years earlier than that of the traditional data center.
The growth of traditional telecom services of the customer slowed down, and Batelco was seeking transformation in terms of operation strategies. After strategic decision-making, Batelco decided to focus on digital transformation and invest in data centers to provide leasing services for governments, OTT players, colo companies, and potential customers. Batelco had received the tenant's leasing requirements, and the tenant needed to complete service rollout within 16 months. The cabinet usage of the existing data center of Batelco was almost saturated. Batelco was in urgent need of a new data center. Batelco faced the following challenges when building a new data center:
1. Capital pressure
According to the service plan, it is estimated that more than 1000 cabinets are required. One-time deployment will bring financial pressure to Batelco. After the deployment, a low rental rate will result in asset waste and unsatisfactory return on investment.
2. Construction Mode
The construction period of traditional buildings is longer than 32 months, which cannot meet tenants' requirements. At the same time, one-time deployment of buildings at the initial stage imposes great financial pressure.
The container solution has a simple appearance, poor quality, and poor physical protection capabilities, which will make it difficult to attract high-end customers in the future.
3. High PUE of existing data centers
The PUE of most existing data centers is greater than 2.0, resulting in high power consumption and huge electricity fees.
However, the tenant is ready. If services cannot be brought online in time, Batelco may turn to competitors.
Batelco is in urgent need of an innovative construction solution that features low investment, fast deployment, high reliability and good appearance, and low PUE.
•How did the solution address the challenges and were there any particularly innovative aspects that made it stand out?:
Huawei prefabricated data center uses prefabricated steel building modules as the platform to carry subsystems such as the power supply and distribution system, cooling system, and management system. The prefabricated modules are the basic units to deploy the data center. All pre-fab. modules are prefabricated and pre-tested in the factory. Only simple assembling is required onsite to complete the construction of the pre-fab. modular steel structure data center.
Huawei prefabricated modular data center has the following advantages:
1. Supports phased deployment, flexible capacity expansion, and reduced initial investment.
2. Compared with the traditional building construction mode, pre-fab. modular DC effectively reduces the E2E delivery time by more than 50%.
3. The 4.15 m high modules and external decorations are used to provide an excellent visual appearance and internal use experience for the prefabricated steel structure data center.
4. With efficient power supply and distribution system, cooling solution, architecture design, and AI technology, the PUE of the new data center is much lower than that of the existing data center.
•What major challenges were faced during the project and how were they overcome?: Bahrain Batelco DC project is the first application of Huawei pre-fab. modular DC in this region.
1. Strict government approval and local admission checks for electricity and fire protection.
The project team quickly demonstrated the complete and reliable certification system and excellent quality of the product, and quickly obtained the admission recognition.
2. Difficult delivery in high-temperature and sandstorm conditions
Use the digital tool BIM to assist delivery and improve delivery efficiency.
•What tangible benefits has the organization seen as a result of the project's implementation? Huawei prefabricated modular data center reduces the CAPEX by 10% compared with the traditional data center. The end-to-end delivery time is 14 months, and services are rolled out 18 months in advance, meeting tenants' service rollout requirements and bringing benefits in advance. The PUE is 1.7 and the PUE of existing data centers is 2.1, reducing power consumption by 24%. In addition, Huawei's efficient digital intelligent management system is used to improve O&M efficiency and asset utilization, increasing revenue by millions of dollars in 10 years. According to the overall project estimation, the project ROI of Huawei prefabricated modular data center is two years earlier than that of the traditional data center.
RUNNER UP
Green Mountain
HPC Data Centre for Volkswagen Group at Rjukan
Green Mountain expanded in 2019 the capacity at our colocation data centre at Rjukan, Norway. A new building with two data halls with a total capacity of 2,75MW were designed specifically for the Volkswagen Group in order to support their High-Performance Computing operation needs. The data centre expansion runs entirely on renewable hydroelectric power, and the wet and cold climate combined with high-tech cooling solutions, also makes it extremely energy efficient. To meet a strict construction deadline, the data center was built using prefabricated modules, reducing deployment time by 50 % to only 6 months. Access to low-cost renewable power, Norway’s beneficial framework conditions and Green Mountain’s ability to speedily deliver high quality data centres, were decisive factors for Volkswagen to choose this colocation site.
The client, Volkswagen Group, needed additional computing capacity for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and AUDI brands for their high-performance computing solution, on which computer-intensive vehicle development projects are processed. These include the simulation of crash tests and virtual wind tunnel tests. Volkswagen focuses on economic and ecological factors in their data centres and required a climate neutral, but at the same time cost-effective data centre. In addition, time to market was an important decisive factor. The contract was signed in September 2018, with the construction phase starting October 1st. By the middle of January 2019, the first of a total of 12 prefabricated modules were delivered. On April 1st the buildings were “Ready for Service”, exactly 6 months after the start of construction.
Green Mountain already runs all our facilities on renewable hydropower and in the valley of Rjukan there is abundant supply. The main concern was therefore how to design, engineer, test and install according to timeline and budget.
The solution was to partner with Schneider Electric, using their prefabricated EcoStruxure Modular Data Center infrastructure. While the site was prepared at Rjukan, the IT modules, cooling units and the power modules were assembled at the factory before they were shipped and installed at the site. The use of pre-engineered designs and factory assembled and tested infrastructure, dramatically reduced the total project timeline and complexity. It minimized construction cost overruns and changes to the original engineering design.
The most innovative aspect of the project was making the most of the benefits of prefabricated modules without compromising customer demands regarding cost, time and sustainability. The use of indirect adiabatic cooling in combination with a self-developed automation system secured an ultra-efficient data centre. During testing with full load, the PUE was recorded to 1.05. The resilience in the local grid gave us an opportunity to design the facility without emergency generators for the IT-load. Measurements from the last 10 years shows the longest grid outage to be less than one minute. The design is made with UPSs using lithium Ion batteries supplying the IT load. In order to achieve continuous cooling during a short power outage the cooling solution is secured with emergency generators.
Our choices regarding design and methodology makes it the perfect HPC project – fulfilling the service level agreement (SLA) without oversizing the design. Managing the right risk level and focusing on costs and carbon footprint - resulting in both a greener and more cost-effective solution.
Representatives of the Volkswagen Group were also strongly involved in the process, as they have an extensive experience in building data centres themselves. Close communication and a technically competent customer made the project run smoothly as they knew exactly how they wanted the data centre.
This data centre design is based on our strategy to attract more HPC clients at this location and we are currently in dialogue with several other clients where we plan to use the same design.
In the words of Green Mountain CEO, Tor Kristian Gyland: “We are extremely proud of the vote of confidence from the Volkswagen Group, and I am truly satisfied with the effort from everyone involved in this project – both internal employees and external partners. We believe this project sets an example of the “Norwegian value proposition” that can attract more international clients to Norway.”
Also see video from Volkswagen Group regarding the data centre: https://youtu.be/Z_UARbEOa00
Green Mountain expanded in 2019 the capacity at our colocation data centre at Rjukan, Norway. A new building with two data halls with a total capacity of 2,75MW were designed specifically for the Volkswagen Group in order to support their High-Performance Computing operation needs. The data centre expansion runs entirely on renewable hydroelectric power, and the wet and cold climate combined with high-tech cooling solutions, also makes it extremely energy efficient. To meet a strict construction deadline, the data center was built using prefabricated modules, reducing deployment time by 50 % to only 6 months. Access to low-cost renewable power, Norway’s beneficial framework conditions and Green Mountain’s ability to speedily deliver high quality data centres, were decisive factors for Volkswagen to choose this colocation site.
The client, Volkswagen Group, needed additional computing capacity for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and AUDI brands for their high-performance computing solution, on which computer-intensive vehicle development projects are processed. These include the simulation of crash tests and virtual wind tunnel tests. Volkswagen focuses on economic and ecological factors in their data centres and required a climate neutral, but at the same time cost-effective data centre. In addition, time to market was an important decisive factor. The contract was signed in September 2018, with the construction phase starting October 1st. By the middle of January 2019, the first of a total of 12 prefabricated modules were delivered. On April 1st the buildings were “Ready for Service”, exactly 6 months after the start of construction.
Green Mountain already runs all our facilities on renewable hydropower and in the valley of Rjukan there is abundant supply. The main concern was therefore how to design, engineer, test and install according to timeline and budget.
The solution was to partner with Schneider Electric, using their prefabricated EcoStruxure Modular Data Center infrastructure. While the site was prepared at Rjukan, the IT modules, cooling units and the power modules were assembled at the factory before they were shipped and installed at the site. The use of pre-engineered designs and factory assembled and tested infrastructure, dramatically reduced the total project timeline and complexity. It minimized construction cost overruns and changes to the original engineering design.
The most innovative aspect of the project was making the most of the benefits of prefabricated modules without compromising customer demands regarding cost, time and sustainability. The use of indirect adiabatic cooling in combination with a self-developed automation system secured an ultra-efficient data centre. During testing with full load, the PUE was recorded to 1.05. The resilience in the local grid gave us an opportunity to design the facility without emergency generators for the IT-load. Measurements from the last 10 years shows the longest grid outage to be less than one minute. The design is made with UPSs using lithium Ion batteries supplying the IT load. In order to achieve continuous cooling during a short power outage the cooling solution is secured with emergency generators.
Our choices regarding design and methodology makes it the perfect HPC project – fulfilling the service level agreement (SLA) without oversizing the design. Managing the right risk level and focusing on costs and carbon footprint - resulting in both a greener and more cost-effective solution.
Representatives of the Volkswagen Group were also strongly involved in the process, as they have an extensive experience in building data centres themselves. Close communication and a technically competent customer made the project run smoothly as they knew exactly how they wanted the data centre.
This data centre design is based on our strategy to attract more HPC clients at this location and we are currently in dialogue with several other clients where we plan to use the same design.
In the words of Green Mountain CEO, Tor Kristian Gyland: “We are extremely proud of the vote of confidence from the Volkswagen Group, and I am truly satisfied with the effort from everyone involved in this project – both internal employees and external partners. We believe this project sets an example of the “Norwegian value proposition” that can attract more international clients to Norway.”
Also see video from Volkswagen Group regarding the data centre: https://youtu.be/Z_UARbEOa00
Data Centre Consolidation/Upgrade/Refresh Project of the Year
WINNER
Power Control
Power Control helps Amito reach a PUE of 1.2 and reduce the data centres CO2 by 109,062kg within a year
All data centre operators endeavour to achieve a PUE ratio as near to 1.0 as possible. This is being achieved through a wide range of energy saving methods. It is important to note, that whilst a 1.0 PUE ratio is achievable for new build data centres, older facilities are finding it more challenging. Often it is not financially viable to safely upgrade equipment purely to achieve greater efficiencies.
Despite these challenges, Amito, the largest co-location datacentre along the M4, which was built from the ground up in 2012, can also boast leading efficiencies and PUE ratio. Ambitious from the start, Amito opened its doors with 6.4MVA and a 1000 rack footprint capable of supporting rack power densities up to 35kW with separate A+B power supplies. Focussed on resilience first, Amito continues to see rapid growth, which has allowed it to invest in improvements to its infrastructure and ultimately achieve leading PUE goals.
Power Control Ltd has played an instrumental part in helping Amito realise significant efficiency gains by presenting a modular UPS (uninterruptible power supply) solution as an alternative to Amito’s transformer based UPS.
Transformer based UPS have their place but due to their component structure are less efficient than transformer free and modular technologies therefore, maximising their efficiency is more challenging. Transformer based UPS can also limit scalability and inherently lead to inefficiencies, in particular in 2N configurations where the load is often not large enough. Loads within data centres fluctuate and this needs to be accounted for within any power protection strategy.
With UPS systems being major contributors to PUE ratings, modular technologies must be considered. Advances in modular UPS technology not only means they provide greater operational flexibility and are more efficient but modern technologies have also proven their resilience.
UPS systems are major contributors to PUE ratings and following a site survey and operational assessment, Power Control confidently presented the modular Huawei UPS5000-S solution as a direct swap out for the legacy transformer based units.
In total eight 400kVA transformer based UPS systems have been replaced with eight high efficiency 400kVA Huawei UPS5000-S modular UPS systems in a 2N configuration (the same as previous).
This direct swap out and upgrade has contributed to reducing the data centre’s CO2 by 109,062Kg within a year and reduced the PUE to 1.2, driving power and business continuity for client IT networks.
Prior to the upgrade, Amito’s power infrastructure did not allow for scalability. Standalone UPS are usually fixed capacity meaning they are based on day 1 capacity and leading to an over or under sized UPS in the future.
The 2N configuration means each UPS is running at a lower load, the UPS 5000-s can reach 96.5% efficiency at 20% load, and 97.1% efficiency at 40% load. Power Control specified the set up to achieve optimum efficiency whilst still ensuring the reliability of a 2N configuration.
Amito is now able to future proof UPS capacity, with the ability to scale up and meet increased load demands as and when required. The recently adopted modular formation also enables Amito to achieve peak UPS efficiency of 96% at all times in online mode and to achieve zero downtime with minimal risk when expanding the UPS and battery capacity.
A reduced TCO (total cost of ownership) has also been achieved thanks to the high efficiency and long 15-year design life of the DC capacitors. Furthermore, the Amito has benefited from reduced capital expenditure by only installing the number of modules needed to meet the initial load requirement. Each of the eight modular UPS systems can be flexibly expanded up to 800kVA. Amito now has a reliable power infrastructure that expands with business growth and eliminate single points of failure.
All data centre operators endeavour to achieve a PUE ratio as near to 1.0 as possible. This is being achieved through a wide range of energy saving methods. It is important to note, that whilst a 1.0 PUE ratio is achievable for new build data centres, older facilities are finding it more challenging. Often it is not financially viable to safely upgrade equipment purely to achieve greater efficiencies.
Despite these challenges, Amito, the largest co-location datacentre along the M4, which was built from the ground up in 2012, can also boast leading efficiencies and PUE ratio. Ambitious from the start, Amito opened its doors with 6.4MVA and a 1000 rack footprint capable of supporting rack power densities up to 35kW with separate A+B power supplies. Focussed on resilience first, Amito continues to see rapid growth, which has allowed it to invest in improvements to its infrastructure and ultimately achieve leading PUE goals.
Power Control Ltd has played an instrumental part in helping Amito realise significant efficiency gains by presenting a modular UPS (uninterruptible power supply) solution as an alternative to Amito’s transformer based UPS.
Transformer based UPS have their place but due to their component structure are less efficient than transformer free and modular technologies therefore, maximising their efficiency is more challenging. Transformer based UPS can also limit scalability and inherently lead to inefficiencies, in particular in 2N configurations where the load is often not large enough. Loads within data centres fluctuate and this needs to be accounted for within any power protection strategy.
With UPS systems being major contributors to PUE ratings, modular technologies must be considered. Advances in modular UPS technology not only means they provide greater operational flexibility and are more efficient but modern technologies have also proven their resilience.
UPS systems are major contributors to PUE ratings and following a site survey and operational assessment, Power Control confidently presented the modular Huawei UPS5000-S solution as a direct swap out for the legacy transformer based units.
In total eight 400kVA transformer based UPS systems have been replaced with eight high efficiency 400kVA Huawei UPS5000-S modular UPS systems in a 2N configuration (the same as previous).
This direct swap out and upgrade has contributed to reducing the data centre’s CO2 by 109,062Kg within a year and reduced the PUE to 1.2, driving power and business continuity for client IT networks.
Prior to the upgrade, Amito’s power infrastructure did not allow for scalability. Standalone UPS are usually fixed capacity meaning they are based on day 1 capacity and leading to an over or under sized UPS in the future.
The 2N configuration means each UPS is running at a lower load, the UPS 5000-s can reach 96.5% efficiency at 20% load, and 97.1% efficiency at 40% load. Power Control specified the set up to achieve optimum efficiency whilst still ensuring the reliability of a 2N configuration.
Amito is now able to future proof UPS capacity, with the ability to scale up and meet increased load demands as and when required. The recently adopted modular formation also enables Amito to achieve peak UPS efficiency of 96% at all times in online mode and to achieve zero downtime with minimal risk when expanding the UPS and battery capacity.
A reduced TCO (total cost of ownership) has also been achieved thanks to the high efficiency and long 15-year design life of the DC capacitors. Furthermore, the Amito has benefited from reduced capital expenditure by only installing the number of modules needed to meet the initial load requirement. Each of the eight modular UPS systems can be flexibly expanded up to 800kVA. Amito now has a reliable power infrastructure that expands with business growth and eliminate single points of failure.
RUNNER UP
IDAC Solutions
New Network Installation for Hyperion
When specifying the network infrastructure for its new offices in Creechurch Place, London, Hyperion decided on a high performance cabling solution from Datwyler. Cordless Consultants worked with ExcelRedstone, (Datwyler certified Installers) and iDaC Solutions (the exclusive source of Datwyler products in the UK&I), to deliver the project.
INSURING THEIR SPECIALIST CAPABILITIES
Hyperion are one of the world’s leading insurance intermediary group with over 3800 employees across Europe, the Middle East Asia Pacific and the Americas.When specifying the network infrastructure for its new offices in Creechurch Place, London, Hyperion decided on a high performance cabling solution from Datywyler. Cordless Consultants worked with ExcelRedstone, (Datwyler certified Installers) and iDaC Solutions (the exclusive source of Datwyler products in the UK&I), to deliver the project.
Work started in September 2018 and approximately 9000 Cat6A copper links were installed across 8 floors (5785 outlets and 3317 harness links), as well as an OM4 fibre backbone.Datwyler’s angled panels were used on the project, as they offered superior patch lead management without the need for additional cable management panels (which add cost & reduce rack density) - see main picture.
Excelredstone used velcro ties and cable tray ‘waterfall’ fittings to prevent kinks in the cable, ensuring the integrity of the high performance cabling system was maintained.
Paul Hunter, Technical Director at iDaCs, visited site several times as part of the Datwyler System warranty certification process; initially to ensure engineers were trained & familiar with the product, then after to check progress and offer guidance. Paul also visited site towards the end of the project to witness test and inspect the final installation.
On completion in December 2018, installers ExcelRedstone submitted their test results for warranty certification. They were checked and processed by iDaCs on behalf of Datwyler and the site was certified in January 2019.
As an eligible Datwyler warrantied site, Hyperion will be offered a free MoT review 3 years from the initial installation certification, then every 4 years until the warranty expires, as part of the exclusive iDaCs Network ‘MoT’.
When specifying the network infrastructure for its new offices in Creechurch Place, London, Hyperion decided on a high performance cabling solution from Datwyler. Cordless Consultants worked with ExcelRedstone, (Datwyler certified Installers) and iDaC Solutions (the exclusive source of Datwyler products in the UK&I), to deliver the project.
INSURING THEIR SPECIALIST CAPABILITIES
Hyperion are one of the world’s leading insurance intermediary group with over 3800 employees across Europe, the Middle East Asia Pacific and the Americas.When specifying the network infrastructure for its new offices in Creechurch Place, London, Hyperion decided on a high performance cabling solution from Datywyler. Cordless Consultants worked with ExcelRedstone, (Datwyler certified Installers) and iDaC Solutions (the exclusive source of Datwyler products in the UK&I), to deliver the project.
Work started in September 2018 and approximately 9000 Cat6A copper links were installed across 8 floors (5785 outlets and 3317 harness links), as well as an OM4 fibre backbone.Datwyler’s angled panels were used on the project, as they offered superior patch lead management without the need for additional cable management panels (which add cost & reduce rack density) - see main picture.
Excelredstone used velcro ties and cable tray ‘waterfall’ fittings to prevent kinks in the cable, ensuring the integrity of the high performance cabling system was maintained.
Paul Hunter, Technical Director at iDaCs, visited site several times as part of the Datwyler System warranty certification process; initially to ensure engineers were trained & familiar with the product, then after to check progress and offer guidance. Paul also visited site towards the end of the project to witness test and inspect the final installation.
On completion in December 2018, installers ExcelRedstone submitted their test results for warranty certification. They were checked and processed by iDaCs on behalf of Datwyler and the site was certified in January 2019.
As an eligible Datwyler warrantied site, Hyperion will be offered a free MoT review 3 years from the initial installation certification, then every 4 years until the warranty expires, as part of the exclusive iDaCs Network ‘MoT’.
Cloud Project of the Year
WINNER
Friedhelm Loh Group
Friedhelm Loh Group is an industrial partner to the Gaia-X programme
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy unveiled Gaia-X at the Digital Summit 2019 on 29 October in Dortmund. The goal of this large-scale project is to strengthen the competitiveness of European industry on international markets. At its core is the establishment of a secure cloud – for digital transformation and connectivity, and as the launch-pad for new AI (artificial intelligence) applications. Partners include the Friedhelm Loh Group, a leading example of Germany’s Mittelstand with global operations. Owner and CEO, Prof. Friedhelm Loh had a key role in launching the Gaia-X project.
Automotive OEMs have called on their suppliers to make data available across the entire supply chain – the first industry to make this move. At VW, this digital information will be provisioned via Amazon Web Services, at BMW via Microsoft Azure. For suppliers, this means an element of risk, and the urgent need to act. They do not want to endanger their position as suppliers, but wish to retain control over their production data, and therefore their proprietary knowledge, which is distributed across a total of 100,000 factories. In this context, a central question will be: Who does the data belong to? This issue of data ownership and control will be critical to success on competitive international markets.
To strengthen the position of European industry and to promote solutions that address the corresponding challenges, Federal Minister Peter Altmaier today officially launched the Gaia-X project. This aims to establish a large number of small, geographically dispersed edge data centres with open cloud connectivity that will enable a new class of industrial applications. The project was presented at the Data Summit, hosted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Dortmund.
Data control, real-time capabilities and edge computing
“In talks held with the Federal Ministry, the Friedhelm Loh Group sought to shape Gaia-X from the perspective of the company itself and of industry as a whole. Our objective was to open up edge and cloud computing to mid-size industrial players and to prepare the ground for its deployment,” stated Prof. Friedhelm Loh, Owner and CEO of the Friedhelm Loh Group: “Through our customers and our own factories, we have learned what is important to mid-size enterprises: control over their data, real-time capabilities and integration with existing cloud solutions. We contributed these insights to the Gaia-X project.”
The group has gained an understanding of real-world requirements as a result of hands-on experience with the implementation of the digitally integrated Rittal plant in Haiger. “Because there was not a suitable answer to our specific imperatives, we worked with start-ups German Edge Cloud and IoTOS – the youngest member of the Friedhelm Loh Group – and with Bosch Connected Industry to develop a solution.” ONCITE is the first turn-key AI-based edge cloud data centre for the secure, real-time processing and intelligent analysis of data captured in manufacturing environments. “The result is a solution for German industry made by German industry – in collaboration with expert partners such as Fraunhofer, IT and AI specialists and other companies,” emphasised Prof. Loh.
“Gaia-X has to be a success”
Following a speech by Anja Karliczek, Federal Minister of Education and Research, as well as participants in the Industry 4.0 platform, Prof. Loh took the opportunity to explain the viewpoint of Germany’s Mittelstand: "If we have control over our data, real-time processing, and edge computing, then we will succeed in putting Industry 4.0 on an entirely new footing, and to implement value chains that truly work, enabling competitiveness.” Prof. Loh stated that data ownership, i.e. decision-making control both in-house and within the network, is one of the key issues. The entrepreneur underlined: “We are not working against public and private cloud providers; we are seeking to reconcile the pursuit of our own solutions with the existing cloud offerings in a way that gives us decision-making control.”
Prof. Dr Loh appealed to the German federal government: “Industry needs the support of the state and vice versa.” He suggested that there had been enough talk about Gaia-X. “We need to get down to action. We need to establish examples in German industry. Gaia-X has to be a success. We’ll do it, and we can – with everyone’s support.”
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy unveiled Gaia-X at the Digital Summit 2019 on 29 October in Dortmund. The goal of this large-scale project is to strengthen the competitiveness of European industry on international markets. At its core is the establishment of a secure cloud – for digital transformation and connectivity, and as the launch-pad for new AI (artificial intelligence) applications. Partners include the Friedhelm Loh Group, a leading example of Germany’s Mittelstand with global operations. Owner and CEO, Prof. Friedhelm Loh had a key role in launching the Gaia-X project.
Automotive OEMs have called on their suppliers to make data available across the entire supply chain – the first industry to make this move. At VW, this digital information will be provisioned via Amazon Web Services, at BMW via Microsoft Azure. For suppliers, this means an element of risk, and the urgent need to act. They do not want to endanger their position as suppliers, but wish to retain control over their production data, and therefore their proprietary knowledge, which is distributed across a total of 100,000 factories. In this context, a central question will be: Who does the data belong to? This issue of data ownership and control will be critical to success on competitive international markets.
To strengthen the position of European industry and to promote solutions that address the corresponding challenges, Federal Minister Peter Altmaier today officially launched the Gaia-X project. This aims to establish a large number of small, geographically dispersed edge data centres with open cloud connectivity that will enable a new class of industrial applications. The project was presented at the Data Summit, hosted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Dortmund.
Data control, real-time capabilities and edge computing
“In talks held with the Federal Ministry, the Friedhelm Loh Group sought to shape Gaia-X from the perspective of the company itself and of industry as a whole. Our objective was to open up edge and cloud computing to mid-size industrial players and to prepare the ground for its deployment,” stated Prof. Friedhelm Loh, Owner and CEO of the Friedhelm Loh Group: “Through our customers and our own factories, we have learned what is important to mid-size enterprises: control over their data, real-time capabilities and integration with existing cloud solutions. We contributed these insights to the Gaia-X project.”
The group has gained an understanding of real-world requirements as a result of hands-on experience with the implementation of the digitally integrated Rittal plant in Haiger. “Because there was not a suitable answer to our specific imperatives, we worked with start-ups German Edge Cloud and IoTOS – the youngest member of the Friedhelm Loh Group – and with Bosch Connected Industry to develop a solution.” ONCITE is the first turn-key AI-based edge cloud data centre for the secure, real-time processing and intelligent analysis of data captured in manufacturing environments. “The result is a solution for German industry made by German industry – in collaboration with expert partners such as Fraunhofer, IT and AI specialists and other companies,” emphasised Prof. Loh.
“Gaia-X has to be a success”
Following a speech by Anja Karliczek, Federal Minister of Education and Research, as well as participants in the Industry 4.0 platform, Prof. Loh took the opportunity to explain the viewpoint of Germany’s Mittelstand: "If we have control over our data, real-time processing, and edge computing, then we will succeed in putting Industry 4.0 on an entirely new footing, and to implement value chains that truly work, enabling competitiveness.” Prof. Loh stated that data ownership, i.e. decision-making control both in-house and within the network, is one of the key issues. The entrepreneur underlined: “We are not working against public and private cloud providers; we are seeking to reconcile the pursuit of our own solutions with the existing cloud offerings in a way that gives us decision-making control.”
Prof. Dr Loh appealed to the German federal government: “Industry needs the support of the state and vice versa.” He suggested that there had been enough talk about Gaia-X. “We need to get down to action. We need to establish examples in German industry. Gaia-X has to be a success. We’ll do it, and we can – with everyone’s support.”
RUNNER UP
Mphasis
Mphasis transforms the way a global wealth management group adopts Cloud 2.0 foundations holistically
In a landscape where organisations of all sizes are under mounting pressure to successfully transition to the cloud, or risk losing their competitive edge, Mphasis stands apart by delivering cloud integration services in a truly fresh and uniquely holistic way.
Mphasis is empowering a growing list of global customers to reimagine their digital future and drive at ‘fintech speeds’, by employing a fully-guided, KPI-driven, three-stage adoption of its Cloud 3.0 maturity, continuum vision, and execution path. This unlocks the potential for significant and measurable benefits for clients, allowing them to derive cost leadership (from Cloud 1.0), revenue and differentiation (from Cloud 2.0) and hyper-personalisation and deep specialisation value from cloud (from Cloud 3.0).
At the heart of Mphasis’ service offering is its proven ability to deliver through its customer-centric Front2Back transformation approach enabled by its proprietary X2C2 ™ methodology (shift anything to cloud and power everything with cognitive). This means that the company can drive meaningful value for customers in a 360-degree way, resulting in enhanced customer experiences and faster market entry for new products and services.
The project
Mphasis partnered with a client to change the way it adopts Cloud 2.0 foundations holistically – thinking of capability roll-outs rather than applications – to establish highly automated cloud operations through Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles. This particular client is a leading, well-known wealth management and brokerage group, with annual revenues of approximately $7 billion and credit markets in over 150 countries.
The client wanted to grow its wealth management portfolio, as its customer base was increasing in the number of High Net Worth Individuals who needed wealth management solutions. However, the company was sitting on a legacy infrastructure that didn’t allow it to scale rapidly and full-scale modernisation is typically cost and time intensive. The issue was made even more complex by the fact that regulators mandated that the client must de-risk its collocated data centres for business continuity.
As the strategic cloud integrator partner, Mphasis had an in-depth understanding of these business roadblocks, and helped the client to strategically and holistically adopt Cloud 2.0, based on the innovative Front2Back execution framework. The results speak for themselves – savings of around $20 million annually, through Mphasis’ cloud-native factory model of execution, doing away with centralised QA teams and establishing Product Engineering squads. Release cycles were brought down to two weeks from a typical 16-25 weeks.
Among the host of other benefits to the client – Mphasis was able to untether applications from the infrastructure with a combination of a 12-factor approach, containerisation, and simple lift-and-shift, resulting in a faster pace of de-risking them from data centre dependencies and better regulatory compliance, saving millions in potential penalties. An automated DevOps chain was developed, and the client’s software development practices were democratised and industrialised.
Mphasis also partnered with the client on cutting-edge products, such as Robot Advisory. Asset under management from this platform crossed $25 billion in the first three years from launch.
In a landscape where organisations of all sizes are under mounting pressure to successfully transition to the cloud, or risk losing their competitive edge, Mphasis stands apart by delivering cloud integration services in a truly fresh and uniquely holistic way.
Mphasis is empowering a growing list of global customers to reimagine their digital future and drive at ‘fintech speeds’, by employing a fully-guided, KPI-driven, three-stage adoption of its Cloud 3.0 maturity, continuum vision, and execution path. This unlocks the potential for significant and measurable benefits for clients, allowing them to derive cost leadership (from Cloud 1.0), revenue and differentiation (from Cloud 2.0) and hyper-personalisation and deep specialisation value from cloud (from Cloud 3.0).
At the heart of Mphasis’ service offering is its proven ability to deliver through its customer-centric Front2Back transformation approach enabled by its proprietary X2C2 ™ methodology (shift anything to cloud and power everything with cognitive). This means that the company can drive meaningful value for customers in a 360-degree way, resulting in enhanced customer experiences and faster market entry for new products and services.
The project
Mphasis partnered with a client to change the way it adopts Cloud 2.0 foundations holistically – thinking of capability roll-outs rather than applications – to establish highly automated cloud operations through Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles. This particular client is a leading, well-known wealth management and brokerage group, with annual revenues of approximately $7 billion and credit markets in over 150 countries.
The client wanted to grow its wealth management portfolio, as its customer base was increasing in the number of High Net Worth Individuals who needed wealth management solutions. However, the company was sitting on a legacy infrastructure that didn’t allow it to scale rapidly and full-scale modernisation is typically cost and time intensive. The issue was made even more complex by the fact that regulators mandated that the client must de-risk its collocated data centres for business continuity.
As the strategic cloud integrator partner, Mphasis had an in-depth understanding of these business roadblocks, and helped the client to strategically and holistically adopt Cloud 2.0, based on the innovative Front2Back execution framework. The results speak for themselves – savings of around $20 million annually, through Mphasis’ cloud-native factory model of execution, doing away with centralised QA teams and establishing Product Engineering squads. Release cycles were brought down to two weeks from a typical 16-25 weeks.
Among the host of other benefits to the client – Mphasis was able to untether applications from the infrastructure with a combination of a 12-factor approach, containerisation, and simple lift-and-shift, resulting in a faster pace of de-risking them from data centre dependencies and better regulatory compliance, saving millions in potential penalties. An automated DevOps chain was developed, and the client’s software development practices were democratised and industrialised.
Mphasis also partnered with the client on cutting-edge products, such as Robot Advisory. Asset under management from this platform crossed $25 billion in the first three years from launch.
Managed Services Project of the Year
WINNER
Rackspace Technology
Rackspace Technology helps Relay42 deliver up to 500,000 customer data events per second
Rackspace Technology, the multicloud solutions provider, announced that its management of Relay42’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) IT infrastructure is supporting the AI-driven data business to deliver up to 500,000 personalised customer data events per second.
Dutch-headquartered Relay42 turns data into meaningful relationships for its customers including Air France-KLM, Heineken, Mazda and FedEx. Speed, latency and security are fundamental components in data marketing, all of which AWS provides in its underlying infrastructure, helping Relay42 meet its business objectives of delivering personalised messages and experiences to end users in a matter of seconds.
Rackspace Technology also optimised Relay42’s cloud spend via CloudHealth, which identified cost savings of $8,000 per month in the initial months of the pandemic with zero impact on performance.
The worldwide footprint of Rackspace Technology is enabling Relay42’s global expansion plans as it aims to double the size of its European and Asian business in 2021. As part of the ongoing project with Rackspace Technology, Relay42 also aims to continue its cloud native journey, further utilising the newest services that AWS rolls out.
Rogier van Nieuwenhuizen, CEO at Relay42, said, “Relay42’s transformational culture mirrors that of Rackspace Technology as we both constantly evolve to meet customer demands. We’re on a journey to provide data at scale with millions of customers and billions of touchpoints. This is all made possible through Rackspace Technology and its Fanatical Experience on AWS that it delivers to us.”
“Rackspace Technology’s continued commitment to customers is impressive, and Relay42 is a strong example of how customers benefit from our partnership with this company,” said Tony Van Den Berge, Managing Director of EMEA Partner Organisation, Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL, “We look forward to working together to create greater value for customers, who in turn can focus on driving the growth of their business.”
Bert Stam, General Manager for Northern Europe at Rackspace Technology added, “With the current global economic uncertainty, providing excellent customer experiences are crucial to business stability. Relay42 is at the forefront of exceptional data personalisation which will support its customers during these unsettling times.
“Our team of experts around the world continue to provide the cloud expertise organisations like Relay42 require to scale up and accelerate growth.”
Rackspace Technology, the multicloud solutions provider, announced that its management of Relay42’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) IT infrastructure is supporting the AI-driven data business to deliver up to 500,000 personalised customer data events per second.
Dutch-headquartered Relay42 turns data into meaningful relationships for its customers including Air France-KLM, Heineken, Mazda and FedEx. Speed, latency and security are fundamental components in data marketing, all of which AWS provides in its underlying infrastructure, helping Relay42 meet its business objectives of delivering personalised messages and experiences to end users in a matter of seconds.
Rackspace Technology also optimised Relay42’s cloud spend via CloudHealth, which identified cost savings of $8,000 per month in the initial months of the pandemic with zero impact on performance.
The worldwide footprint of Rackspace Technology is enabling Relay42’s global expansion plans as it aims to double the size of its European and Asian business in 2021. As part of the ongoing project with Rackspace Technology, Relay42 also aims to continue its cloud native journey, further utilising the newest services that AWS rolls out.
Rogier van Nieuwenhuizen, CEO at Relay42, said, “Relay42’s transformational culture mirrors that of Rackspace Technology as we both constantly evolve to meet customer demands. We’re on a journey to provide data at scale with millions of customers and billions of touchpoints. This is all made possible through Rackspace Technology and its Fanatical Experience on AWS that it delivers to us.”
“Rackspace Technology’s continued commitment to customers is impressive, and Relay42 is a strong example of how customers benefit from our partnership with this company,” said Tony Van Den Berge, Managing Director of EMEA Partner Organisation, Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL, “We look forward to working together to create greater value for customers, who in turn can focus on driving the growth of their business.”
Bert Stam, General Manager for Northern Europe at Rackspace Technology added, “With the current global economic uncertainty, providing excellent customer experiences are crucial to business stability. Relay42 is at the forefront of exceptional data personalisation which will support its customers during these unsettling times.
“Our team of experts around the world continue to provide the cloud expertise organisations like Relay42 require to scale up and accelerate growth.”
RUNNER UP
Hyve
The National Television Awards chooses Hyve to host its website handling millions of public votes
National Television Awards (NTAs), an annual awards ceremony that celebrates the success of British television, chose Hyve Managed Hosting to provide the platform for its high traffic website. Known as ‘television’s biggest night of the year’, the 2020 ceremony will mark 25 years of the awards. The NTA website needs to be easy to scale to accommodate peak voting periods, and Hyve’s load-balanced cloud solution was chosen for its proven track record of scalability and reliability.
After being introduced to Hyve through its digital agency partners, Ten4 Design, the NTAs have a scalable and reliable website in place for the upcoming awards on the 28th January. The awards are voted for by the British public in two stages, where categories such as Drama, Comedy and Entertainment Programme are up for grabs. With the 2019 National Television Awards recording a peak of 6.5 million viewers and over 14 million votes cast in 2019, it is a necessity to mitigate downtime and ensure it can withstand high volume website traffic.
The NTA’s website is running on Hyve’s Managed Enterprise Cloud platform, benefitting from the scalability and flexibility of the cloud model. Hyve offers the NTAs a stable, flexible platform with an ultra-responsive support team on hand to iron out any potential issues quickly and efficiently.
“It’s absolutely vital that our technology does not let us down on television’s biggest night of the year,” commented Kim Turberville, Executive Producer at the National Television Awards. “We need to be certain that we are receiving a reliable and secure service because when the public takes to our website to vote, it needs to be totally fail-safe. With Hyve we can ensure we have a stable, scalable platform alongside a 24/7 support team to keep everything running smoothly. We are very excited to welcome Hyve to the list of our valued partners that ensure this incredible event is a success."
“We’re very happy to welcome a household name like the NTAs on board and to provide them with a load-balanced solution and application layer support during their busy months. We offer a great deal of reassurance as they can scale their servers in line with voting and marketing requirements” - Paulo Machado, Account Manager for the NTAs.
National Television Awards (NTAs), an annual awards ceremony that celebrates the success of British television, chose Hyve Managed Hosting to provide the platform for its high traffic website. Known as ‘television’s biggest night of the year’, the 2020 ceremony will mark 25 years of the awards. The NTA website needs to be easy to scale to accommodate peak voting periods, and Hyve’s load-balanced cloud solution was chosen for its proven track record of scalability and reliability.
After being introduced to Hyve through its digital agency partners, Ten4 Design, the NTAs have a scalable and reliable website in place for the upcoming awards on the 28th January. The awards are voted for by the British public in two stages, where categories such as Drama, Comedy and Entertainment Programme are up for grabs. With the 2019 National Television Awards recording a peak of 6.5 million viewers and over 14 million votes cast in 2019, it is a necessity to mitigate downtime and ensure it can withstand high volume website traffic.
The NTA’s website is running on Hyve’s Managed Enterprise Cloud platform, benefitting from the scalability and flexibility of the cloud model. Hyve offers the NTAs a stable, flexible platform with an ultra-responsive support team on hand to iron out any potential issues quickly and efficiently.
“It’s absolutely vital that our technology does not let us down on television’s biggest night of the year,” commented Kim Turberville, Executive Producer at the National Television Awards. “We need to be certain that we are receiving a reliable and secure service because when the public takes to our website to vote, it needs to be totally fail-safe. With Hyve we can ensure we have a stable, scalable platform alongside a 24/7 support team to keep everything running smoothly. We are very excited to welcome Hyve to the list of our valued partners that ensure this incredible event is a success."
“We’re very happy to welcome a household name like the NTAs on board and to provide them with a load-balanced solution and application layer support during their busy months. We offer a great deal of reassurance as they can scale their servers in line with voting and marketing requirements” - Paulo Machado, Account Manager for the NTAs.
Data Security / Compliance Project of the Year
WINNER
Stafford Railway Building Society and ANSecurity
Always-on VPN for remote working
Originally championed by a small group of railway workers, The Stafford Railway Building Society was established in 1877 and is still going strong with a focus on straightforward, good value products backed by a plain-speaking, friendly service. In 2018, the society scooped the coveted ‘Best Local Building Society’ in the Mortgage Finance Gazette Awards.
Although proud of its tradition, the Society is firmly committed to embracing the changes and challenges of today’s society. In late 2017, the Society migrated its Core IT system to Mutual Vision, a private cloud-based application. This provides the Society with improved capability to further develop both a more efficient, automated member-facing process and significant scope for the automation of internal functionality.
During 2018, the Society concentrated on embedding the new core system and utilising the additional features it had to offer. The first significant enhancement being the introduction of SRBS Mortgage Hub to give Mortgage Brokers a digital connection to the Society. The IT team also began a dual-use project to implement more remote working with the aim of increasing flexibility for staff while also strengthening its business continuity planning so that it can work remotely in the event of any site impacting issues at its head office.
“Continuity planning and security are two major requirements for us,” explains Heather Hamilton Head of IT for Stafford Railway Building Society, “Although we have disaster recovery arrangements it would be difficult to operate our service in the event of a major outage. In terms of security, any type of remote access needs to have the highest levels of security to meet our regulatory requirements as well as industry best practice.”
“Lastly, we wanted to make the process simple for our staff to use and the IT department to manage - what we wanted was a solution that could solve all three challenges in an elegant way.”
Hamilton contacted ANSecurity for advice following a recommendation from an IT contractor that had carried out an earlier project at the Society. “ANSecurity did an assessment and created a solution that would ensure that all of our access, both internally and from remote workers would be validated by an always-on VPN along with digital certificates embedded on each device,” explains Hamilton.
Following a successful proof of concept, the full roll-out of the Pulse Secure VPN took place over a two-day period, including staff training. “The solution allowed us to turn off the secondary WIFI network and now everything runs over a single network and is automatically validated before the user can access any applications,” she explains.
“The login is really easy to use for the staff, as all the additional checks are all happening in the background. This strangely has been one of those things that we deployed, and we've actually had positive feedback where we've had staff come to us and say... ‘oh that always-on VPN is really good,” Hamilton adds.
The Society is now rolling out remote working to staff in stages and the initial feedback has been very positive. “It not just for home working,” she says, “We have also had positive feedback from our executives who can now quickly and securely access our key apps without any issues while away from their desks in meetings on or off site.”
The solution has delivered a clear return on investment, reduced the number of calls to its IT helpdesk and proven extremely reliable. “ANSecurity has been with us every step of the way during this project,” says Hamilton, “They have been both professional and helpful and delivered a solution that easily exceeded our expectations,” Hamilton concludes.
Originally championed by a small group of railway workers, The Stafford Railway Building Society was established in 1877 and is still going strong with a focus on straightforward, good value products backed by a plain-speaking, friendly service. In 2018, the society scooped the coveted ‘Best Local Building Society’ in the Mortgage Finance Gazette Awards.
Although proud of its tradition, the Society is firmly committed to embracing the changes and challenges of today’s society. In late 2017, the Society migrated its Core IT system to Mutual Vision, a private cloud-based application. This provides the Society with improved capability to further develop both a more efficient, automated member-facing process and significant scope for the automation of internal functionality.
During 2018, the Society concentrated on embedding the new core system and utilising the additional features it had to offer. The first significant enhancement being the introduction of SRBS Mortgage Hub to give Mortgage Brokers a digital connection to the Society. The IT team also began a dual-use project to implement more remote working with the aim of increasing flexibility for staff while also strengthening its business continuity planning so that it can work remotely in the event of any site impacting issues at its head office.
“Continuity planning and security are two major requirements for us,” explains Heather Hamilton Head of IT for Stafford Railway Building Society, “Although we have disaster recovery arrangements it would be difficult to operate our service in the event of a major outage. In terms of security, any type of remote access needs to have the highest levels of security to meet our regulatory requirements as well as industry best practice.”
“Lastly, we wanted to make the process simple for our staff to use and the IT department to manage - what we wanted was a solution that could solve all three challenges in an elegant way.”
Hamilton contacted ANSecurity for advice following a recommendation from an IT contractor that had carried out an earlier project at the Society. “ANSecurity did an assessment and created a solution that would ensure that all of our access, both internally and from remote workers would be validated by an always-on VPN along with digital certificates embedded on each device,” explains Hamilton.
Following a successful proof of concept, the full roll-out of the Pulse Secure VPN took place over a two-day period, including staff training. “The solution allowed us to turn off the secondary WIFI network and now everything runs over a single network and is automatically validated before the user can access any applications,” she explains.
“The login is really easy to use for the staff, as all the additional checks are all happening in the background. This strangely has been one of those things that we deployed, and we've actually had positive feedback where we've had staff come to us and say... ‘oh that always-on VPN is really good,” Hamilton adds.
The Society is now rolling out remote working to staff in stages and the initial feedback has been very positive. “It not just for home working,” she says, “We have also had positive feedback from our executives who can now quickly and securely access our key apps without any issues while away from their desks in meetings on or off site.”
The solution has delivered a clear return on investment, reduced the number of calls to its IT helpdesk and proven extremely reliable. “ANSecurity has been with us every step of the way during this project,” says Hamilton, “They have been both professional and helpful and delivered a solution that easily exceeded our expectations,” Hamilton concludes.
RUNNER UP
South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council +ANSecurity / Pulse Secure
Secure access for remote working
South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council serves a large portion of the county of Devon in South West England. With just under 400 staff, the council provides a variety of services to over 100,000 properties and 140,000 residents. Due to a need to protect sensitive data and at the same time accommodate modern, flexible ways of working, South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council was undergoing the process of transforming the way it worked.
The council wanted to ensure that in the future, its employees could work in a location agnostic way. Secure Access was central to that transformation, providing a secure connection between an employee’s device and the council’s network. The council approached ANSecurity for help in managing the upgrade to the latest platform. After a series of calls and on-site meetings, the full upgrade was purchased. It chose Pulse Secure appliances for their unparalleled ability to combine Secure Access with a user friendly experience.
The council opted for an “always on” VPN - one which would use a device ID to authenticate to the council’s network - thereby circumventing the manual sign-in process and providing a streamlined authentication process for users. From there the processes of logging in at home, or the office became almost identical. By deploying fewer physical 2 factor tokens, the council made further savings. ANSecurity helped the council configure the VPN with a couple of days of on-site consultancy. Mike Ward, the council’s head of IT commented: “Security of this type is an enabler to the way we work - we couldn't do it without a VPN.” “ANSecurity have been a great partner for us and nothing was too much trouble, they provided good guidance and were there every step of the project. We look forward to working with them on an on-going basis.”
The council’s new operating model has proved tremendously popular with staff, allowing them to work agilely in whatever location they choose. The council’s offices are now hot desking locations with around 100 to 150 people using Pulse Secure VPN to log into the office network every day.
The ability to capture business processes into its workflow allowed the council to downsize its staff costs and save £1.4 million a year. The resultant savings in money, staff and space has also cut its carbon footprint and paper waste significantly.
South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council serves a large portion of the county of Devon in South West England. With just under 400 staff, the council provides a variety of services to over 100,000 properties and 140,000 residents. Due to a need to protect sensitive data and at the same time accommodate modern, flexible ways of working, South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council was undergoing the process of transforming the way it worked.
The council wanted to ensure that in the future, its employees could work in a location agnostic way. Secure Access was central to that transformation, providing a secure connection between an employee’s device and the council’s network. The council approached ANSecurity for help in managing the upgrade to the latest platform. After a series of calls and on-site meetings, the full upgrade was purchased. It chose Pulse Secure appliances for their unparalleled ability to combine Secure Access with a user friendly experience.
The council opted for an “always on” VPN - one which would use a device ID to authenticate to the council’s network - thereby circumventing the manual sign-in process and providing a streamlined authentication process for users. From there the processes of logging in at home, or the office became almost identical. By deploying fewer physical 2 factor tokens, the council made further savings. ANSecurity helped the council configure the VPN with a couple of days of on-site consultancy. Mike Ward, the council’s head of IT commented: “Security of this type is an enabler to the way we work - we couldn't do it without a VPN.” “ANSecurity have been a great partner for us and nothing was too much trouble, they provided good guidance and were there every step of the project. We look forward to working with them on an on-going basis.”
The council’s new operating model has proved tremendously popular with staff, allowing them to work agilely in whatever location they choose. The council’s offices are now hot desking locations with around 100 to 150 people using Pulse Secure VPN to log into the office network every day.
The ability to capture business processes into its workflow allowed the council to downsize its staff costs and save £1.4 million a year. The resultant savings in money, staff and space has also cut its carbon footprint and paper waste significantly.
Data Centre Power Innovation of the Year
WINNER
Huawei
Data Center Power Innovation-SmartLi UPS
Background: Lead-acid batteries have dominated the communications industry for decades. However, lead-acid batteries have short service life, poor reliability, low energy density, and large footprint. Therefore, the reliability, availability, and flexibility of the UPS solution are greatly reduced.
Product Overview: SmartLi is a smart Li-ion battery energy storage system developed for Huawei, which provides backup power for a medium- and large-power UPS. SmartLi is compatible with a UPS system with or without a neutral wire. SmartLi has the features of long lifespan, space saving and safety and reliability. The Li-ion battery cabinet supports battery management, and intelligent current management. Huawei SmartLi uses LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cell which is the safest Li-ion battery cell in Industry. When multiple battery strings are connected in parallel, the output of each battery string is balanced and reliable protection is achieved. The active current balance control technology supports the mix use of new and old batteries, which reduces Capex. Three-level BMS system realizes intelligent battery management with Huawei UPS and Network management system.
Product Features and Values:
1. Long Service Life
The service life of Li-ion batteries is over 10 years, which is three times that of lead-acid batteries under the same conditions. Li-ion batteries do not need to be replaced during the 10+ year service life of data center, but lead-acid batteries need to be replaced at least one time. This eliminates the risk of system breakdown caused by battery replacement and reduces the TCO of battery by 10% to 20%.
2. High Energy Density, Space Saving
The power density of Li-ion batteries is three times as that of lead-acid batteries. The volumetric power density of LFP battery is 200–300 Wh/L, which is much higher than that of the lead-acid battery is only 60–90 Wh/L, saving 70% footprint. A cabinet brings hundreds of thousands dollars per year, so the benefits brought by saving footprint are considerable. In addition, the weight power density of LFP battery is 100–150 Wh/kg, while that of lead-acid battery is only 30–50 Wh/kg. For Li-ion batteries, the weight requirement for the equipment room is lower than 1000 kg/m2. Therefore, no dedicated battery room is required.
3. High Safety and Reliability
The operation status of SmartLi is visible, which supports predictive maintenance. In fact, lead-acid batteries can also be intelligentized, but battery measuring instruments and monitoring systems need to be installed. The installation and test of field engineers are of different levels, which leads to high cost and is often unavailable. SmartLi has built-in three-level BMS system, which implements real-time analysis of the voltage, current, temperature, SOC, and SOH of each battery cell. In addition, SmartLi management is associated with UPS to achieve linkage protection. Comprehensive prediction and protection functions enable visualized quality and fault prediction, greatly reducing routine O&M workload. Huawei SmartLi uses LFP battery cell and is equipped with system-level fire extinguishing to ensure Safety and reliability. The chemical structure of LFP battery is olive-like three-dimensional, so LFP battery is more stable than other Li-ion batteries. And LFP battery cell does not generate oxygen as other lithium batteries do when thermal runaway occurs. When SmartLi is in thermal runaway condition, even if it is manually ignited, the LFP battery cell will only burn out and not spread. The integrated battery system is configured with a gas fire extinguishing system and is configured with heptafluoropropane or perfluorohexanone by default. Even if a combustion event occurs, the fire can be automatically extinguished within a few seconds, keeping the accident within the battery system.
Huawei outperforms competitors in the following points:
Huawei SmartLi can still work when a single battery is faulty. There are few power failures in data centers, but batteries must be able to supply power when power failures occur. When the battery changes from the float charging state to the discharging state, the battery is prone to faults. Batteries consist of multiple batteries and are not faulty at the same time. However, batteries are connected in series. When a single battery is faulty, traditional lead-acid batteries and Li-ion batteries cannot supply power. As a result, services are interrupted due to load power outage in the data center. Huawei SmartLi battery solution design allows a single battery to be faulty. In this case, the load power supply can still be ensured, avoiding major losses.
Huawei SmartLi support hybrid combination of old and new batteries and flexible capacity expansion, which matches the service phenomenon of gradually increasing loads in most data centers. In this way, the capacity of the data center can be flexibly expanded to reduce the capital cost and investment risk, and achieve lower TCO of data center.
Success Cases
As the market share of lead-acid batteries decreases rapidly, Li-ion battery usage is increasing around the globe. Li-ion batteries are used in almost all 5G sites, alongside their wide use in the data centers of some large ISPs. Huawei SmartLi helps K2 build data centers in Dublin, which thanks to its safety and reliability, long lifespan, space saving and easy maintenance. And many companies, such as HUAWEI Cloud, 21Vianet, and Zhonghuan semiconductor, have adopted SmartLi solution to achieve business success.
Background: Lead-acid batteries have dominated the communications industry for decades. However, lead-acid batteries have short service life, poor reliability, low energy density, and large footprint. Therefore, the reliability, availability, and flexibility of the UPS solution are greatly reduced.
Product Overview: SmartLi is a smart Li-ion battery energy storage system developed for Huawei, which provides backup power for a medium- and large-power UPS. SmartLi is compatible with a UPS system with or without a neutral wire. SmartLi has the features of long lifespan, space saving and safety and reliability. The Li-ion battery cabinet supports battery management, and intelligent current management. Huawei SmartLi uses LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cell which is the safest Li-ion battery cell in Industry. When multiple battery strings are connected in parallel, the output of each battery string is balanced and reliable protection is achieved. The active current balance control technology supports the mix use of new and old batteries, which reduces Capex. Three-level BMS system realizes intelligent battery management with Huawei UPS and Network management system.
Product Features and Values:
1. Long Service Life
The service life of Li-ion batteries is over 10 years, which is three times that of lead-acid batteries under the same conditions. Li-ion batteries do not need to be replaced during the 10+ year service life of data center, but lead-acid batteries need to be replaced at least one time. This eliminates the risk of system breakdown caused by battery replacement and reduces the TCO of battery by 10% to 20%.
2. High Energy Density, Space Saving
The power density of Li-ion batteries is three times as that of lead-acid batteries. The volumetric power density of LFP battery is 200–300 Wh/L, which is much higher than that of the lead-acid battery is only 60–90 Wh/L, saving 70% footprint. A cabinet brings hundreds of thousands dollars per year, so the benefits brought by saving footprint are considerable. In addition, the weight power density of LFP battery is 100–150 Wh/kg, while that of lead-acid battery is only 30–50 Wh/kg. For Li-ion batteries, the weight requirement for the equipment room is lower than 1000 kg/m2. Therefore, no dedicated battery room is required.
3. High Safety and Reliability
The operation status of SmartLi is visible, which supports predictive maintenance. In fact, lead-acid batteries can also be intelligentized, but battery measuring instruments and monitoring systems need to be installed. The installation and test of field engineers are of different levels, which leads to high cost and is often unavailable. SmartLi has built-in three-level BMS system, which implements real-time analysis of the voltage, current, temperature, SOC, and SOH of each battery cell. In addition, SmartLi management is associated with UPS to achieve linkage protection. Comprehensive prediction and protection functions enable visualized quality and fault prediction, greatly reducing routine O&M workload. Huawei SmartLi uses LFP battery cell and is equipped with system-level fire extinguishing to ensure Safety and reliability. The chemical structure of LFP battery is olive-like three-dimensional, so LFP battery is more stable than other Li-ion batteries. And LFP battery cell does not generate oxygen as other lithium batteries do when thermal runaway occurs. When SmartLi is in thermal runaway condition, even if it is manually ignited, the LFP battery cell will only burn out and not spread. The integrated battery system is configured with a gas fire extinguishing system and is configured with heptafluoropropane or perfluorohexanone by default. Even if a combustion event occurs, the fire can be automatically extinguished within a few seconds, keeping the accident within the battery system.
Huawei outperforms competitors in the following points:
Huawei SmartLi can still work when a single battery is faulty. There are few power failures in data centers, but batteries must be able to supply power when power failures occur. When the battery changes from the float charging state to the discharging state, the battery is prone to faults. Batteries consist of multiple batteries and are not faulty at the same time. However, batteries are connected in series. When a single battery is faulty, traditional lead-acid batteries and Li-ion batteries cannot supply power. As a result, services are interrupted due to load power outage in the data center. Huawei SmartLi battery solution design allows a single battery to be faulty. In this case, the load power supply can still be ensured, avoiding major losses.
Huawei SmartLi support hybrid combination of old and new batteries and flexible capacity expansion, which matches the service phenomenon of gradually increasing loads in most data centers. In this way, the capacity of the data center can be flexibly expanded to reduce the capital cost and investment risk, and achieve lower TCO of data center.
Success Cases
As the market share of lead-acid batteries decreases rapidly, Li-ion battery usage is increasing around the globe. Li-ion batteries are used in almost all 5G sites, alongside their wide use in the data centers of some large ISPs. Huawei SmartLi helps K2 build data centers in Dublin, which thanks to its safety and reliability, long lifespan, space saving and easy maintenance. And many companies, such as HUAWEI Cloud, 21Vianet, and Zhonghuan semiconductor, have adopted SmartLi solution to achieve business success.
RUNNER UP
Starline
Starline IR Window for Plug-In Units
Starline, a brand of Legrand, continues to prioritize safety and uptime in the mission critical space with its newly introduced IR Windows for plug-in units offering. With preventative maintenance being essential to reducing the downtime and expenses associated with failures, the integrated IR Windows enable data centre operators to easily infrared scan the plug-in units without potentially dangerous and time consuming live work. Different from traditional all-metal boxes, these plug-in units have IR Window cut-outs with proprietary materials which allow for the scanning of connection points on the line and load sides of OCPDs. This revolutionary design also eliminates the need for covers, reducing time and labor requirements during preventative scans. The IR Window accessory to plug-ins is the most recent addition to the Starline suite of power monitoring solutions designed to enhance end user safety and decrease system total cost of ownership.
Starline, a brand of Legrand, continues to prioritize safety and uptime in the mission critical space with its newly introduced IR Windows for plug-in units offering. With preventative maintenance being essential to reducing the downtime and expenses associated with failures, the integrated IR Windows enable data centre operators to easily infrared scan the plug-in units without potentially dangerous and time consuming live work. Different from traditional all-metal boxes, these plug-in units have IR Window cut-outs with proprietary materials which allow for the scanning of connection points on the line and load sides of OCPDs. This revolutionary design also eliminates the need for covers, reducing time and labor requirements during preventative scans. The IR Window accessory to plug-ins is the most recent addition to the Starline suite of power monitoring solutions designed to enhance end user safety and decrease system total cost of ownership.
Data Centre PDU Innovation of the Year
WINNER
Server Technology, a brand of Legrand
PRO3X PDU Solution
What are your product's/solution's key distinguishing features and/or USP? Server Technology’s PRO3X is the first hybrid rack PDU built to solve today's top data center challenges: Power Density, Capacity Planning, and Remote Power Management. It powers data center applications of all sizes: from small to large, edge compute locations, to IT cabinets. The PRO3X PDU features 2-in-1 HDOT® Cx outlets which standardize a single PDU for multiple applications due to its ability to act like a C13 or C19 outlet. Its alternating branch technology helps with clean cable management to improve airflow and ease three-phase load balancing. Its RamLock outlet retention mechanism, built to secure the broadest range of C14 and C20 plugs, eases unplugging with a simple one-handed “squeeze and pull” action. These features are then powered by the embedded Xerus Technology Platform that delivers security, high compute power, intelligence, advanced alerting, and visibility into your power chain. More Benefits from a Single Solution 1. Measure & Monitor Power Consumption Access advanced power usage information so that you can always keep a close watch on your facility 2. Remote Power Management Make critical power adjustments from any location to efficiently utilize power resources, while saving power and money 3. Capacity Planning See exactly how new infrastructure and technologies fit in with your existing equipment to make informed decisions about optimizing current and future rack growth 4. Real-Time Environmental Alerts Stay on top of environmental challenges like hot spots and condensation with advanced temperature and humidity monitoring options What tangible impact has your product/solution had on the market and your customers? Server Technology’s PRO3X rack power distribution units (PDUs) are designed to keep you informed of any interruption to your power infrastructure such as unexpected outages, unplanned configuration changes, and security threats. PRO3X rack PDUs provide customers with maximum visibility into their power chain, elevating rack PDUs to a new level of performance. The PRO3X innovative High Density Outlet Technology (HDOT®) Cx outlets welcomes change as data center equipment is replaced. The Cx outlet is a UL tested hybrid of the C13 and C19 outlets, accommodating both C20 and C14 plugs. This innovative design reduces the complexity of selecting a rack PDU for your applications while lowering end costs. With HDOT Cx, you won’t have to buy a new set of PDUs when equipment changes. Paired with the PRO3X’s innovative RamLock lightweight, high strength mechanical locking mechanism, built to secure the broadest range of C14 and C20 plugs. What are the major differentiators between your product/solution and those of your primary competitors? Vertiv/Geist rPDU The more significant differentiator of the PRO3X to the Geist rPDU is the PRO3X’s RamLock outlet retention mechanism, built to secure the broadest range of C14 and C20 plugs and eases unplugging with a simple one-handed “squeeze and pull” action. Since space in a rack/cabinet is at a premium, sometimes it may be difficult to reach the PDU within that rack/cabinet to secure or unplug cords from outlets. With RamLock’s easy “squeeze and pull” action, it releases and secures plugs easily. The Geist rPDU does have a U-Lock receptacle feature which is said to secure power cords and avoid accidental disconnectors, but it does have an easy “squeeze and pull” action, nor does their receptacle feature an HDOT Cx outlet, accommodating both C20 and C14 plugs within the same outlet. APC/Schneider Electric NetShelter Rack PDU The more significant differentiator of the PRO3X to the APC/Schneider NetShelter Rack PDU is the PRO3X’s HDOT and HDOT Cx outlets. High Density Outlet Technology (HDOT) Cx outlets welcomes change as data center equipment is replaced. The Cx outlet is a UL tested hybrid of the C13 and C19 outlets, accommodating both C20 and C14 plugs. This innovative design on the PRO3X reduces the complexity of selecting a rack PDU for your applications while lowering end costs. With HDOT Cx, you will not have to buy a new set of PDUs when equipment changes. Eaton ePDU The two differentiators of the PRO3X to the Eaton ePDU are the PRO3X’s HDOT and HDOT Cx outlets (described above) along with the embedded Xerus Technology Platform. Xerus is a combination of hardware and software technologies embedded into PRO3X rack PDUs. It is comprised of a state-of-the-art network interface module, pushbutton enabled multi-color LCD display, open source firmware, and a plethora of interface ports all on a hot-swappable card. Xerus maximizes data center efficiency by delivering security, high compute power, advanced alerting, intelligence, and complete visibility into your power chain. Please supply any supportive quotes and/or case study materials to demonstrate the value of this product/solution to your customers/partners. The PRO3X brings together some of the best features from Legrand’s Server Technology and Raritan brands into one single solution for the first time and sets an intelligent PDU standard to meet the varying needs of partners and customers. Quote: Paul Albright - CEO – DeltaWare Inc. “DeltaWare Inc. has had a long relationship with Server Technology, leading to many satisfied clients over the years. The PRO3X PDU has many great features that make it a product we are proud to offer our customers. For starters, the PRO3X PDU is good for dynamic environments, such as labs where equipment is frequently swapped out. They are also ideal for SME customers who want custom outlet layouts without paying for the customization. These PDU’s are also a good fit for companies with different outlet requirements in the same rack. They offer removable locking sleeves that make Cx outlets lock with any IEC plugs, and they support high-retention outlets. In addition, the Cx outlet modules are compatible with build your own PDU customizations. With all this in mind, I urge you to contact your Server Technology representative and request more information about the new PRO3X PDU product line. See how many ways it can fit into your environment.” For further information on PRO3X, please visit: https://www.servertech.com/solutions/pro3x-pdu-solutions
What are your product's/solution's key distinguishing features and/or USP? Server Technology’s PRO3X is the first hybrid rack PDU built to solve today's top data center challenges: Power Density, Capacity Planning, and Remote Power Management. It powers data center applications of all sizes: from small to large, edge compute locations, to IT cabinets. The PRO3X PDU features 2-in-1 HDOT® Cx outlets which standardize a single PDU for multiple applications due to its ability to act like a C13 or C19 outlet. Its alternating branch technology helps with clean cable management to improve airflow and ease three-phase load balancing. Its RamLock outlet retention mechanism, built to secure the broadest range of C14 and C20 plugs, eases unplugging with a simple one-handed “squeeze and pull” action. These features are then powered by the embedded Xerus Technology Platform that delivers security, high compute power, intelligence, advanced alerting, and visibility into your power chain. More Benefits from a Single Solution 1. Measure & Monitor Power Consumption Access advanced power usage information so that you can always keep a close watch on your facility 2. Remote Power Management Make critical power adjustments from any location to efficiently utilize power resources, while saving power and money 3. Capacity Planning See exactly how new infrastructure and technologies fit in with your existing equipment to make informed decisions about optimizing current and future rack growth 4. Real-Time Environmental Alerts Stay on top of environmental challenges like hot spots and condensation with advanced temperature and humidity monitoring options What tangible impact has your product/solution had on the market and your customers? Server Technology’s PRO3X rack power distribution units (PDUs) are designed to keep you informed of any interruption to your power infrastructure such as unexpected outages, unplanned configuration changes, and security threats. PRO3X rack PDUs provide customers with maximum visibility into their power chain, elevating rack PDUs to a new level of performance. The PRO3X innovative High Density Outlet Technology (HDOT®) Cx outlets welcomes change as data center equipment is replaced. The Cx outlet is a UL tested hybrid of the C13 and C19 outlets, accommodating both C20 and C14 plugs. This innovative design reduces the complexity of selecting a rack PDU for your applications while lowering end costs. With HDOT Cx, you won’t have to buy a new set of PDUs when equipment changes. Paired with the PRO3X’s innovative RamLock lightweight, high strength mechanical locking mechanism, built to secure the broadest range of C14 and C20 plugs. What are the major differentiators between your product/solution and those of your primary competitors? Vertiv/Geist rPDU The more significant differentiator of the PRO3X to the Geist rPDU is the PRO3X’s RamLock outlet retention mechanism, built to secure the broadest range of C14 and C20 plugs and eases unplugging with a simple one-handed “squeeze and pull” action. Since space in a rack/cabinet is at a premium, sometimes it may be difficult to reach the PDU within that rack/cabinet to secure or unplug cords from outlets. With RamLock’s easy “squeeze and pull” action, it releases and secures plugs easily. The Geist rPDU does have a U-Lock receptacle feature which is said to secure power cords and avoid accidental disconnectors, but it does have an easy “squeeze and pull” action, nor does their receptacle feature an HDOT Cx outlet, accommodating both C20 and C14 plugs within the same outlet. APC/Schneider Electric NetShelter Rack PDU The more significant differentiator of the PRO3X to the APC/Schneider NetShelter Rack PDU is the PRO3X’s HDOT and HDOT Cx outlets. High Density Outlet Technology (HDOT) Cx outlets welcomes change as data center equipment is replaced. The Cx outlet is a UL tested hybrid of the C13 and C19 outlets, accommodating both C20 and C14 plugs. This innovative design on the PRO3X reduces the complexity of selecting a rack PDU for your applications while lowering end costs. With HDOT Cx, you will not have to buy a new set of PDUs when equipment changes. Eaton ePDU The two differentiators of the PRO3X to the Eaton ePDU are the PRO3X’s HDOT and HDOT Cx outlets (described above) along with the embedded Xerus Technology Platform. Xerus is a combination of hardware and software technologies embedded into PRO3X rack PDUs. It is comprised of a state-of-the-art network interface module, pushbutton enabled multi-color LCD display, open source firmware, and a plethora of interface ports all on a hot-swappable card. Xerus maximizes data center efficiency by delivering security, high compute power, advanced alerting, intelligence, and complete visibility into your power chain. Please supply any supportive quotes and/or case study materials to demonstrate the value of this product/solution to your customers/partners. The PRO3X brings together some of the best features from Legrand’s Server Technology and Raritan brands into one single solution for the first time and sets an intelligent PDU standard to meet the varying needs of partners and customers. Quote: Paul Albright - CEO – DeltaWare Inc. “DeltaWare Inc. has had a long relationship with Server Technology, leading to many satisfied clients over the years. The PRO3X PDU has many great features that make it a product we are proud to offer our customers. For starters, the PRO3X PDU is good for dynamic environments, such as labs where equipment is frequently swapped out. They are also ideal for SME customers who want custom outlet layouts without paying for the customization. These PDU’s are also a good fit for companies with different outlet requirements in the same rack. They offer removable locking sleeves that make Cx outlets lock with any IEC plugs, and they support high-retention outlets. In addition, the Cx outlet modules are compatible with build your own PDU customizations. With all this in mind, I urge you to contact your Server Technology representative and request more information about the new PRO3X PDU product line. See how many ways it can fit into your environment.” For further information on PRO3X, please visit: https://www.servertech.com/solutions/pro3x-pdu-solutions
RUNNER UP
Chatsworth Products International Limited (CPI)
eConnect® Power Distribution Units
The interconnected world is placing new demands on power management in data centres, and with rack densities rising globally, equipment monitoring at the rack level has never been so critical. Chatsworth Products’ (CPI) eConnect® Power Distribution Units (PDUs) provide data centre managers with all the information they need to make informed decisions when it comes to capacity planning, rapid deployment, reduced networking costs and regulatory compliance.
CPI, a pioneer of power and infrastructure solutions for the information and communications technology (ICT) and industrial automation segments, has recognised this increase in demand and has evolved its popular eConnect line of intelligent PDUs to provide improved, data-driven rack-level monitoring in data centres and remote sites. These enhanced features add more simplicity and efficiency to power distribution, while setting customers up for success as new compliance requirements go into effect in the new decade.
Adhering to growing safety standards and compliance requirements such as UL® 62368, a new 2020 requirement for Europe and the United States, CPI’s next generation of eConnect PDUs include greater outlet density, as well as an industry-first Redundancy Pack, which includes two PDUs, one in black and one in Glacier White, for easy identification of the primary and secondary unit.
“As the enterprise data centre space gravitates toward multitenant and edge compute locations, our customers demand solutions that can allow their sites to be up and running quickly and reliably,” explains Ashish Moondra, CPI Sr. Product Manager, Power, Electronics and Software. “To that end, CPI has focused on capabilities that provide high availability while reducing the complexity of installing, networking, servicing and managing the power distribution solutions,” Moondra adds.
eConnect’s market-leading features—Secure Array® IP Consolidation Technology, 65° C (149° F) temperature rating, and software integration with environmental monitoring and RFID Electronic Lock Kits—are now complemented by the following advantages:
• Redundancy Pack option for easy identification of the primary and secondary (failover) unit. Distinguishing the A/B power feed within the cabinet is one challenge data centre operators face. The standard practice to overcome this is to deploy two PDUs and colour-code each, with the industry-wide standard rack PDU colour being black, and a further upcharge for an alternative colour for easy identification. CPI addresses this issue with a Redundancy Pack, which provides two matched rack PDUs one painted black and the other painted Glacier White to visually identify the A/B power feed within the cabinet. Both PDUs are kitted together, so there is no additional upcharge for the alternate white unit.
• Latest UL 62368 compliance. CPI’s eConnect PDUs are third-party tested to ensure electrical safety in powered electronic products. This new safety standard is a required standard for Europe and bears the CE marking to indicate conformity with health, safety and environmental protection standards.
• Secure Array IP consolidation of up to 48 units under one IP address, with the option for a second one for failover support; reducing networking costs by 90%. Although IP consolidation is not unique to CPI PDUs, Secure Array IP consolidation allows up to 48 PDUs to share a single network connection as well as dedicated IP addresses. This can also simultaneously support networked electronic locks and environmental sensors without the need for any additional network connections, making this the most robust system available on the market. With Secure Array IP consolidation, expenses are significantly reduced for data centre operators when deploying intelligent rack PDUs, where, in some instances, a new network connection for every PDU is not possible.
• Phase-balance outlets on three-phase models that simplifies equal loading across all phases. The challenge for data centre operators when delivering three-phase power to the rack level is to ensure each sequential outlet is powered through a different phase/breaker so that load is evenly distributed, which is achieved using phase-balance outlets. Without it, groups of outlets are associated with each phase/breaker, therefore creating an imbalance of loads. Phase-balance is not unique to CPI rack PDUs, but it is part of a complete, combined feature set that is unique.
• Integrated environmental sensors that provide notifications of hot spots within cabinets. Data centre operators face the pressures of ensuring that environmental conditions, in particular the temperature and humidity at each cabinet, remain within a certain input range and do not exceed a certain delta at output. This can be achieved with a separately derived environmental monitoring system made up of additional hardware, network connections and IP addresses for each cabinet, however with added cost and efforts. CPI integrated sensors can be included on the rack PDU, meaning each eConnect PDU allows attachment of environmental sensors and will collect, store and share that data in the same way that it will collect and share the power measurements. By monitoring data at the inlet and outlet of the rack, this allows operators to ensure they are maintaining the correct operating range for equipment and to quickly identify when equipment is outside of that range. That means less hardware and less networking overheads to monitor large networks.
• Integrated RFID electronic locks that provide managed cabinet-level access control. Now more than ever, there is a growing interest in physical protection of data, right down to the cabinet level. The challenge data centre operators have is to ensure complete physical security within their facility, with many options requiring additional hardware and software installations. CPI’s award-winning electronic locking system provides the benefits of easy management of user rights and a digital record of access attempts; something which is a universal requirement. Unique to CPI’s eConnect PDU, there is no requirement for additional hardware or software for each cabinet, as each PDU can support a pair of electronic door locks. The PDU powers and controls the locks, which are accessed through the PDUs network connection and firmware; also compatible with Secure Array. Additionally, CPI’s electronic locks have field replaceable card readers, allowing the card technology to be updated without the need for replacing the entire lock system. This allows for both an upgrade path from single factor to dual factor with biometric access as well to adapt quickly and cost effectively when access card technology changes.
• Field-replaceable controller for easy serviceability and upgradeability while maintaining power to critical loads. One major concern for data centre operators when deploying intelligent rack PDUs is that the controller will fail and the they would need to power down the equipment to replace the PDU. The controller is the component of an intelligent rack PDU that provides the collection, storing and transmission on measured data. Although rare, if the controller does fail this also effects the remote monitoring and control functionality of the PDU. A field replaceable controller ensures confidence that if the controller fails in a deployed array, it can be replaced to restore monitoring without the need to replace the entire PDU and interrupt power to the equipment. In the case of CPI’s eConnect field replaceable controller, each one has an SD memory card port that can be used to transfer the identity and settings for even quicker changeover.
• Bistable latching relays for reduced energy consumption and increased service reliability on Switched PDU models. Switched PDUs provide data centre operators with the ability to remotely control each outlet on the PDU. This allows remote reboot of hung equipment and unused outlets can be placed in the off condition to ensure a formal review before additional equipment is deployed. Switched PDUs can also designate a power-on sequence and timing so that if power to the rack goes down, then power returns, it will power outlets in a specific timed sequence. The bistable latching relay is one of three techniques used for controlling the condition of the outlet in a rack PDU, and is arguably the best. The bistable latching relay only uses power when it changes the condition of the outlet on or off and it will retain the condition of the outlet after power loss on reboot. This ensures the intent for the condition of that outlet is maintained. The alternative methods require constant power to the relay to maintain the state of the outlet and do not maintain the condition of the outlet during a reset. Bistable relays are not unique to CPI rack PDUs, but are an important part of a complete, combined feature set that is unique.
• Patent-pending locking outlets, which prevent accidental disconnections without requiring special cords that can cost upwards of £150 (€180) per PDU. Most equipment power cords no not include a locking plug. Therefore, data centre operators have a natural concern that power cords may become loose or unattached from the rack PDU. Locking outlets on the PDU ensure that the equipment power cord remains attached to the PDU, preventing disconnection from the weight of the cord, slight movements of equipment or accidental bumps by technicians. There are several locking cord systems on the market that require a special power cord to be purchased in addition to the rack PDU to provide the locking function, adding overall cost to each rack install. CPI’s eConnect locking outlet accepts a standard, straight or angled IEC connector, so the cord included in the equipment, or a standard, low-cost jumper for all power connections can be used.
• Native software integration from CPI partners Sunbird® Software, ZPE Systems and RF Code—Power IQ® for eConnect, Nodegrid Manager™ and Centerscape. Intelligent rack PDUs are typically monitored through a third-party monitoring software, like a DCIM software. The challenge for data centre operators is integrating the PDU with the software. Monitoring software collects data from intelligent rack PDUs in the form of SNMP traps. The trap is a data file with the readout from the PDU. However, the readouts vary by manufacturer, and in some instances, by model or product SKU. Operators must take the extra step of programming the third-party software to read the SNMP trap. Native software integration is the effort by the PDU manufacturer to work with the software provider to eliminate or simplify this step. So that the device is either automatically recognised and or there is a “wizard” that makes the programming faster and easier. CPI seeks partnerships to not only integrate its PDU and control of its functions from the management software, but also so that the software will recognise CPI Secure Array and distinguish the arrayed devices from the software interface. The value-added benefit is that in many instances, the software assumes an individual IP address for each device to be monitored. CPI’s integration efforts with various software partners provides the physical network overhead savings of Secure Array and quick or automated setup of CPI PDUs within the monitoring software.
• Support for RESTful Application Programming Interface API and Command Line Interface CLI. Some organisations prefer to monitor PDUs through their own software, through a specialised interface or alternately to directly monitor off network with command line interface. All the data that can be delivered through the SNMP interface described above can also be delivered through API or CLI. This allows customers to access all features of the CPI intelligent rack PDU through their own custom monitoring application or through command line interaction.
• Pre-integration into cabinets. CPI has the unique ability to not just provide separate components to create a complete data centre ecosystem including PDU’s, but to install the cabinet, accessories and PDUs into a single solution ready to deploy, ensuring rapid installation for data centre operators.
CPI’s extended expertise in data centre power management solutions spans over two decades, and the addition of eConnect as a complete solution for intelligent power distribution since 2012 highlights CPI’s core mission of protecting and powering our customers’ technology investments from the data centre to the edge. CPI’s eConnect power portfolio includes 350+ standard configurations, shipped separately or pre installed within CPI cabinets from dedicated manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The interconnected world is placing new demands on power management in data centres, and with rack densities rising globally, equipment monitoring at the rack level has never been so critical. Chatsworth Products’ (CPI) eConnect® Power Distribution Units (PDUs) provide data centre managers with all the information they need to make informed decisions when it comes to capacity planning, rapid deployment, reduced networking costs and regulatory compliance.
CPI, a pioneer of power and infrastructure solutions for the information and communications technology (ICT) and industrial automation segments, has recognised this increase in demand and has evolved its popular eConnect line of intelligent PDUs to provide improved, data-driven rack-level monitoring in data centres and remote sites. These enhanced features add more simplicity and efficiency to power distribution, while setting customers up for success as new compliance requirements go into effect in the new decade.
Adhering to growing safety standards and compliance requirements such as UL® 62368, a new 2020 requirement for Europe and the United States, CPI’s next generation of eConnect PDUs include greater outlet density, as well as an industry-first Redundancy Pack, which includes two PDUs, one in black and one in Glacier White, for easy identification of the primary and secondary unit.
“As the enterprise data centre space gravitates toward multitenant and edge compute locations, our customers demand solutions that can allow their sites to be up and running quickly and reliably,” explains Ashish Moondra, CPI Sr. Product Manager, Power, Electronics and Software. “To that end, CPI has focused on capabilities that provide high availability while reducing the complexity of installing, networking, servicing and managing the power distribution solutions,” Moondra adds.
eConnect’s market-leading features—Secure Array® IP Consolidation Technology, 65° C (149° F) temperature rating, and software integration with environmental monitoring and RFID Electronic Lock Kits—are now complemented by the following advantages:
• Redundancy Pack option for easy identification of the primary and secondary (failover) unit. Distinguishing the A/B power feed within the cabinet is one challenge data centre operators face. The standard practice to overcome this is to deploy two PDUs and colour-code each, with the industry-wide standard rack PDU colour being black, and a further upcharge for an alternative colour for easy identification. CPI addresses this issue with a Redundancy Pack, which provides two matched rack PDUs one painted black and the other painted Glacier White to visually identify the A/B power feed within the cabinet. Both PDUs are kitted together, so there is no additional upcharge for the alternate white unit.
• Latest UL 62368 compliance. CPI’s eConnect PDUs are third-party tested to ensure electrical safety in powered electronic products. This new safety standard is a required standard for Europe and bears the CE marking to indicate conformity with health, safety and environmental protection standards.
• Secure Array IP consolidation of up to 48 units under one IP address, with the option for a second one for failover support; reducing networking costs by 90%. Although IP consolidation is not unique to CPI PDUs, Secure Array IP consolidation allows up to 48 PDUs to share a single network connection as well as dedicated IP addresses. This can also simultaneously support networked electronic locks and environmental sensors without the need for any additional network connections, making this the most robust system available on the market. With Secure Array IP consolidation, expenses are significantly reduced for data centre operators when deploying intelligent rack PDUs, where, in some instances, a new network connection for every PDU is not possible.
• Phase-balance outlets on three-phase models that simplifies equal loading across all phases. The challenge for data centre operators when delivering three-phase power to the rack level is to ensure each sequential outlet is powered through a different phase/breaker so that load is evenly distributed, which is achieved using phase-balance outlets. Without it, groups of outlets are associated with each phase/breaker, therefore creating an imbalance of loads. Phase-balance is not unique to CPI rack PDUs, but it is part of a complete, combined feature set that is unique.
• Integrated environmental sensors that provide notifications of hot spots within cabinets. Data centre operators face the pressures of ensuring that environmental conditions, in particular the temperature and humidity at each cabinet, remain within a certain input range and do not exceed a certain delta at output. This can be achieved with a separately derived environmental monitoring system made up of additional hardware, network connections and IP addresses for each cabinet, however with added cost and efforts. CPI integrated sensors can be included on the rack PDU, meaning each eConnect PDU allows attachment of environmental sensors and will collect, store and share that data in the same way that it will collect and share the power measurements. By monitoring data at the inlet and outlet of the rack, this allows operators to ensure they are maintaining the correct operating range for equipment and to quickly identify when equipment is outside of that range. That means less hardware and less networking overheads to monitor large networks.
• Integrated RFID electronic locks that provide managed cabinet-level access control. Now more than ever, there is a growing interest in physical protection of data, right down to the cabinet level. The challenge data centre operators have is to ensure complete physical security within their facility, with many options requiring additional hardware and software installations. CPI’s award-winning electronic locking system provides the benefits of easy management of user rights and a digital record of access attempts; something which is a universal requirement. Unique to CPI’s eConnect PDU, there is no requirement for additional hardware or software for each cabinet, as each PDU can support a pair of electronic door locks. The PDU powers and controls the locks, which are accessed through the PDUs network connection and firmware; also compatible with Secure Array. Additionally, CPI’s electronic locks have field replaceable card readers, allowing the card technology to be updated without the need for replacing the entire lock system. This allows for both an upgrade path from single factor to dual factor with biometric access as well to adapt quickly and cost effectively when access card technology changes.
• Field-replaceable controller for easy serviceability and upgradeability while maintaining power to critical loads. One major concern for data centre operators when deploying intelligent rack PDUs is that the controller will fail and the they would need to power down the equipment to replace the PDU. The controller is the component of an intelligent rack PDU that provides the collection, storing and transmission on measured data. Although rare, if the controller does fail this also effects the remote monitoring and control functionality of the PDU. A field replaceable controller ensures confidence that if the controller fails in a deployed array, it can be replaced to restore monitoring without the need to replace the entire PDU and interrupt power to the equipment. In the case of CPI’s eConnect field replaceable controller, each one has an SD memory card port that can be used to transfer the identity and settings for even quicker changeover.
• Bistable latching relays for reduced energy consumption and increased service reliability on Switched PDU models. Switched PDUs provide data centre operators with the ability to remotely control each outlet on the PDU. This allows remote reboot of hung equipment and unused outlets can be placed in the off condition to ensure a formal review before additional equipment is deployed. Switched PDUs can also designate a power-on sequence and timing so that if power to the rack goes down, then power returns, it will power outlets in a specific timed sequence. The bistable latching relay is one of three techniques used for controlling the condition of the outlet in a rack PDU, and is arguably the best. The bistable latching relay only uses power when it changes the condition of the outlet on or off and it will retain the condition of the outlet after power loss on reboot. This ensures the intent for the condition of that outlet is maintained. The alternative methods require constant power to the relay to maintain the state of the outlet and do not maintain the condition of the outlet during a reset. Bistable relays are not unique to CPI rack PDUs, but are an important part of a complete, combined feature set that is unique.
• Patent-pending locking outlets, which prevent accidental disconnections without requiring special cords that can cost upwards of £150 (€180) per PDU. Most equipment power cords no not include a locking plug. Therefore, data centre operators have a natural concern that power cords may become loose or unattached from the rack PDU. Locking outlets on the PDU ensure that the equipment power cord remains attached to the PDU, preventing disconnection from the weight of the cord, slight movements of equipment or accidental bumps by technicians. There are several locking cord systems on the market that require a special power cord to be purchased in addition to the rack PDU to provide the locking function, adding overall cost to each rack install. CPI’s eConnect locking outlet accepts a standard, straight or angled IEC connector, so the cord included in the equipment, or a standard, low-cost jumper for all power connections can be used.
• Native software integration from CPI partners Sunbird® Software, ZPE Systems and RF Code—Power IQ® for eConnect, Nodegrid Manager™ and Centerscape. Intelligent rack PDUs are typically monitored through a third-party monitoring software, like a DCIM software. The challenge for data centre operators is integrating the PDU with the software. Monitoring software collects data from intelligent rack PDUs in the form of SNMP traps. The trap is a data file with the readout from the PDU. However, the readouts vary by manufacturer, and in some instances, by model or product SKU. Operators must take the extra step of programming the third-party software to read the SNMP trap. Native software integration is the effort by the PDU manufacturer to work with the software provider to eliminate or simplify this step. So that the device is either automatically recognised and or there is a “wizard” that makes the programming faster and easier. CPI seeks partnerships to not only integrate its PDU and control of its functions from the management software, but also so that the software will recognise CPI Secure Array and distinguish the arrayed devices from the software interface. The value-added benefit is that in many instances, the software assumes an individual IP address for each device to be monitored. CPI’s integration efforts with various software partners provides the physical network overhead savings of Secure Array and quick or automated setup of CPI PDUs within the monitoring software.
• Support for RESTful Application Programming Interface API and Command Line Interface CLI. Some organisations prefer to monitor PDUs through their own software, through a specialised interface or alternately to directly monitor off network with command line interface. All the data that can be delivered through the SNMP interface described above can also be delivered through API or CLI. This allows customers to access all features of the CPI intelligent rack PDU through their own custom monitoring application or through command line interaction.
• Pre-integration into cabinets. CPI has the unique ability to not just provide separate components to create a complete data centre ecosystem including PDU’s, but to install the cabinet, accessories and PDUs into a single solution ready to deploy, ensuring rapid installation for data centre operators.
CPI’s extended expertise in data centre power management solutions spans over two decades, and the addition of eConnect as a complete solution for intelligent power distribution since 2012 highlights CPI’s core mission of protecting and powering our customers’ technology investments from the data centre to the edge. CPI’s eConnect power portfolio includes 350+ standard configurations, shipped separately or pre installed within CPI cabinets from dedicated manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Data Centre Cooling Innovation of the Year
WINNER
Asperitas
AIC24
Asperitas Immersed Computing® is responsible for delivering highly sustainable and energy producing datacentres for emerging digital technologies (AI, machine learning, blockchain, IoT, big data, high performance computing, VR) anywhere needed for digital driven enterprises, cloud providers and public organisations. The concept is spearhead by the fully immersed cooling of the IT within a synthetic oil, rather than cooling it using traditional air methods. Compared to an average air cooled datacentre, the AIC24 module can facilitate 5-10 times as much density. The AIC24 module offers a fully integrated plug and play solution (circular product design) and runs with only 3 connections: water, power and data. The use of the module reduces the energy footprint of the datacentre itself by 10%. Downsized cooling and power requirements also reduce the amount of maintenance on these systems by up to 15%. By making the energy available for reuse for heating, Asperitas reduces the footprint of a third-party with the heat demand, enabling the transformation of datacentres from heavy energy consumers into energy suppliers and contributors to the circular economy (100% energy reuse ready). The module takes up 80% less physical footprint and 95% less cooling energy for datacentres. Datacentres globally are an essential part of digital infrastructure to facilitate digital services and emerging digital technologies. Emerging digital technologies require datacentres and increasingly make use of high performance computing. Presently, datacentres are consuming 4% of the global energy supply, using energy for IT and cooling. They require a tremendous amount of floorspace, they have difficulties operating in hot climate zones and they actually waste energy. Each datacentre consistently churns out warm air which is too low temperature to efficiently distribute and transport. The next generation hardware for these emerging technologies are of a high performance but also very powerful, going up to 400 watts per chip. This amount of energy turns into heat and requires advanced cooling methods to even maintain performance. An entire new model is needed to design and operate datacenters sustainably. The medium currently used by datacentres to cool is air. Changing this medium for the much more efficient medium (liquid) is changing everything for datacentres. Today, datacentres are facing boundaries regarding floorspace, access to (renewable) energy, cooling costs, complexity and cost of build. This is resulting in a situation whereby the current datacentre model does not fit with the technology it should be facilitating. Furthermore, datacentres are generating energy (hot air) which is consistently wasted. Asperitas‘ mission is to enable sustainable and high performing datacentres that facilitate all emerging digital technologies, anywhere and on any scale. Asperitas wants to live and work for reshaping and innovating the datacentre world and believes in thinking differently, with responsibility towards the future energy footprint and therefore contributing to a better world.
Asperitas Immersed Computing® is responsible for delivering highly sustainable and energy producing datacentres for emerging digital technologies (AI, machine learning, blockchain, IoT, big data, high performance computing, VR) anywhere needed for digital driven enterprises, cloud providers and public organisations. The concept is spearhead by the fully immersed cooling of the IT within a synthetic oil, rather than cooling it using traditional air methods. Compared to an average air cooled datacentre, the AIC24 module can facilitate 5-10 times as much density. The AIC24 module offers a fully integrated plug and play solution (circular product design) and runs with only 3 connections: water, power and data. The use of the module reduces the energy footprint of the datacentre itself by 10%. Downsized cooling and power requirements also reduce the amount of maintenance on these systems by up to 15%. By making the energy available for reuse for heating, Asperitas reduces the footprint of a third-party with the heat demand, enabling the transformation of datacentres from heavy energy consumers into energy suppliers and contributors to the circular economy (100% energy reuse ready). The module takes up 80% less physical footprint and 95% less cooling energy for datacentres. Datacentres globally are an essential part of digital infrastructure to facilitate digital services and emerging digital technologies. Emerging digital technologies require datacentres and increasingly make use of high performance computing. Presently, datacentres are consuming 4% of the global energy supply, using energy for IT and cooling. They require a tremendous amount of floorspace, they have difficulties operating in hot climate zones and they actually waste energy. Each datacentre consistently churns out warm air which is too low temperature to efficiently distribute and transport. The next generation hardware for these emerging technologies are of a high performance but also very powerful, going up to 400 watts per chip. This amount of energy turns into heat and requires advanced cooling methods to even maintain performance. An entire new model is needed to design and operate datacenters sustainably. The medium currently used by datacentres to cool is air. Changing this medium for the much more efficient medium (liquid) is changing everything for datacentres. Today, datacentres are facing boundaries regarding floorspace, access to (renewable) energy, cooling costs, complexity and cost of build. This is resulting in a situation whereby the current datacentre model does not fit with the technology it should be facilitating. Furthermore, datacentres are generating energy (hot air) which is consistently wasted. Asperitas‘ mission is to enable sustainable and high performing datacentres that facilitate all emerging digital technologies, anywhere and on any scale. Asperitas wants to live and work for reshaping and innovating the datacentre world and believes in thinking differently, with responsibility towards the future energy footprint and therefore contributing to a better world.
RUNNER UP
USystems
ColdLogik CL20
This product is driving the efficient and sustainability of Data Centre cooling. It allows for DCs to move away from 30 year old CRAC/H based designs that are inefficient and delivers cooling direct to the source of the heat. It works at significant higher temperatures of water which allows for a higher percentage of free cooling. It rebuffs the myth that anything above 40kW has to go DCLC or Immersive, by delivering 100kW per Cabinet of cooling and in some cases with correct conditions can surpass 100kW per cabinet.
This product is driving the efficient and sustainability of Data Centre cooling. It allows for DCs to move away from 30 year old CRAC/H based designs that are inefficient and delivers cooling direct to the source of the heat. It works at significant higher temperatures of water which allows for a higher percentage of free cooling. It rebuffs the myth that anything above 40kW has to go DCLC or Immersive, by delivering 100kW per Cabinet of cooling and in some cases with correct conditions can surpass 100kW per cabinet.
Data Centre Intelligent Automation and Management Innovation of the Year
WINNER
Schneider Electric
EcoStruxure IT next-generation DCIM enables innovative and intelligent management for data centres
EcoStruxure IT is a next-generation Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software architecture that allows data centres, including hyperscale and colocation facilities and edge computing environments, utilising infrastructure equipment from a variety of vendors, to be managed remotely, from a single management console. It provides visibility into the performance of data centre infrastructure components including power and cooling systems to provide data-driven recommendations that improve performance, efficiency and reduce costs. To-date, it is the industries only vendor-neutral, cloud-based DCIM solution, allowing any IoT enabled infrastructure device to be monitored and managed 24/7, from anywhere and at anytime via the IT Expert smartphone application. EcoStruxure IT is IT Expert gathers data from all IoT-enabled physical infrastructure assets, including racks, switchgear, power distribution, cooling and UPS systems. Using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data analytics, it consolidates performances and alarm data and produces proactive recommendations as to rectify unplanned issues before they become critical. It automates and simplifies the task of both managing and building resilience into data centre operations with the minimum of human interaction and helps to increase overall performance and efficiency while reducing downtime. Next-generation DCIM platforms are defined by five key attributes, which clearly differentiate them from legacy data centre management systems. 1. Relies on cloud technologies for ease of implementation, scalability, analytics and maintenance 2. Connects to a data lake enabling insight & event prediction with AI 3. Utilises mobile and web technologies and integrates with third party platforms 4. Prioritises simplicity and intuitive user experiences in its design 5. Serves as a compliance tool to identify and eliminate potential cyber security risks Through adoption of next-generation DCIM architectures such as EcoStruxure™, today’s facility managers can ensure maintenance upgrades and service schedules perform at optimum levels. EcoStruxure also allows partners and service providers to more easily extend their visibility and manage multiple edge sites across a larger geographical area; delivering real-time alerts and updates that allow users to proactively mitigate unplanned downtime from anywhere, at any time and on any device. Another element of the software suite is EcoStruxure IT for Partners which is an open, cloud-based, multi-tenant platform enabling stakeholders managing multiple edge data centres and distributed IT sites to increase reliablity of critical edge computing applications. It enables customers to securely outsource monitoring, maintenance to expert service providers, channel partners and Managed Service Providers, who support the availability of physical infrastructure as well as IT devices to their preferred solution providers. Assisted by other components such as the EcoStruxure IT Mobile Insights Application which allows updates to be sent to mobile devices at remote locations, distributed teams of maintenance personnel to broaden the reach of services they can provide across a wide area and at lower cost than maintaining dedicated teams on site. The secure platform is enabled by EcoStruxure’s predictive analytics and hosts applications and tools for solution providers to build new, recurring service offerings and business models. EcoStruxure IT is truly an innovation in the data centre sector and is to-date, the industries only vendor neutral, next-generation DCIM solution.
EcoStruxure IT is a next-generation Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software architecture that allows data centres, including hyperscale and colocation facilities and edge computing environments, utilising infrastructure equipment from a variety of vendors, to be managed remotely, from a single management console. It provides visibility into the performance of data centre infrastructure components including power and cooling systems to provide data-driven recommendations that improve performance, efficiency and reduce costs. To-date, it is the industries only vendor-neutral, cloud-based DCIM solution, allowing any IoT enabled infrastructure device to be monitored and managed 24/7, from anywhere and at anytime via the IT Expert smartphone application. EcoStruxure IT is IT Expert gathers data from all IoT-enabled physical infrastructure assets, including racks, switchgear, power distribution, cooling and UPS systems. Using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data analytics, it consolidates performances and alarm data and produces proactive recommendations as to rectify unplanned issues before they become critical. It automates and simplifies the task of both managing and building resilience into data centre operations with the minimum of human interaction and helps to increase overall performance and efficiency while reducing downtime. Next-generation DCIM platforms are defined by five key attributes, which clearly differentiate them from legacy data centre management systems. 1. Relies on cloud technologies for ease of implementation, scalability, analytics and maintenance 2. Connects to a data lake enabling insight & event prediction with AI 3. Utilises mobile and web technologies and integrates with third party platforms 4. Prioritises simplicity and intuitive user experiences in its design 5. Serves as a compliance tool to identify and eliminate potential cyber security risks Through adoption of next-generation DCIM architectures such as EcoStruxure™, today’s facility managers can ensure maintenance upgrades and service schedules perform at optimum levels. EcoStruxure also allows partners and service providers to more easily extend their visibility and manage multiple edge sites across a larger geographical area; delivering real-time alerts and updates that allow users to proactively mitigate unplanned downtime from anywhere, at any time and on any device. Another element of the software suite is EcoStruxure IT for Partners which is an open, cloud-based, multi-tenant platform enabling stakeholders managing multiple edge data centres and distributed IT sites to increase reliablity of critical edge computing applications. It enables customers to securely outsource monitoring, maintenance to expert service providers, channel partners and Managed Service Providers, who support the availability of physical infrastructure as well as IT devices to their preferred solution providers. Assisted by other components such as the EcoStruxure IT Mobile Insights Application which allows updates to be sent to mobile devices at remote locations, distributed teams of maintenance personnel to broaden the reach of services they can provide across a wide area and at lower cost than maintaining dedicated teams on site. The secure platform is enabled by EcoStruxure’s predictive analytics and hosts applications and tools for solution providers to build new, recurring service offerings and business models. EcoStruxure IT is truly an innovation in the data centre sector and is to-date, the industries only vendor neutral, next-generation DCIM solution.
RUNNER UP
RiT Tech Ltd
XpedITe from RiT Tech – The metamorphosis of DCIM
The requirement for innovation: DCIM has become a term that is considered tarnished by many. Generally, it has failed to deliver on the promises made and in many cases is merely a beefed up BMS or overpriced Asset Register! The reality is that there can be no genuine DCIM system unless it covers integration with the IT stack. Ultimately the IT load is the reason for the data centres existence so a true DCIM needs to cover more than just the building alone. With this integration the so called DCIM solution will merely be an overly complex and therefore overly expensive Building Management System or an unnecessarily weighty asset register. To highlight this point, it is worth noting that the categories for the DCS awards are split into the traditional data centre silos somewhat reinforcing this separation. RiT seeks to eliminate these unhelpful boundaries with its XpedITe platform in order to achieve a fully integrated data centre infrastructure, removing the current barriers to efficient data centre operations and service delivery. Since the introduction of the DCIM concept to the general market over a decade ago, many changes have taken place in the data centre and infrastructure sector, as the concept struggled to mature. Nevertheless, experts are still predicting a 16% growth to 2024 with a forecast market value of over $3bn. Moreover, the move towards distributed, digital infrastructures and hybrid environments has been one of the most significant shifts, which necessitates the overview and orchestration of infrastructure environments across multiples sites. Aligning IT and facilities management for a complete view of the infrastructure, can always be a challenge. However, XpedITe’s full-stack integration capability gives the customers a true Single Pain of Glass to manage all infrastructure from the energy supply to the CMDB. RiT’s solution and product description: There is a reason that DCIM hasn’t been more widely adopted and flourished. It has gained a bad reputation for many reasons, but the functionality promised for DCIM and yet be delivered is necessary to help us manage ever more complex, hybrid environments, so is still very much a need for tools to fill this vacant niche. These newer smarter and more integrated tools need to connect to facilities systems, network systems, IT systems and orchestrate continual change within a modern highly dynamic data centre environment. The metamorphosis of DCIM from a nascent set of disparate and siloed tools to a fully-fledged, integrated and comprehensive management system for all data centre elements is more accurately reflected in the term DNIO: Data centre, Network and Infrastructure Orchestration. RiT Tech have brought together multiple areas of expertise within separate disciplines, focusing on feedback from multinational clients. Areas such as asset management, integration, speed to implement, and time to value have been common areas of complaint for traditional DCIM products, which need to be rectified for a product to be usefully adopted. RiT’s DNIO approach and concept addresses the complaints common to existing DCIM products and has a data-centric focus allowing flexibility and fully bespoke configurations, which deliver maximum efficiency via full-stack integration in an open framework. As pioneers in Automated Infrastructure Management (AIM) and intelligent connectivity, and more recently in facilities and IT management, RiT’s pioneering R&D Centre in Israel is the birth-place of AIM - Automated Infrastructure Management, which now forms the basis of the ISO standard ISO/IEC 18598. RiT Tech are now applying this structured standardised approach to DCIM with the DNIO platform. The DNIO concept builds on the foundations of DCIM, and addresses the three major challenges that IT and Data Centre leaders face today: 1. Increasingly complex, inter-connected, hybrid environments becoming difficult to manage. 2. Uptime and availability risk for smooth DC Operations. 3. Efficiency and cost reduction for maximum business agility. Having an accurate and updated inventory of the IT and data centre assets is the foundation of any DCIM solution which can effectively manage the MAC (Moves, Adds, Changes) process in a data centre. XpedITe includes a full asset management module, a full patch and connectivity module, and a very powerful work-order capability, which integrates into a multi-environment workflow, to help manage staff and resources to maximum efficiency in the data centre. Capacity management is also a very significant element of data centre management, spanning the full stack from the grid supply to the network port. Having a trustworthy, automated source of capacity and load information, such as XpedITe’s intelligent commissioning capability able to perform capacity management and planning, saves technicians up to 70% of the time taken to find available space for new installs. XpedITe also provides full visibility in terms of monitoring, managing and controlling IT & electro-mechanical devices for more effective utilisation of both. RiT Tech also provides an Open Framework for integration with other systems, such as linking asset management to the central ERP system. As part of the installation programme, the joint team ensures that the technologies and business processes are working in harmony across the full spectrum of data centre operations. Having a cross-functional system, which streamlines processes across departments and centralizes the data from multiple disparate systems, enables the possibility for preventative maintenance of critical systems. This minimises the cost of any failures, and alerts when conditions have been hit where failures have occurred in the past. Customer example and case study: This submission seeks to address the current situation and highlight a Data Centre, Network, Infrastructure and Orchestration (DNIO), platform that actually delivers on many of the unfulfilled promises that have been made for DCIM by demonstrating the features already available within the XpedITe solution and also by referencing an extremely successful project completed during the latter half of 2019 for a very well-known international financial services organisation, which was based entirely based on the XpedITe solution. The international financial services corporation has multiple data centre sites and decided to migrate its primary data centre to a new remote facility. Up until this point the customer did not have any form of DCIM solution at the primary site. As part of this migration project it was concluded that a suitable DCIM system was required to address the specific needs of the relocation. These are detailed as follows: 1. The ability to manage the remote site in terms of both building infrastructure & IT elements, without the need for a constant presence on site. 2. The ability to optimize, plan and monitor all activities within the data centre, including building infrastructure components, cabinet power supplies, all deployed IT equipment, power and IT connectivity as well as any other equipment present. 3. The ability to ensure all information security and prevent any potential data leakage. 4. The ability to integrate to a CMDB as well as power and security systems. 5. The ability to co-manage other secondary sites using the same system (e.g. DR sites). The customer chose the XpedITe DNIO platform as the preferred DCIM solution, for the following key reasons: 1. The XpedITe DNIO platform was the only system to offer a complete end-to-end solution, which fully covers both building infrastructure and IT needs without undermining or neglecting either one of them. 2. A modern, flexible, state of the art technology platform (HTML5, Angular2, GOJS etc.), capable of rapid, fully functional and easy integration with existing specialist toolsets. 3. Comprehensive and easy-to-use Single Pane-Of-Glass User Interface. 4. Highly integrated capabilities and knowledge. 5. Flexibility of R&D adjustments to rapidly accommodate customer needs. 6. Support from a dedicated and committed professional team with intimate knowledge of the toolset and the specific customer deployment. 7. Backing from a global technology leader with a widely recognised and trusted brand identity (Intel). Project details: 1. Required a highly condensed timeframe. 2. The customer has never used a DCIM system before. Therefore, there was no corporate strategy, regulations, or guidelines referencing DCIM. 3. The new site was not similar in any way to the current legacy data centre, in terms of size, structure, complexity, installed equipment or daily operations. Therefore, the structure and planning of the DCIM environment needed to be developed from the outset. 4. Many aspects of the project scope and Statement of Work (E.G. equipment deployments, integrations and future plans), were not known initially, and had to be developed or adjusted as the project progressed. 5. Integration to CMDB, power equipment and existing sensor and monitoring systems, had to be performed and these systems were installed or acquired by the customer. 6. The broad and fully-integrated feature of the XpedITe platform and the ability to introduce, adjust and deliver the XpedITe DNIO platform in such a dynamic way encouraged the entire customer team to fully embrace this platform as the primary management system for the new data centre. Competitive position. Alternative products were not able to: 1. Genuine integration capabilities – Mainly to CMDB and existing monitoring tools as well as previously installed equipment. 2. Easy and seamless implementation of the customer’s rules and policies within the platform as a fundamental part of several workflows 3. A real single pain of glass that gathers both the facility and supporting mechanical and electrical infrastructure side as well as the network connectivity and IT deployments. 4. Real time functionality across all installed equipment (Building, Network and IT). 5. Planning and capacity planning automation Implementation phase: 1. The project was led from the customer’s side by the integrated IT infrastructure team (including system, network, database & building facility personnel). 2. As a prerequisite, all customer assets (present and future), were mapped using the CMDB, IT system configurations, or by manual audit. 3. RiT Tech completed this integration to the customer’s CMDB as well as power and security systems, according to a condensed project schedule. 4. More than 200 catalogue items were created or modified according to customer requests or requirements. 5. The entire site infrastructure of the data centre from cabinets, through to all installed devices down to the last patch cord and network connectivity were created and set in the system. 6. Dashboards, reports and company rules were created and customized according to customer requirements. 7. Sophisticated algorithms were written to enable comprehensive, end-to-end, automatic provisioning of any moves, adds or changes. 8. Thorough training was conducted to the different user groups and viewers of the system. Use phase: 1. The customer will use the XpedITe platform for fully comprehensive asset management of all assets (IT and Facility), within in all data centre sites (local and remote). 2. According to the new company regulations all moves, adds and changes of any equipment, and any changes in infrastructure within all corporate sites, will be conducted and implemented solely through the XpedITe DNIO platform. 3. Automatic planning for moves, adds and changes of any devices using company rules, developed algorithms, work orders, change control support and required equipment labelling. 4. Real-Time monitoring and alerting of all installed equipment and connectivity across the entire inventory in all sites through the use of bespoke customer dashboards notifications. 5. Real-Time monitoring and alerting for power, environmental conditions, changes and trends using integration through the Power & Thermal Telemetries module. 6. XpedITe is now being used not during the operational phase but also for future planning and relocation projects. 7. Existing sites were audited in order to plan the new site, and then migrated over. All target designs are all held within XpedITe and used to manage the migration. 8. All planning and design as well as implementation is done using XpedITe, allowing for accurate and fast new plans and rapid migration. 9. XpedITe has a fast import for floor layout, and configurable, intelligent layers to provide consistent visibility across the customer’s infrastructure, all of its data centres, and people spaces. RiT Tech provides an Open Framework for integration with other systems, such as linking asset management to the central ERP system. As part of the overall programme, the joint team are working together to ensure that the technologies and business processes installed deliver the following benefits: 1. Intelligent Commissioning saves around 30% of resource time per IMAC ticket 2. Unlimited Integration enables the full-stack functionality, real-time management and true integrated workflow 3. Real-time management allows up-to-date information and enables better decision-making 4. Reduced operating cost from energy usage effectiveness and efficiency 5. Having a complete view of the power draw and energy consumption of the IT and data centre assets together 6. Consistency and visibility across the enterprise and all of its data centers 7. Providing a real-time view of energy consumption and energy efficiency of the entire data centre 8. Help both IT and facilities managers work together to make more informed decisions about overall energy usage, operational and workflow optimisation 9. Full visibility in terms of monitoring, management and control of IT and electro-mechanical devices for better utilisation of both elements 10. Support in calculating the cost of delivering individual services from the data centre RiT Website: https://www.rittech.com/rit-software
The requirement for innovation: DCIM has become a term that is considered tarnished by many. Generally, it has failed to deliver on the promises made and in many cases is merely a beefed up BMS or overpriced Asset Register! The reality is that there can be no genuine DCIM system unless it covers integration with the IT stack. Ultimately the IT load is the reason for the data centres existence so a true DCIM needs to cover more than just the building alone. With this integration the so called DCIM solution will merely be an overly complex and therefore overly expensive Building Management System or an unnecessarily weighty asset register. To highlight this point, it is worth noting that the categories for the DCS awards are split into the traditional data centre silos somewhat reinforcing this separation. RiT seeks to eliminate these unhelpful boundaries with its XpedITe platform in order to achieve a fully integrated data centre infrastructure, removing the current barriers to efficient data centre operations and service delivery. Since the introduction of the DCIM concept to the general market over a decade ago, many changes have taken place in the data centre and infrastructure sector, as the concept struggled to mature. Nevertheless, experts are still predicting a 16% growth to 2024 with a forecast market value of over $3bn. Moreover, the move towards distributed, digital infrastructures and hybrid environments has been one of the most significant shifts, which necessitates the overview and orchestration of infrastructure environments across multiples sites. Aligning IT and facilities management for a complete view of the infrastructure, can always be a challenge. However, XpedITe’s full-stack integration capability gives the customers a true Single Pain of Glass to manage all infrastructure from the energy supply to the CMDB. RiT’s solution and product description: There is a reason that DCIM hasn’t been more widely adopted and flourished. It has gained a bad reputation for many reasons, but the functionality promised for DCIM and yet be delivered is necessary to help us manage ever more complex, hybrid environments, so is still very much a need for tools to fill this vacant niche. These newer smarter and more integrated tools need to connect to facilities systems, network systems, IT systems and orchestrate continual change within a modern highly dynamic data centre environment. The metamorphosis of DCIM from a nascent set of disparate and siloed tools to a fully-fledged, integrated and comprehensive management system for all data centre elements is more accurately reflected in the term DNIO: Data centre, Network and Infrastructure Orchestration. RiT Tech have brought together multiple areas of expertise within separate disciplines, focusing on feedback from multinational clients. Areas such as asset management, integration, speed to implement, and time to value have been common areas of complaint for traditional DCIM products, which need to be rectified for a product to be usefully adopted. RiT’s DNIO approach and concept addresses the complaints common to existing DCIM products and has a data-centric focus allowing flexibility and fully bespoke configurations, which deliver maximum efficiency via full-stack integration in an open framework. As pioneers in Automated Infrastructure Management (AIM) and intelligent connectivity, and more recently in facilities and IT management, RiT’s pioneering R&D Centre in Israel is the birth-place of AIM - Automated Infrastructure Management, which now forms the basis of the ISO standard ISO/IEC 18598. RiT Tech are now applying this structured standardised approach to DCIM with the DNIO platform. The DNIO concept builds on the foundations of DCIM, and addresses the three major challenges that IT and Data Centre leaders face today: 1. Increasingly complex, inter-connected, hybrid environments becoming difficult to manage. 2. Uptime and availability risk for smooth DC Operations. 3. Efficiency and cost reduction for maximum business agility. Having an accurate and updated inventory of the IT and data centre assets is the foundation of any DCIM solution which can effectively manage the MAC (Moves, Adds, Changes) process in a data centre. XpedITe includes a full asset management module, a full patch and connectivity module, and a very powerful work-order capability, which integrates into a multi-environment workflow, to help manage staff and resources to maximum efficiency in the data centre. Capacity management is also a very significant element of data centre management, spanning the full stack from the grid supply to the network port. Having a trustworthy, automated source of capacity and load information, such as XpedITe’s intelligent commissioning capability able to perform capacity management and planning, saves technicians up to 70% of the time taken to find available space for new installs. XpedITe also provides full visibility in terms of monitoring, managing and controlling IT & electro-mechanical devices for more effective utilisation of both. RiT Tech also provides an Open Framework for integration with other systems, such as linking asset management to the central ERP system. As part of the installation programme, the joint team ensures that the technologies and business processes are working in harmony across the full spectrum of data centre operations. Having a cross-functional system, which streamlines processes across departments and centralizes the data from multiple disparate systems, enables the possibility for preventative maintenance of critical systems. This minimises the cost of any failures, and alerts when conditions have been hit where failures have occurred in the past. Customer example and case study: This submission seeks to address the current situation and highlight a Data Centre, Network, Infrastructure and Orchestration (DNIO), platform that actually delivers on many of the unfulfilled promises that have been made for DCIM by demonstrating the features already available within the XpedITe solution and also by referencing an extremely successful project completed during the latter half of 2019 for a very well-known international financial services organisation, which was based entirely based on the XpedITe solution. The international financial services corporation has multiple data centre sites and decided to migrate its primary data centre to a new remote facility. Up until this point the customer did not have any form of DCIM solution at the primary site. As part of this migration project it was concluded that a suitable DCIM system was required to address the specific needs of the relocation. These are detailed as follows: 1. The ability to manage the remote site in terms of both building infrastructure & IT elements, without the need for a constant presence on site. 2. The ability to optimize, plan and monitor all activities within the data centre, including building infrastructure components, cabinet power supplies, all deployed IT equipment, power and IT connectivity as well as any other equipment present. 3. The ability to ensure all information security and prevent any potential data leakage. 4. The ability to integrate to a CMDB as well as power and security systems. 5. The ability to co-manage other secondary sites using the same system (e.g. DR sites). The customer chose the XpedITe DNIO platform as the preferred DCIM solution, for the following key reasons: 1. The XpedITe DNIO platform was the only system to offer a complete end-to-end solution, which fully covers both building infrastructure and IT needs without undermining or neglecting either one of them. 2. A modern, flexible, state of the art technology platform (HTML5, Angular2, GOJS etc.), capable of rapid, fully functional and easy integration with existing specialist toolsets. 3. Comprehensive and easy-to-use Single Pane-Of-Glass User Interface. 4. Highly integrated capabilities and knowledge. 5. Flexibility of R&D adjustments to rapidly accommodate customer needs. 6. Support from a dedicated and committed professional team with intimate knowledge of the toolset and the specific customer deployment. 7. Backing from a global technology leader with a widely recognised and trusted brand identity (Intel). Project details: 1. Required a highly condensed timeframe. 2. The customer has never used a DCIM system before. Therefore, there was no corporate strategy, regulations, or guidelines referencing DCIM. 3. The new site was not similar in any way to the current legacy data centre, in terms of size, structure, complexity, installed equipment or daily operations. Therefore, the structure and planning of the DCIM environment needed to be developed from the outset. 4. Many aspects of the project scope and Statement of Work (E.G. equipment deployments, integrations and future plans), were not known initially, and had to be developed or adjusted as the project progressed. 5. Integration to CMDB, power equipment and existing sensor and monitoring systems, had to be performed and these systems were installed or acquired by the customer. 6. The broad and fully-integrated feature of the XpedITe platform and the ability to introduce, adjust and deliver the XpedITe DNIO platform in such a dynamic way encouraged the entire customer team to fully embrace this platform as the primary management system for the new data centre. Competitive position. Alternative products were not able to: 1. Genuine integration capabilities – Mainly to CMDB and existing monitoring tools as well as previously installed equipment. 2. Easy and seamless implementation of the customer’s rules and policies within the platform as a fundamental part of several workflows 3. A real single pain of glass that gathers both the facility and supporting mechanical and electrical infrastructure side as well as the network connectivity and IT deployments. 4. Real time functionality across all installed equipment (Building, Network and IT). 5. Planning and capacity planning automation Implementation phase: 1. The project was led from the customer’s side by the integrated IT infrastructure team (including system, network, database & building facility personnel). 2. As a prerequisite, all customer assets (present and future), were mapped using the CMDB, IT system configurations, or by manual audit. 3. RiT Tech completed this integration to the customer’s CMDB as well as power and security systems, according to a condensed project schedule. 4. More than 200 catalogue items were created or modified according to customer requests or requirements. 5. The entire site infrastructure of the data centre from cabinets, through to all installed devices down to the last patch cord and network connectivity were created and set in the system. 6. Dashboards, reports and company rules were created and customized according to customer requirements. 7. Sophisticated algorithms were written to enable comprehensive, end-to-end, automatic provisioning of any moves, adds or changes. 8. Thorough training was conducted to the different user groups and viewers of the system. Use phase: 1. The customer will use the XpedITe platform for fully comprehensive asset management of all assets (IT and Facility), within in all data centre sites (local and remote). 2. According to the new company regulations all moves, adds and changes of any equipment, and any changes in infrastructure within all corporate sites, will be conducted and implemented solely through the XpedITe DNIO platform. 3. Automatic planning for moves, adds and changes of any devices using company rules, developed algorithms, work orders, change control support and required equipment labelling. 4. Real-Time monitoring and alerting of all installed equipment and connectivity across the entire inventory in all sites through the use of bespoke customer dashboards notifications. 5. Real-Time monitoring and alerting for power, environmental conditions, changes and trends using integration through the Power & Thermal Telemetries module. 6. XpedITe is now being used not during the operational phase but also for future planning and relocation projects. 7. Existing sites were audited in order to plan the new site, and then migrated over. All target designs are all held within XpedITe and used to manage the migration. 8. All planning and design as well as implementation is done using XpedITe, allowing for accurate and fast new plans and rapid migration. 9. XpedITe has a fast import for floor layout, and configurable, intelligent layers to provide consistent visibility across the customer’s infrastructure, all of its data centres, and people spaces. RiT Tech provides an Open Framework for integration with other systems, such as linking asset management to the central ERP system. As part of the overall programme, the joint team are working together to ensure that the technologies and business processes installed deliver the following benefits: 1. Intelligent Commissioning saves around 30% of resource time per IMAC ticket 2. Unlimited Integration enables the full-stack functionality, real-time management and true integrated workflow 3. Real-time management allows up-to-date information and enables better decision-making 4. Reduced operating cost from energy usage effectiveness and efficiency 5. Having a complete view of the power draw and energy consumption of the IT and data centre assets together 6. Consistency and visibility across the enterprise and all of its data centers 7. Providing a real-time view of energy consumption and energy efficiency of the entire data centre 8. Help both IT and facilities managers work together to make more informed decisions about overall energy usage, operational and workflow optimisation 9. Full visibility in terms of monitoring, management and control of IT and electro-mechanical devices for better utilisation of both elements 10. Support in calculating the cost of delivering individual services from the data centre RiT Website: https://www.rittech.com/rit-software
Data Centre Physical Connectivity Innovation of the Year
WINNER
Corning Optical Communications
Network Monitoring with Corning Tap Modules
Internet outages can have a devastating impact on business performance and reputation. 2019 alone saw large scale incidents with major companies such as China Telecom, Google Cloud and Apple which caused disruption globally. And, as technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Machine to Machine (M2M) communications and artificial intelligence become increasingly integral to businesses, maintaining uptime of critical infrastructure is becoming more important than ever. Network monitoring – the use of a system that constantly monitors and notifies a network for performance, usage, failing components, and outside threats – is now essential to ensuring company data stays secure and uptime is maintained. One of the most effective methods of network monitoring is port tapping, a way of passively monitoring traffic being transmitted and received along a link in a network. With a host of benefits including identifying performance issues and bottlenecks, viewing network usage, and troubleshooting systems, Corning is taking the lead in providing passive optical TAP (Traffic Access Point) modules through its 12-fibre based EDGE™ and 8-fibre based EDGE8® data centre solutions. What exactly is novel about the product/process or innovation? Corning’s EDGE and EDGE8 TAP modules are using fibre optic couplers (splitter) inside that divide the optical signal into two outputs, one for live link traffic and one for the monitoring link. The live traffic continues through the system link while the monitored traffic is sent to an active monitoring device. TAPs are truly passive and do not add any additional load onto the live network. Because the device simply splits a signal instead of replicating it, a portion of the signal can be taken offline, or out of band, to conduct analysis of the input/output (I/O) traffic without affecting live applications. Corning’s TAP modules enable passive optical tapping of the network while reducing downtime and link loss, and increase rack space utilisation and density compared to other optical monitoring options, as they can be integrated fully into the structured cabling. Corning provides a variety of design options, based on its customers’ unique network needs and offers various split ratios to meet custom requirements. The modules are available in multiple configurations, including MTP®to-LC, LC-to-LC for today’s 10G networks, and MTP-to-MTP for port monitoring of 40G networks. The key features include: • Ease of deployment – Passive, purely optical splitters that don’t require power or configuration. • Real time data transfer – The ability to make copies of all data in real time, with no traffic delays and without burdening the live network. • Cost-efficiency – A low-cost, highly reliable way to provide data non-intrusively to network tools for multiple generations of optics. • Convenience – Since TAPs are integrated into the structured cabling, they allow users to retain use of ports on network switches. • Secure – TAPs aren’t part of the network, so they’re secure, reliable and can’t be hacked. How does the product or process break with conventional ideas or processes in its field? Unlike other passive optical tap solutions that must be added as separate devices in the network link, the EDGE/EDGE8 TAP modules integrate the coupler technology for passive optical tapping into a structured cabling component – the module. This means that monitored ports can be added without disrupting the system’s live traffic, and insertion loss in the link is reduced by the integration of the passive optical tapping into the module. EDGE and EDGE8 TAP modules use an advanced splitter technology for multimode to reduce insertion loss compared to traditional splitter technology. Infrastructure flexibility, speed of deployment, and network uptime are just a few of the benefits offered by Corning’s integrated and advanced design. How does it go beyond marginal improvements on something already exists? The most common alternative method to extract data out of the network for analysis is SPAN (Switch Port for Analysis) technology which can have the following limitations: • Causing network issues such as bridging loops, which sometimes occur during network refreshes • SPAN ports do not receive all data; for example corrupt and improperly sized packets. • Transceivers costs used for SPAN ports increases with every generation of optics • Requiring two ports on network switches when monitoring full duplex • Delaying the packet interaction and placing extra burden on the production network, as SPAN data has the lowest priority By comparison, both EDGE and EDGE8 TAP modules enable passive optical tapping of the network while reducing downtime and link loss, and increase rack space utilisation and density – even compared to other optical tap options. Corning’s award-winning EDGE8 solution also includes the following features: • Superior network scalability, improved link performance and 100 % fibre utilisation of a base-8 design. • Increased asset utilisation, with reduced patch cord complexity and the elimination of stranded cabling assets. • Technology adoption due to 100 % fibre utilisation without the need for conversion modules, which leads to cost and loss savings. • Risk avoidance, providing a simple migration path to 40G, 100G and even 400G. How do customers benefit from the product/process or innovation? Maintaining uptime is a critical focus for businesses in order to maximise productivity and value for their IT networks and applications. A 2014 study from Gartner calculated the average cost of an IT outage at $5,600 per minute, and because there are so many differences in how businesses operate, downtime, at the low end, can be as much as $140,000 per hour, $300,000 per hour on average, and as much as $540,000 per hour. Critical infrastructure performance means: hospitals can keep the network running to service patients and make sure surgeries can be arranged; banks avoid costly unplanned downtime and large ecommerce businesses prevent slowdowns that can lead to customers clicking elsewhere. Not only are the benefits in keeping the system up and running, but also in optimising processes to maximise efficiency and allow for faster time to market - invaluable for large manufacturing companies for example. It is often wise to implement solutions that allow network monitoring without affecting live applications. Network monitoring when implemented optimally should allow individuals to see all network traffic including errors, regardless of packet size, in real time. EDGE and EDGE8 tap modules are invaluable here as they are truly passive and do not add any additional load onto the live network. When installed in the infrastructure right from the beginning, customers can ensure that no unwanted downtime occurs as preventive measures can be taken beforehand with life data analysis. As integrated TAP modules, they enable tapping into all links straight from implementation, with the option to only monitor the required links. As network monitoring requirements grow or change, network administrators can simply add the required cabling between installed TAP modules and corresponding network monitoring equipment. Because there is no need to change any cabling infrastructure, there will be no disruption of the network. Other key benefits include: • Space efficiency – Integrated rear TAP ports mean no extra rack space is needed. • Extended reach – High-performance multimode splitters reduce thin-film splitter loss, allowing for extended reach. • Duplex polarity management – Universal polarity management allows for duplex polarity management when paired with universal module. • Seamless integration – EDGE8®-based footprint integrates seamlessly into existing EDGE8 infrastructures.
Internet outages can have a devastating impact on business performance and reputation. 2019 alone saw large scale incidents with major companies such as China Telecom, Google Cloud and Apple which caused disruption globally. And, as technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Machine to Machine (M2M) communications and artificial intelligence become increasingly integral to businesses, maintaining uptime of critical infrastructure is becoming more important than ever. Network monitoring – the use of a system that constantly monitors and notifies a network for performance, usage, failing components, and outside threats – is now essential to ensuring company data stays secure and uptime is maintained. One of the most effective methods of network monitoring is port tapping, a way of passively monitoring traffic being transmitted and received along a link in a network. With a host of benefits including identifying performance issues and bottlenecks, viewing network usage, and troubleshooting systems, Corning is taking the lead in providing passive optical TAP (Traffic Access Point) modules through its 12-fibre based EDGE™ and 8-fibre based EDGE8® data centre solutions. What exactly is novel about the product/process or innovation? Corning’s EDGE and EDGE8 TAP modules are using fibre optic couplers (splitter) inside that divide the optical signal into two outputs, one for live link traffic and one for the monitoring link. The live traffic continues through the system link while the monitored traffic is sent to an active monitoring device. TAPs are truly passive and do not add any additional load onto the live network. Because the device simply splits a signal instead of replicating it, a portion of the signal can be taken offline, or out of band, to conduct analysis of the input/output (I/O) traffic without affecting live applications. Corning’s TAP modules enable passive optical tapping of the network while reducing downtime and link loss, and increase rack space utilisation and density compared to other optical monitoring options, as they can be integrated fully into the structured cabling. Corning provides a variety of design options, based on its customers’ unique network needs and offers various split ratios to meet custom requirements. The modules are available in multiple configurations, including MTP®to-LC, LC-to-LC for today’s 10G networks, and MTP-to-MTP for port monitoring of 40G networks. The key features include: • Ease of deployment – Passive, purely optical splitters that don’t require power or configuration. • Real time data transfer – The ability to make copies of all data in real time, with no traffic delays and without burdening the live network. • Cost-efficiency – A low-cost, highly reliable way to provide data non-intrusively to network tools for multiple generations of optics. • Convenience – Since TAPs are integrated into the structured cabling, they allow users to retain use of ports on network switches. • Secure – TAPs aren’t part of the network, so they’re secure, reliable and can’t be hacked. How does the product or process break with conventional ideas or processes in its field? Unlike other passive optical tap solutions that must be added as separate devices in the network link, the EDGE/EDGE8 TAP modules integrate the coupler technology for passive optical tapping into a structured cabling component – the module. This means that monitored ports can be added without disrupting the system’s live traffic, and insertion loss in the link is reduced by the integration of the passive optical tapping into the module. EDGE and EDGE8 TAP modules use an advanced splitter technology for multimode to reduce insertion loss compared to traditional splitter technology. Infrastructure flexibility, speed of deployment, and network uptime are just a few of the benefits offered by Corning’s integrated and advanced design. How does it go beyond marginal improvements on something already exists? The most common alternative method to extract data out of the network for analysis is SPAN (Switch Port for Analysis) technology which can have the following limitations: • Causing network issues such as bridging loops, which sometimes occur during network refreshes • SPAN ports do not receive all data; for example corrupt and improperly sized packets. • Transceivers costs used for SPAN ports increases with every generation of optics • Requiring two ports on network switches when monitoring full duplex • Delaying the packet interaction and placing extra burden on the production network, as SPAN data has the lowest priority By comparison, both EDGE and EDGE8 TAP modules enable passive optical tapping of the network while reducing downtime and link loss, and increase rack space utilisation and density – even compared to other optical tap options. Corning’s award-winning EDGE8 solution also includes the following features: • Superior network scalability, improved link performance and 100 % fibre utilisation of a base-8 design. • Increased asset utilisation, with reduced patch cord complexity and the elimination of stranded cabling assets. • Technology adoption due to 100 % fibre utilisation without the need for conversion modules, which leads to cost and loss savings. • Risk avoidance, providing a simple migration path to 40G, 100G and even 400G. How do customers benefit from the product/process or innovation? Maintaining uptime is a critical focus for businesses in order to maximise productivity and value for their IT networks and applications. A 2014 study from Gartner calculated the average cost of an IT outage at $5,600 per minute, and because there are so many differences in how businesses operate, downtime, at the low end, can be as much as $140,000 per hour, $300,000 per hour on average, and as much as $540,000 per hour. Critical infrastructure performance means: hospitals can keep the network running to service patients and make sure surgeries can be arranged; banks avoid costly unplanned downtime and large ecommerce businesses prevent slowdowns that can lead to customers clicking elsewhere. Not only are the benefits in keeping the system up and running, but also in optimising processes to maximise efficiency and allow for faster time to market - invaluable for large manufacturing companies for example. It is often wise to implement solutions that allow network monitoring without affecting live applications. Network monitoring when implemented optimally should allow individuals to see all network traffic including errors, regardless of packet size, in real time. EDGE and EDGE8 tap modules are invaluable here as they are truly passive and do not add any additional load onto the live network. When installed in the infrastructure right from the beginning, customers can ensure that no unwanted downtime occurs as preventive measures can be taken beforehand with life data analysis. As integrated TAP modules, they enable tapping into all links straight from implementation, with the option to only monitor the required links. As network monitoring requirements grow or change, network administrators can simply add the required cabling between installed TAP modules and corresponding network monitoring equipment. Because there is no need to change any cabling infrastructure, there will be no disruption of the network. Other key benefits include: • Space efficiency – Integrated rear TAP ports mean no extra rack space is needed. • Extended reach – High-performance multimode splitters reduce thin-film splitter loss, allowing for extended reach. • Duplex polarity management – Universal polarity management allows for duplex polarity management when paired with universal module. • Seamless integration – EDGE8®-based footprint integrates seamlessly into existing EDGE8 infrastructures.
RUNNER UP
Legrand
The Infinium Quantum Fiber Solution
What is novel about the product / process or innovation? The Infinium Quantum™ end to end fiber system provides the industry’s lowest total channel connection loss optical cabling solution designed for high speed and high bandwidth demand environments. Available in both single-mode and multimode, the patent pending Infinium Quantum systems offer the lowest channel link loss at 0.75dB, which is a recorded 67% improvement over standard systems and a 55% improvement over any ultra-low-loss optical fiber system available on the market. Key Features & Benefits: Infinium Quantum, was exclusively designed to allow the fastest and most reliable migration path to 400G and beyond by reducing or eliminating the need to replace cabling components. 1. Lowest total channel connection loss – 67% improvement over standard systems • Single-mode total channel connection loss: 0.75dB • Single-mode total channel connection return loss: 49dB • Multimode total channel connection loss 0.75dB • Multimode total channel connection return loss: 34dB • Lowest latency • Lowest bit rate retransmission equalling fewer errors – Increasing Uptime 2. Future Proofing – Open path to 400G and beyond • Reducing or eliminating the need to replace link to meet demands of 400G and beyond • Reduce need for fusion splicing to obtain low link loss • Ability to add cross connections, signal drops, splitting, or switching components into the link for a particular transmission distance 3. Sustainability – Corporate social responsibility • Reduce overall energy consumption – over 30% reduction in power consumption for transceivers - Small data center save 92 MWhrs - Large data center save 925 MWhrs - Hyperscale data center save 1850 MWhrs o Additionally, enabling significantly more savings in cooling cost avoidance since less heat is generated by the transceivers - Small data center save 370 MWhrs - Large data center save 3703 MWhrs - Hyperscale data center save 7406 MWhrs o Reducing CO2 due to significant reduction in power consumption - Small data center save 198 tons CO2 / year - Large data center save 1985 tons CO2 / year - Hyperscale data center save 3969 tons CO2 / year • High performance infrastructure • Environmental stewardship • Contribute to LEED points How does the product or process break with conventional ideas or processes in its field? Infinium Quantum has redefined performance in the data center with a total channel connection loss that is an order of magnitude better than any other fiber system on the market today. Infinium Quantum is designed to enable transitioning to 400g and beyond, save CAPEX, OPEX, and help to hit sustainability targets. Characterized by performance, Infinium Quantum was engineered to enable greater sustainability, future proofing, and lowest total channel connection loss, highly configurable and scalable, with innovative features that simplify the process of installing or working with the system. How does it go beyond marginal improvements on something that already exists? The Infinium Quantum ultra-low loss single-mode system is based on a combination of superior engineering and unique patent-pending manufacturing processes of each of the connectivity components, comprising of a system of patch cords, cassettes and MPO trunk cables. 2.1dB is the total channel loss of a standard single-mode pre-terminated cassette-based solution, which is representative of the most competitive single-mode solutions on the market today. However, the Infinium Quantum™ System provides a significantly improved 0.75dB end-to-end channel loss which is revolutionary in our industry, which is a recorded 67% improvement over standard systems and a 55% improvement over any ultra-low-loss optical fiber system available on the market. How do customers benefit from the product / process or innovation? Data centers face the ongoing challenge of meeting growing needs to process more data, save energy and reduce costs. Less delays in the processing of the data between powerful servers and larger, more complicated switches, are being demanded by the massive proliferation of mobile IoT devices requiring less hops between equipment in order to keep the signalling delays shorter for data transmission. The Infinium Quantum offers a fiber optic solution that is designed to deliver the most advanced network performance, with a variety of density, enclosure and application options for maximum compatibility. The modular system is engineered with installation efficiency and performance in mind – allowing a data center designer to implement a reliable cabling infrastructure for current and future needs and providing flexibility to support new technologies and architectures by simply updating the transceivers. For further information on the Infinium Quantum Fiber Solution, please visit: https://www.legrand.us/markets-solutions/data-center-solutions/infinium-quantum-fiber-solutions.aspx Infinium Quantum Hype Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsEauFatazM Infinium Quantum Test Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMRXbZAhnvo
What is novel about the product / process or innovation? The Infinium Quantum™ end to end fiber system provides the industry’s lowest total channel connection loss optical cabling solution designed for high speed and high bandwidth demand environments. Available in both single-mode and multimode, the patent pending Infinium Quantum systems offer the lowest channel link loss at 0.75dB, which is a recorded 67% improvement over standard systems and a 55% improvement over any ultra-low-loss optical fiber system available on the market. Key Features & Benefits: Infinium Quantum, was exclusively designed to allow the fastest and most reliable migration path to 400G and beyond by reducing or eliminating the need to replace cabling components. 1. Lowest total channel connection loss – 67% improvement over standard systems • Single-mode total channel connection loss: 0.75dB • Single-mode total channel connection return loss: 49dB • Multimode total channel connection loss 0.75dB • Multimode total channel connection return loss: 34dB • Lowest latency • Lowest bit rate retransmission equalling fewer errors – Increasing Uptime 2. Future Proofing – Open path to 400G and beyond • Reducing or eliminating the need to replace link to meet demands of 400G and beyond • Reduce need for fusion splicing to obtain low link loss • Ability to add cross connections, signal drops, splitting, or switching components into the link for a particular transmission distance 3. Sustainability – Corporate social responsibility • Reduce overall energy consumption – over 30% reduction in power consumption for transceivers - Small data center save 92 MWhrs - Large data center save 925 MWhrs - Hyperscale data center save 1850 MWhrs o Additionally, enabling significantly more savings in cooling cost avoidance since less heat is generated by the transceivers - Small data center save 370 MWhrs - Large data center save 3703 MWhrs - Hyperscale data center save 7406 MWhrs o Reducing CO2 due to significant reduction in power consumption - Small data center save 198 tons CO2 / year - Large data center save 1985 tons CO2 / year - Hyperscale data center save 3969 tons CO2 / year • High performance infrastructure • Environmental stewardship • Contribute to LEED points How does the product or process break with conventional ideas or processes in its field? Infinium Quantum has redefined performance in the data center with a total channel connection loss that is an order of magnitude better than any other fiber system on the market today. Infinium Quantum is designed to enable transitioning to 400g and beyond, save CAPEX, OPEX, and help to hit sustainability targets. Characterized by performance, Infinium Quantum was engineered to enable greater sustainability, future proofing, and lowest total channel connection loss, highly configurable and scalable, with innovative features that simplify the process of installing or working with the system. How does it go beyond marginal improvements on something that already exists? The Infinium Quantum ultra-low loss single-mode system is based on a combination of superior engineering and unique patent-pending manufacturing processes of each of the connectivity components, comprising of a system of patch cords, cassettes and MPO trunk cables. 2.1dB is the total channel loss of a standard single-mode pre-terminated cassette-based solution, which is representative of the most competitive single-mode solutions on the market today. However, the Infinium Quantum™ System provides a significantly improved 0.75dB end-to-end channel loss which is revolutionary in our industry, which is a recorded 67% improvement over standard systems and a 55% improvement over any ultra-low-loss optical fiber system available on the market. How do customers benefit from the product / process or innovation? Data centers face the ongoing challenge of meeting growing needs to process more data, save energy and reduce costs. Less delays in the processing of the data between powerful servers and larger, more complicated switches, are being demanded by the massive proliferation of mobile IoT devices requiring less hops between equipment in order to keep the signalling delays shorter for data transmission. The Infinium Quantum offers a fiber optic solution that is designed to deliver the most advanced network performance, with a variety of density, enclosure and application options for maximum compatibility. The modular system is engineered with installation efficiency and performance in mind – allowing a data center designer to implement a reliable cabling infrastructure for current and future needs and providing flexibility to support new technologies and architectures by simply updating the transceivers. For further information on the Infinium Quantum Fiber Solution, please visit: https://www.legrand.us/markets-solutions/data-center-solutions/infinium-quantum-fiber-solutions.aspx Infinium Quantum Hype Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsEauFatazM Infinium Quantum Test Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMRXbZAhnvo
Hosting/Colocation Innovation of the Year
WINNER
Iron Mountain Data Centers
Green Power Pass – A Revolution for Renewables Reporting
In February 2019 Iron Mountain Data Centers (IMDC) launched Green Power Pass, a transparent solution for companies seeking to report greenhouse gas or CO2 reductions. It is the first solution of its kind in the data centre industry and IMDC believes it will show the way for other operators and have a significant positive environmental impact, as measurable sustainability becomes a core business concern for all end users. IMDC has some of the most energy-efficient facilities in the industry, and its flagship EMEA facility, AMS-1, was the first 100% renewable data center in the Netherlands. Built on the new carbon reporting protocol released by the Future of Internet Power (FoIP) working group and IMDC’s 100 percent renewable-powered colocation offering, Green Power Pass covers power consumed at every Iron Mountain data centre around the globe. Reporting is standardised, easy and fast, delivering peace of mind for organisations looking to achieve their sustainability commitments through an annual certificate of attestation validating that 100 percent of the power they use at Iron Mountain is from qualifying renewable resources. The solution is more than simply a reporting breakthrough, it is designed to have a positive environmental impact. GPP opens the door for thousands of companies to have access to renewable energy for their data centre footprint. And it is structured in such a way that other data center providers can easily copy and paste the new process. More customer access means more green power demand – and that will lead to a greener grid for everyone. The Birth of GPP: Breaking Through Barriers GPP overcomes a significant barrier for customers and partners. Until now colocation users wishing to use and report on renewable energy have been faced with a formidable barrier. The WRI GHG protocol is the accepted standard for accounting and reporting a company’s carbon footprint. But lack of a consistent data centre industry practice for reporting the direct vs indirect impacts of data centre energy use has created concern with the WRI protocol process over the potential for double accounting of the GHG reductions. This meant that there was no accepted way for customers to report any benefits. Barred from counting the GHG reduction benefits of the colocation owner’s contracts, the only solution for customers was to purchase separate off-set or REC purchases to “green” their colocation footprint. This adds complexity and cost for customers and partners. It also prevents colocation customers from expressing their desire for green energy solutions – a move that would empower colocation owners to aggregate demand and drive market change. The Future of Internet Power (FoIP) (which became an initiative from the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA)) recognised this problem and brought together a powerful collection of the biggest colocation customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, including Iron Mountain. During a two-year process, this group worked together to build an industry best practice and consensus to solve the problem. Convened by Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) and the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA), the industry and non-profit collaboration published a “best practice” protocol for data centre customers to report the benefits of green power contracted by data centre owners. In a white paper published in October 2018, FoIP defined how colocation providers can procure and deliver renewable power to their data centres in order to enable the recognised transfer of green power benefits to their customers. Breakthrough one: It recommended that data centre owners define the electricity used for common functions (the PUE) as their scope 2 and define their tenants’ IT load as scope 3.Colocation tenants should report the opposite – IT load as their scope 2 and the PUE as their scope 3. In this way, the renewable energy delivered to “green” the building can be counted by both parties without any concerns about double counting. The second breakthrough in the FoIP white paper was an agreement on the details of an audited Letter of Attestation that documents the electricity supply and provides the customer (and their auditor) with assurance of a solid chain-of-custody and audit trail for the renewable contracts they are making claims against. Together, these elements make the FoIP white paper an industry breakthrough and are enabling a sea change in the market. GPP was made possible by these industry initiatives. IMDC’s 100 percent renewable energy colocation offering made it straightforward to design and launch an industry-endorsed, transparent solution for companies seeking to report greenhouse gas or CO2 reductions associated with the green power they consume. How it Works GPP is straightforward and quick to implement. GPP customers receive an annual certificate of attestation validating that 100 percent of the green power they use at Iron Mountain is acceptable in their reporting. In addition, every GPP customer receives a detailed report on their power consumption and full documentation on the amount, source, and chain-of-custody of the wind, solar or other renewable electricity that Iron Mountain data centres is using to offset the power consumed at that location. GPP includes signage and logos that Iron Mountain customers can use to show what they have done. GPP attestations are performed once a year and include the prior year’s energy consumption. Widespread Impact GPP directly affects over 100 million Kilowatt Hours of electricity consumption. More effective coordination and streamlining of carbon reporting in the data centre will also lead to millions of dollars in savings for colocation customers. IMDC research suggests that, with the widespread availability of renewable power in the data centre industry, many businesses are currently paying large amounts to buy carbon offsets which they simply do not need. Signing up for a GPP-type solution immediately eliminates this unnecessary cost as well as saving on CSR administration. "Iron Mountain's Green Power Pass is an exciting breakthrough for the data centre industry, and a wonderful demonstration of the power of collaboration between industry and NGOs. By being the first solution to come to market that uses the Future of Internet Power's Requirements for Supplier-Procured Renewable Energy, Iron Mountain is showing the way for data centre customers to easily access the benefits of green electricity. Now all colocation and cloud customers of any size can be part of the movement to increase demand and help realize the goal of an internet powered by 100 percent renewable energy." Miranda Ballentine CEO, REBA (Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance). Open Source Innovation GPP is a genuinely open source solution with no barriers to entry and simple cut and paste process. In fact the GPP development team has already publicly stated that Iron Mountain will measure the success of the solution by the number of successful launches by competitors of similar products. Feedback from Pilot Customers. Take-up and Feedback GPP take-up through 2020 was strong in both Europe and North America. It has been highly reliant on the support of pilot customers including Akamai, Arizona State University, The Boeing Company, Boston Medical Centre, Credit Suisse, Patagonia, Goldman Sachs and WeWork. Here is some of their feedback: "Akamai believes that operating our business with a small environmental footprint is fundamental to unlocking the potential of the internet and an essential value for our customers and the communities in which we operate. We are pleased to be a launch partner of Iron Mountain's Green Power Pass allowing us to deliver services to our customers in a sustainable and socially responsible way through 100% renewable power." Dr. Robert Blumofe, EVP Platform & General Manager, Enterprise Division, Akamai "This agreement with Iron Mountain's Green Power Pass program will offset the same amount of electricity that 4,100 homes would use in a year, with clean, renewable energy. Becoming an early adopter of carbon emission reduction initiatives will help Boeing progress toward our 2025 environmental goals and help our efforts to reduce 25 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions at our work sites." Beth Schryer, Vice President, Boeing Facilities & Asset Management. “We are pleased to partner with Iron Mountain and believe their strategy provides sustainable enhancements to our data center operations. Their innovative technology and services will allow Goldman Sachs to scale its data center operations more efficiently, and further advance the firm’s broader commitment to environmental stewardship and reduced carbon footprint.” Global Co-COO Tech Division, Goldman Sachs
In February 2019 Iron Mountain Data Centers (IMDC) launched Green Power Pass, a transparent solution for companies seeking to report greenhouse gas or CO2 reductions. It is the first solution of its kind in the data centre industry and IMDC believes it will show the way for other operators and have a significant positive environmental impact, as measurable sustainability becomes a core business concern for all end users. IMDC has some of the most energy-efficient facilities in the industry, and its flagship EMEA facility, AMS-1, was the first 100% renewable data center in the Netherlands. Built on the new carbon reporting protocol released by the Future of Internet Power (FoIP) working group and IMDC’s 100 percent renewable-powered colocation offering, Green Power Pass covers power consumed at every Iron Mountain data centre around the globe. Reporting is standardised, easy and fast, delivering peace of mind for organisations looking to achieve their sustainability commitments through an annual certificate of attestation validating that 100 percent of the power they use at Iron Mountain is from qualifying renewable resources. The solution is more than simply a reporting breakthrough, it is designed to have a positive environmental impact. GPP opens the door for thousands of companies to have access to renewable energy for their data centre footprint. And it is structured in such a way that other data center providers can easily copy and paste the new process. More customer access means more green power demand – and that will lead to a greener grid for everyone. The Birth of GPP: Breaking Through Barriers GPP overcomes a significant barrier for customers and partners. Until now colocation users wishing to use and report on renewable energy have been faced with a formidable barrier. The WRI GHG protocol is the accepted standard for accounting and reporting a company’s carbon footprint. But lack of a consistent data centre industry practice for reporting the direct vs indirect impacts of data centre energy use has created concern with the WRI protocol process over the potential for double accounting of the GHG reductions. This meant that there was no accepted way for customers to report any benefits. Barred from counting the GHG reduction benefits of the colocation owner’s contracts, the only solution for customers was to purchase separate off-set or REC purchases to “green” their colocation footprint. This adds complexity and cost for customers and partners. It also prevents colocation customers from expressing their desire for green energy solutions – a move that would empower colocation owners to aggregate demand and drive market change. The Future of Internet Power (FoIP) (which became an initiative from the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA)) recognised this problem and brought together a powerful collection of the biggest colocation customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, including Iron Mountain. During a two-year process, this group worked together to build an industry best practice and consensus to solve the problem. Convened by Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) and the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA), the industry and non-profit collaboration published a “best practice” protocol for data centre customers to report the benefits of green power contracted by data centre owners. In a white paper published in October 2018, FoIP defined how colocation providers can procure and deliver renewable power to their data centres in order to enable the recognised transfer of green power benefits to their customers. Breakthrough one: It recommended that data centre owners define the electricity used for common functions (the PUE) as their scope 2 and define their tenants’ IT load as scope 3.Colocation tenants should report the opposite – IT load as their scope 2 and the PUE as their scope 3. In this way, the renewable energy delivered to “green” the building can be counted by both parties without any concerns about double counting. The second breakthrough in the FoIP white paper was an agreement on the details of an audited Letter of Attestation that documents the electricity supply and provides the customer (and their auditor) with assurance of a solid chain-of-custody and audit trail for the renewable contracts they are making claims against. Together, these elements make the FoIP white paper an industry breakthrough and are enabling a sea change in the market. GPP was made possible by these industry initiatives. IMDC’s 100 percent renewable energy colocation offering made it straightforward to design and launch an industry-endorsed, transparent solution for companies seeking to report greenhouse gas or CO2 reductions associated with the green power they consume. How it Works GPP is straightforward and quick to implement. GPP customers receive an annual certificate of attestation validating that 100 percent of the green power they use at Iron Mountain is acceptable in their reporting. In addition, every GPP customer receives a detailed report on their power consumption and full documentation on the amount, source, and chain-of-custody of the wind, solar or other renewable electricity that Iron Mountain data centres is using to offset the power consumed at that location. GPP includes signage and logos that Iron Mountain customers can use to show what they have done. GPP attestations are performed once a year and include the prior year’s energy consumption. Widespread Impact GPP directly affects over 100 million Kilowatt Hours of electricity consumption. More effective coordination and streamlining of carbon reporting in the data centre will also lead to millions of dollars in savings for colocation customers. IMDC research suggests that, with the widespread availability of renewable power in the data centre industry, many businesses are currently paying large amounts to buy carbon offsets which they simply do not need. Signing up for a GPP-type solution immediately eliminates this unnecessary cost as well as saving on CSR administration. "Iron Mountain's Green Power Pass is an exciting breakthrough for the data centre industry, and a wonderful demonstration of the power of collaboration between industry and NGOs. By being the first solution to come to market that uses the Future of Internet Power's Requirements for Supplier-Procured Renewable Energy, Iron Mountain is showing the way for data centre customers to easily access the benefits of green electricity. Now all colocation and cloud customers of any size can be part of the movement to increase demand and help realize the goal of an internet powered by 100 percent renewable energy." Miranda Ballentine CEO, REBA (Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance). Open Source Innovation GPP is a genuinely open source solution with no barriers to entry and simple cut and paste process. In fact the GPP development team has already publicly stated that Iron Mountain will measure the success of the solution by the number of successful launches by competitors of similar products. Feedback from Pilot Customers. Take-up and Feedback GPP take-up through 2020 was strong in both Europe and North America. It has been highly reliant on the support of pilot customers including Akamai, Arizona State University, The Boeing Company, Boston Medical Centre, Credit Suisse, Patagonia, Goldman Sachs and WeWork. Here is some of their feedback: "Akamai believes that operating our business with a small environmental footprint is fundamental to unlocking the potential of the internet and an essential value for our customers and the communities in which we operate. We are pleased to be a launch partner of Iron Mountain's Green Power Pass allowing us to deliver services to our customers in a sustainable and socially responsible way through 100% renewable power." Dr. Robert Blumofe, EVP Platform & General Manager, Enterprise Division, Akamai "This agreement with Iron Mountain's Green Power Pass program will offset the same amount of electricity that 4,100 homes would use in a year, with clean, renewable energy. Becoming an early adopter of carbon emission reduction initiatives will help Boeing progress toward our 2025 environmental goals and help our efforts to reduce 25 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions at our work sites." Beth Schryer, Vice President, Boeing Facilities & Asset Management. “We are pleased to partner with Iron Mountain and believe their strategy provides sustainable enhancements to our data center operations. Their innovative technology and services will allow Goldman Sachs to scale its data center operations more efficiently, and further advance the firm’s broader commitment to environmental stewardship and reduced carbon footprint.” Global Co-COO Tech Division, Goldman Sachs
RUNNER UP
CyrusOne
CyrusOne Breaks Ground on Third Data Center in Frankfurt
CyrusOne Inc. a leading global real estate investment trust (REIT) have broken ground on the first phase of its newest data center location in Frankfurt, Germany. The facility is CyrusOne’s third in the Sossenheim district of the city, offering cloud providers, systems integrators and multinational corporations customized, secure and resilient data center solutions within a key business hub. Upon completion, expected in Q2 2020, the site will comprise two adjoining, four-story buildings delivering 22 MW of IT power to 11,500 sq. m of world-class technical space. Indirect adiabatic air cooling in each data hall will ensure an extremely low Power Usage Efficiency (PUE). “Frankfurt is one of the fastest growing and most strategically important locations for CyrusOne due to its economic strength and proximity to one of the most important European financial centers,” said Tesh Durvasula, President Europe, CyrusOne. “This will mark our third expansion facility in Frankfurt and I expect it will effectively be pre-leased by the time we complete construction next year.” “The demand we are seeing from US hyperscalers in Europe has been tremendous and we are seeing it accelerate considerably. This development, alongside our other expansion efforts in Dublin, Amsterdam and London underscores our ambition to be the only hyperscale data center provider in Europe. I expect our European business will grow to become about 20 percent of CyrusOne’s total revenues in two years.” The rapid construction timeline for the Frankfurt III data center is made possible by CyrusOne’s extensive experience building more than 45 data centers worldwide. CyrusOne is using a modular construction method and will work closely with valued partners including Mercury and Klein Architekten.
CyrusOne Inc. a leading global real estate investment trust (REIT) have broken ground on the first phase of its newest data center location in Frankfurt, Germany. The facility is CyrusOne’s third in the Sossenheim district of the city, offering cloud providers, systems integrators and multinational corporations customized, secure and resilient data center solutions within a key business hub. Upon completion, expected in Q2 2020, the site will comprise two adjoining, four-story buildings delivering 22 MW of IT power to 11,500 sq. m of world-class technical space. Indirect adiabatic air cooling in each data hall will ensure an extremely low Power Usage Efficiency (PUE). “Frankfurt is one of the fastest growing and most strategically important locations for CyrusOne due to its economic strength and proximity to one of the most important European financial centers,” said Tesh Durvasula, President Europe, CyrusOne. “This will mark our third expansion facility in Frankfurt and I expect it will effectively be pre-leased by the time we complete construction next year.” “The demand we are seeing from US hyperscalers in Europe has been tremendous and we are seeing it accelerate considerably. This development, alongside our other expansion efforts in Dublin, Amsterdam and London underscores our ambition to be the only hyperscale data center provider in Europe. I expect our European business will grow to become about 20 percent of CyrusOne’s total revenues in two years.” The rapid construction timeline for the Frankfurt III data center is made possible by CyrusOne’s extensive experience building more than 45 data centers worldwide. CyrusOne is using a modular construction method and will work closely with valued partners including Mercury and Klein Architekten.
Edge Computing Innovation of the Year
WINNER
Pluribus Networks
Enabling SDN Automation at the Edge
Pluribus Networks’ mission is to simplify distributed cloud networking by providing a high-performance solution that fully automates and unifies Linux-based open networking, software defined networking (SDN), network virtualization and granular network analytics into a single cost-effective solution that is designed and tested to work out of the box. Pluribus is leading the industry with innovation and SDN automation at the edge. With the latest release of its Netvisor® ONE OS, Pluribus claims a number of industry firsts, including the first open networking software to support the Celestica Edgestone™ carrier-grade white box central office switch, as well as the first integration of the data center gateway router function into the top-of-rack switch, which reduces cost, power and space in constrained edge environments. - What, exactly, is novel about the product/process or innovation? Pluribus has developed a solution that is purpose-built for distributed cloud networking and edge deployments.Pluribus delivers a controllerless software-defined networking fabric that provides a VXLAN virtual overlay and is ideal for simplifying the networking required for distributed cloud architecture. - How does the product or process break with conventional ideas or processes in its field? In constrained edge environments, an efficient yet comprehensive network automation solution is critical. Unfortunately, SDN automation, virtualization, segmentation, and traffic visibility solutions have, understandably, been designed for highly centralized data centers. These current solutions typically require multiple controllers running on top of multiple servers at each edge location. In a central data center, these additional servers for network automation are “in the noise,” but in an edge mini data center they incur significant cost and consume power and space that is precious. Centralized controllers also suffer from latency penalties as they communicate back and forth with the switch/router infrastructure and also act as a single point of failure. Furthermore, because of their centralized heritage, these controllers often require a controller-of-controllers to manage multiple sites, which increases integration and deployment complexity. - How does it go beyond marginal improvements on something that already exists? The architectural approach to the Pluribus Netvisor ONE OS and Adaptive Cloud Fabric (ACF) is unique in that it is “controllerless,” where all software modules are containerized, distributed and designed to leverage the processing power and memory resources built into the open networking data center switches themselves. Traditional solutions require many external servers; controller software licenses; CPU software licenses; and hardware-based probes, taps and packet brokers that typically need to be replicated site by site. The Pluribus Adaptive Cloud Fabric eliminates the need for most of the external hardware and software required by these traditional approaches, dramatically reducing complexity and cost and optimizing for constrained edge environments. - How do customers benefit from the product/process or innovation? Customers save significant hardware costs because of Pluribus commitment to open networking. Controllerless, distributed architecture is more resilient, less expensive to operate Customers gain fabric wide visibility and management capabilities Customers benefit from SDN automation across distributed data center sites, dramatically simplifying network operations Customers have granular network segmentation capabilities that are essential in edge and emerging 5G deployments. - Don’t believe us, hear from our customers --> “Pluribus Networks was selected for Econocom Italia’s multi-site data center deployment because their solution makes our four data centers look like one, radically simplifying operations while providing fabric-wide network services to our customers. We believe this is the most innovative multi-site and distributed cloud networking solution available.” Paolo Bombonati, COO, Econocom Italia “With Pluribus’ controllerless SDN and Adaptive Cloud Fabric, we can dynamically move virtual machines, applications and workloads between data centers, and do maintenance without impacting customers. We can update policy across the entire network with a single command. We’re improving our service levels and customer satisfaction at the same time. Our network is highly automated, enabling us to better serve our business, and our business to better serve our customers,” Gareth Evans, Anana Infrastructure Manager. “The cost savings of open networking is certainly compelling, but for our team, it is the fabric-wide visibility together with the SDN automation that make the Pluribus Networks solution so valuable to us day in and day out. With this deployment we continue to stay at the cutting edge of networking, further improving network operations and management.” Bart Myszkowski, AMS-IX network engineer “Pluribus gives us a high degree of automation and programmability across our multi-site data centers, simplifying processes and network management while scaling our networking team. Thanks to the capabilities delivered by Pluribus, we can do far more today for the business, from employee mobility (VDI) to IT cost containment and network virtualization – all with the same team and budget.” Edoardo Gentili, Information Systems Manager at Scavolini
Pluribus Networks’ mission is to simplify distributed cloud networking by providing a high-performance solution that fully automates and unifies Linux-based open networking, software defined networking (SDN), network virtualization and granular network analytics into a single cost-effective solution that is designed and tested to work out of the box. Pluribus is leading the industry with innovation and SDN automation at the edge. With the latest release of its Netvisor® ONE OS, Pluribus claims a number of industry firsts, including the first open networking software to support the Celestica Edgestone™ carrier-grade white box central office switch, as well as the first integration of the data center gateway router function into the top-of-rack switch, which reduces cost, power and space in constrained edge environments. - What, exactly, is novel about the product/process or innovation? Pluribus has developed a solution that is purpose-built for distributed cloud networking and edge deployments.Pluribus delivers a controllerless software-defined networking fabric that provides a VXLAN virtual overlay and is ideal for simplifying the networking required for distributed cloud architecture. - How does the product or process break with conventional ideas or processes in its field? In constrained edge environments, an efficient yet comprehensive network automation solution is critical. Unfortunately, SDN automation, virtualization, segmentation, and traffic visibility solutions have, understandably, been designed for highly centralized data centers. These current solutions typically require multiple controllers running on top of multiple servers at each edge location. In a central data center, these additional servers for network automation are “in the noise,” but in an edge mini data center they incur significant cost and consume power and space that is precious. Centralized controllers also suffer from latency penalties as they communicate back and forth with the switch/router infrastructure and also act as a single point of failure. Furthermore, because of their centralized heritage, these controllers often require a controller-of-controllers to manage multiple sites, which increases integration and deployment complexity. - How does it go beyond marginal improvements on something that already exists? The architectural approach to the Pluribus Netvisor ONE OS and Adaptive Cloud Fabric (ACF) is unique in that it is “controllerless,” where all software modules are containerized, distributed and designed to leverage the processing power and memory resources built into the open networking data center switches themselves. Traditional solutions require many external servers; controller software licenses; CPU software licenses; and hardware-based probes, taps and packet brokers that typically need to be replicated site by site. The Pluribus Adaptive Cloud Fabric eliminates the need for most of the external hardware and software required by these traditional approaches, dramatically reducing complexity and cost and optimizing for constrained edge environments. - How do customers benefit from the product/process or innovation? Customers save significant hardware costs because of Pluribus commitment to open networking. Controllerless, distributed architecture is more resilient, less expensive to operate Customers gain fabric wide visibility and management capabilities Customers benefit from SDN automation across distributed data center sites, dramatically simplifying network operations Customers have granular network segmentation capabilities that are essential in edge and emerging 5G deployments. - Don’t believe us, hear from our customers --> “Pluribus Networks was selected for Econocom Italia’s multi-site data center deployment because their solution makes our four data centers look like one, radically simplifying operations while providing fabric-wide network services to our customers. We believe this is the most innovative multi-site and distributed cloud networking solution available.” Paolo Bombonati, COO, Econocom Italia “With Pluribus’ controllerless SDN and Adaptive Cloud Fabric, we can dynamically move virtual machines, applications and workloads between data centers, and do maintenance without impacting customers. We can update policy across the entire network with a single command. We’re improving our service levels and customer satisfaction at the same time. Our network is highly automated, enabling us to better serve our business, and our business to better serve our customers,” Gareth Evans, Anana Infrastructure Manager. “The cost savings of open networking is certainly compelling, but for our team, it is the fabric-wide visibility together with the SDN automation that make the Pluribus Networks solution so valuable to us day in and day out. With this deployment we continue to stay at the cutting edge of networking, further improving network operations and management.” Bart Myszkowski, AMS-IX network engineer “Pluribus gives us a high degree of automation and programmability across our multi-site data centers, simplifying processes and network management while scaling our networking team. Thanks to the capabilities delivered by Pluribus, we can do far more today for the business, from employee mobility (VDI) to IT cost containment and network virtualization – all with the same team and budget.” Edoardo Gentili, Information Systems Manager at Scavolini
RUNNER UP
Huawei - Dawiyat Integrated Telecommunications & Information Technology Company
KSA SEC-Dawiyat NBB Smart Shelter Project
SEC is responsible for the external operation of the group's power communication assets. In August 2017, SEC obtained the FTTH share of 750,000 lines, accounting for 34% of the phase-1 NBN market share. In December 2017, SEC signed an FTTH access agreement with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development for 500,000 new residential users, the goal is to become the second largest fixed network construction party in Saudi Arabia. A large number of sites require quick delivery and service rollout. To help customer to build the network, Huawei prefabricated data center-FusionDC1000A40 is purposed. The FusionDC1000A40 is a small-capacity prefabricated all-in-one data center that integrates the pre-fab. Module mechanical structure, power supply and distribution system, HVAC system, management system, fire extinguishing system, integrated cabling system, and server cabinets. It features high security and reliability, rapid deployment, high efficiency, and intelligent management. This features can exactly solve customer problems and help customer to continue and grow their business. igh Security and Reliability： In Saudi Arabia, there are sandstorms every year. So equipment is deployed in a pre-fab module that complies with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 668 standard. The pre-fab module provides sufficient protection (IP55 by default; IP65 available by changing the dustproof module at the air vent) as it is assembled by industry-leading welding technologies and well-sealed to be waterproof and dustproof. SEC customer deployed the AIO (All in one) data center in multiple sparsely populated sites, so it’s very important make sure the data center safety. Theft proof: The intelligent access control system and mechanical locks provide multifold security protection and can meet class 3 theft proof requirements in EN 1627–EN 1630, if required. Adaptive to environment: We consider one step more. The design of two porches prevents sand from entering the equipment compartment when doors are open during maintenance, ensuring that the pre-fab module applies to various harsh environments. Rapid and Easy Deployment Streamlined manufacturing, professional division of labor, and good work conditions ensure that modules and products of the FusionDC1000A40 are produced efficiently with strict quality control. Infrastructures such as cooling equipment, power supply equipment, and racks are installed in factory. Only Network cables, power cables, and water pipes to be provided onsite for commissioning. System commissioning is completed in factories, and therefore onsite deployment and equipment room commissioning take less than one week. The pre-fab module can be easily relocated as it can be transported on level-3 roads and applies to various scenarios such as dynamic data service deployment, military affairs, disaster relief, and field operations. Prefabricated AIO data center solution frees customers from the need to build a house for only a few cabinets and frees them from the worry of theft and environmental impact. In addition, the unified network management system simplifies O&M. SEC is very satisfied with AIO solution, resulting in multiple phases of deployments one after another. For the market, this solution is applicable to almost all scenarios without buildings (with this capacity). It is widely used, including mobility scenarios. This solution will gradually replace the poor quality of the traditional shelter facilities. This solution outperforms competitors in the following innovative points: 1. All facilities are pre-integrated in the factory to ensure rapid deployment and high connection quality. 2. The IP65 (Optional) protection level ensures that the customer's equipment is well protected and proper environment is provided for CT equipment. 3. Theft proof: The intelligent access control system and mechanical locks provide multifold security protection and can meet class 3 theft proof requirements in EN 1627–EN 1630 if required. 4. The heat transfer coefficient is ≤ 0.36 W/ (m2 x K) the smallest in the industry, ensuring high energy efficiency in hot areas. 5. Cold and hot airflow isolation, enabling optimal energy efficiency 6. Same quality as the building, the service life can reach more than 25 years. 7. Shockproof: The container meets the GR-63-CORE Zone 3 shockproof requirements. prefabricated modular data center solution has been favored by customers in various industries. It ranked No. 1 in the industry for five consecutive years from 2014 to 2018 (IHS Prefabricated modular data centers reports). Last year, the shipment volume exceeded 2000 cases, ranking No. 1 in the industry. International well-known companies and carriers, such as HUAWEI CLOUD, Dubai International Airport, and Myanmar Telenor, have adopted this solution to help customers achieve business success.
SEC is responsible for the external operation of the group's power communication assets. In August 2017, SEC obtained the FTTH share of 750,000 lines, accounting for 34% of the phase-1 NBN market share. In December 2017, SEC signed an FTTH access agreement with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development for 500,000 new residential users, the goal is to become the second largest fixed network construction party in Saudi Arabia. A large number of sites require quick delivery and service rollout. To help customer to build the network, Huawei prefabricated data center-FusionDC1000A40 is purposed. The FusionDC1000A40 is a small-capacity prefabricated all-in-one data center that integrates the pre-fab. Module mechanical structure, power supply and distribution system, HVAC system, management system, fire extinguishing system, integrated cabling system, and server cabinets. It features high security and reliability, rapid deployment, high efficiency, and intelligent management. This features can exactly solve customer problems and help customer to continue and grow their business. igh Security and Reliability： In Saudi Arabia, there are sandstorms every year. So equipment is deployed in a pre-fab module that complies with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 668 standard. The pre-fab module provides sufficient protection (IP55 by default; IP65 available by changing the dustproof module at the air vent) as it is assembled by industry-leading welding technologies and well-sealed to be waterproof and dustproof. SEC customer deployed the AIO (All in one) data center in multiple sparsely populated sites, so it’s very important make sure the data center safety. Theft proof: The intelligent access control system and mechanical locks provide multifold security protection and can meet class 3 theft proof requirements in EN 1627–EN 1630, if required. Adaptive to environment: We consider one step more. The design of two porches prevents sand from entering the equipment compartment when doors are open during maintenance, ensuring that the pre-fab module applies to various harsh environments. Rapid and Easy Deployment Streamlined manufacturing, professional division of labor, and good work conditions ensure that modules and products of the FusionDC1000A40 are produced efficiently with strict quality control. Infrastructures such as cooling equipment, power supply equipment, and racks are installed in factory. Only Network cables, power cables, and water pipes to be provided onsite for commissioning. System commissioning is completed in factories, and therefore onsite deployment and equipment room commissioning take less than one week. The pre-fab module can be easily relocated as it can be transported on level-3 roads and applies to various scenarios such as dynamic data service deployment, military affairs, disaster relief, and field operations. Prefabricated AIO data center solution frees customers from the need to build a house for only a few cabinets and frees them from the worry of theft and environmental impact. In addition, the unified network management system simplifies O&M. SEC is very satisfied with AIO solution, resulting in multiple phases of deployments one after another. For the market, this solution is applicable to almost all scenarios without buildings (with this capacity). It is widely used, including mobility scenarios. This solution will gradually replace the poor quality of the traditional shelter facilities. This solution outperforms competitors in the following innovative points: 1. All facilities are pre-integrated in the factory to ensure rapid deployment and high connection quality. 2. The IP65 (Optional) protection level ensures that the customer's equipment is well protected and proper environment is provided for CT equipment. 3. Theft proof: The intelligent access control system and mechanical locks provide multifold security protection and can meet class 3 theft proof requirements in EN 1627–EN 1630 if required. 4. The heat transfer coefficient is ≤ 0.36 W/ (m2 x K) the smallest in the industry, ensuring high energy efficiency in hot areas. 5. Cold and hot airflow isolation, enabling optimal energy efficiency 6. Same quality as the building, the service life can reach more than 25 years. 7. Shockproof: The container meets the GR-63-CORE Zone 3 shockproof requirements. prefabricated modular data center solution has been favored by customers in various industries. It ranked No. 1 in the industry for five consecutive years from 2014 to 2018 (IHS Prefabricated modular data centers reports). Last year, the shipment volume exceeded 2000 cases, ranking No. 1 in the industry. International well-known companies and carriers, such as HUAWEI CLOUD, Dubai International Airport, and Myanmar Telenor, have adopted this solution to help customers achieve business success.
Data Centre Hosting/co-location Supplier of the Year
WINNER
Node4
Node4
Node4 launched in 2004, and since then we have expanded rapidly. Today, our comprehensive service offering is delivered to businesses up and down the UK, thanks in part to the demand for better hosted IT and communications solutions. Our Tier 3+ data centres are among the most efficient in the world, with an efficiency rating of PuE 1.2. Across 83,000ft2 with 1,580 racks, the three wholly-owned UK data centre locations provide access to ISO27001 certified, highly secure and robust environments from wherever you are.
Node4 launched in 2004, and since then we have expanded rapidly. Today, our comprehensive service offering is delivered to businesses up and down the UK, thanks in part to the demand for better hosted IT and communications solutions. Our Tier 3+ data centres are among the most efficient in the world, with an efficiency rating of PuE 1.2. Across 83,000ft2 with 1,580 racks, the three wholly-owned UK data centre locations provide access to ISO27001 certified, highly secure and robust environments from wherever you are.
RUNNER UP
IP House
IP House, London
After launching to the UK colocation market in spring 2018, IP House had a sterling year in 2019, achieving and maintaining a number of benchmarks in terms of partnerships, service reach and new customers. IP House's London Docklands data centre is built to Tier III standards on the edge of the city's financial district, and contains over 14,000 sq ft of premium, low-latency white space, with the capacity for 512 racks across two technical data suites. “From the design stages through to the deployment of the first pod, our focus has always been built around three core and customer-centred principles,” says Vinny Vaghani, Operations and Commercial Manager at IP House. “The first was to partner with industry-leading vendors, which ensures we deploy the most reliable and innovative technology solutions throughout the facility. “The second was to gain accreditations that would reflect our commitment to uptime, security, resiliency and continual improvement. The third was to develop a reputation for industry-leading customer service, which is something all of the founding members are extremely passionate about.” Vaghani says: “In the last year we have carved out an important position in a busy London hosting and colocation market. As the industry consolidates in places in response to competition from larger players, we have managed to continue to grow as a result of our wide-ranging and consistently good offering.” The company provides modular, agile, flexible and scalable bespoke solutions. Its facility is both cloud and carrier-neutral, with superfast connectivity to the London Internet Exchange (LINX) and multiple cloud platforms. IP House utilises a category 6 backbone cabling infrastructure to deliver support for high-speed networks going up to 100Gb/sec, making it the perfect high-performance solution for customers dependent on connections to business-critical applications and data hosted within the facility. Connectivity service providers at the data centre include euNetworks, Zayo, CenturyLink, Telia Carrier, BT and Vodafone. And cloud connect partners to support customers include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Salesforce and Oracle Cloud. Our multiple cloud provider services offer guaranteed industry-leading SLAs. CUSTOMER BENEFITS FOR CLOUD CONNECT • Private connectivity through our network providers • Access to leading cloud providers • Reliable, secure and low-latency for high-performance • cloud computing • Avoid public internet congestion • Delivered on a global network by industry-leading providers BESPOKE AND FLEXIBLE PRICING Our bespoke services and flexible pricing are designed to suit any business requirement. We can offer cost-effective fixed, burstable or usage-based pricing to suit your needs. Pricing is readily available for 10Mbps to 100Gbps of bandwidth in various configurations: DIA (single location), aggregated (shared bandwidth for multiple locations) and IP VPN (virtual private network using IP/MPLS backbone) to connect multiple locations. Our commercially flexible pay-as-you-grow approach to scalability and deployment provides businesses the utmost reliability at competitive prices. ENVIRONMENT & MONITORING Industry leading monitoring, courtesy of Schneider Electric’s StruxtureWare DCIM suite, provides extensive visibility across the entire data centre to give customers peace of mind. Environmental sensors alert our facility operators and clients to changing conditions to allow precise reporting of the environment. Our highly intelligent BMS integrates seamlessly to combine all monitored elements of the facility. This includes: ✓ Power, temperature and humidity monitoring ✓ DX cooling ✓ FM200 fire suppression ✓ Leak detection This high-level monitoring, together with optional service additions, available to all of our clients. SMART HANDS Deploying resources to site to perform planned and unplanned maintenance work can be inconvenient and costly. To help support the day-to-day operations of your hosted equipment, and therefore your business, we offer a comprehensive support service covering the management of on-site tasks, procedures and fault reporting. Our certified technicians are on hand, 24/7. Examples of the services covered by our Smart Hands offering are: ✓ Rack and unstack equipment ✓ Fluke® testing, replacement, addition or removal of cabling ✓ Backup media management ✓ Daily visual inspection of hardware ✓ Installation and swap-out of hardware components ✓ Power cycling of servers, routers or other equipment BUILD & TEST SUITE IP House provides a private and secure test suite for customers allowing for maintenance and build work to be carried out on-site. Equipment can be shipped directly to site allowing configuration to be completed at the facility. COMPLIANCE To ensure compliance with industry regulations and mitigate risk for end-users, IP House has also sought widely-recognised accreditations. These include: EN50600 – Used to certify that the facility meets the requirements of a concurrently maintainable data centre, using a four-level rating to describe the resilience and redundancy level of the site. ISO 27001 – For information security management systems. This helps organisations to manage the security of data assets such as financial information, intellectual property, employee details or information entrusted by third parties. ISO 9001 – For quality management. This family of standards provides both guidance and tools for companies who want to ensure that their products and services consistently meet customers' requirements, and that quality is continually improved. ISO 50001 – For energy management. This helps organisations to save money as well as helping to conserve resources and tackle climate change. ISO 14001 – For environmental management. This family of standards provides practical tools for companies looking to manage their environmental responsibilities. IP House renewed all the above ISO certifications against its facility in autumn 2019. “IP House are committed to providing customers with a secure, competitive and resilient colocation service, that safeguards them against downtime,” said Sean Hilliar, Data Centre Manager at IP House. “Our customers can be assured that we are focused on both innovation and continual improvement. These are the values on which our brand has been built and will be our differentiators in a market where space is currently low and capacity is in high demand.” IP House benefits from over 20 years of experience and knowledge across its management team from working with industry leading brands. It also benefits from being part of Metro Networks, which provides extensive coverage across the UK and connects the facility to other major national communication hubs. IP House has built strong relationships with a number of key customers who have benefited from the high specification of its facility and the wide range of services and support it offers. CUSTOMERS These include Bink Networks, a managed service provider. Bink says: “As an experienced operator, we have seen a steady rise in the number of solutions providers entering our industry. Our challenge was the procurement of a data centre footprint that would allow us to remain profitable in the future.” It said: “We were keen to explore the newly refurbished data suites at IP House and discover the potential benefits we could offer to our customers. The operators and extensive technology upgrades impressed us from our first visit. “We have measurable data to demonstrate to our customers that our hosting services at IP House deliver on our service and reputation as a trusted managed service provider. By working closely with the team at IP House, we have been able to facilitate a convenient expansion of our estate within the facility.” Joseph Waite, chief technology officer at Bink Networks, says: “We highly recommend the facility and operator, for the quality and standards upheld and for a team who extend their attributes, wherever possible, to assist their clients. With such a close-knit operation, you can be guaranteed a personalised service.” DEEP SEA Another satisfied customer is the Deep Sea Geographical Surveying Company. It said: “We were seeking a short-term colocation [for about three months] solution with rapid provisioning for our testbed environment with high-density power circuits. 63A feeds were required for suitable testing of our IT infrastructure, particularly for our UPS needs.” Post-completion, it also needed suitable logistical assistance to arrange smooth migration of the equipment to the final destination of a maritime expedition. The customer said: “IP House were a perfect fit for our project, having met our technical requirements. From our initial meeting, we were able to establish a close working relationship with the on-site team who were able to support and assist with our setup. “The Data Centre Manager showed an unrivalled passion for service delivery and client satisfaction. We were super confident in his capabilities, communications and planning around our solution. It said: “The service was delivered to an impeccable standard and we successfully completed the setup and commissioning of our IT infrastructure. Our team were able to complete this with great efficiency and they began the first phase of their expedition having had a comfortable, convenient, stress-free setup. A fully focused team is critical for our voyages.” Deep Sea Geographical Surveying Company's head of IT said: “We would like to thank the team at IP House for all their support, hospitality and for being able to turn around our requirement so quickly. The absence of any delays from IP House guaranteed we remained on target for the deployment for this submarine project.” RE-SOLUTION Another customer, Re-Solution, is also willing to chip in as to the merits of IP House. It said: “We needed a service partner who could facilitate the next step of our solutions strategy and support us in building our service portfolio, as we opened into new areas of opportunity. Low latency and high-bandwidth was a major factor for us, and IP House are able to deliver both, being in one of the UK’s most connected locations.” It added: “We were seeking a service provider who could be a true extension of our team, night or day. With a dedicated point of contact and a leadership team at the forefront, it was precisely the chain-free relationship that we were looking for and to build upon. “From a technical perspective, the Data Centre ticked all of our boxes, whilst demonstrating added value from their extensive ISO accreditations. “Our sales teams have been able to immediately utilise our investment at IP House by opening new services for potential opportunities. We have already begun campaigning around how we can help our existing clients on their IT infrastructure and cloud platform strategies.” Sean Draper, director of Re-Solution, said: “The team at IP House, most importantly the decision makers, are always available. We find this to be a priceless asset and core to our success, especially when we are faced with time constraints.” “They can quickly make decisions and turn around service requests for rapid results.” All this makes IP House a prime candidate for Data Centre Hosting/Colocation Supplier of the Year.
After launching to the UK colocation market in spring 2018, IP House had a sterling year in 2019, achieving and maintaining a number of benchmarks in terms of partnerships, service reach and new customers. IP House's London Docklands data centre is built to Tier III standards on the edge of the city's financial district, and contains over 14,000 sq ft of premium, low-latency white space, with the capacity for 512 racks across two technical data suites. “From the design stages through to the deployment of the first pod, our focus has always been built around three core and customer-centred principles,” says Vinny Vaghani, Operations and Commercial Manager at IP House. “The first was to partner with industry-leading vendors, which ensures we deploy the most reliable and innovative technology solutions throughout the facility. “The second was to gain accreditations that would reflect our commitment to uptime, security, resiliency and continual improvement. The third was to develop a reputation for industry-leading customer service, which is something all of the founding members are extremely passionate about.” Vaghani says: “In the last year we have carved out an important position in a busy London hosting and colocation market. As the industry consolidates in places in response to competition from larger players, we have managed to continue to grow as a result of our wide-ranging and consistently good offering.” The company provides modular, agile, flexible and scalable bespoke solutions. Its facility is both cloud and carrier-neutral, with superfast connectivity to the London Internet Exchange (LINX) and multiple cloud platforms. IP House utilises a category 6 backbone cabling infrastructure to deliver support for high-speed networks going up to 100Gb/sec, making it the perfect high-performance solution for customers dependent on connections to business-critical applications and data hosted within the facility. Connectivity service providers at the data centre include euNetworks, Zayo, CenturyLink, Telia Carrier, BT and Vodafone. And cloud connect partners to support customers include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Salesforce and Oracle Cloud. Our multiple cloud provider services offer guaranteed industry-leading SLAs. CUSTOMER BENEFITS FOR CLOUD CONNECT • Private connectivity through our network providers • Access to leading cloud providers • Reliable, secure and low-latency for high-performance • cloud computing • Avoid public internet congestion • Delivered on a global network by industry-leading providers BESPOKE AND FLEXIBLE PRICING Our bespoke services and flexible pricing are designed to suit any business requirement. We can offer cost-effective fixed, burstable or usage-based pricing to suit your needs. Pricing is readily available for 10Mbps to 100Gbps of bandwidth in various configurations: DIA (single location), aggregated (shared bandwidth for multiple locations) and IP VPN (virtual private network using IP/MPLS backbone) to connect multiple locations. Our commercially flexible pay-as-you-grow approach to scalability and deployment provides businesses the utmost reliability at competitive prices. ENVIRONMENT & MONITORING Industry leading monitoring, courtesy of Schneider Electric’s StruxtureWare DCIM suite, provides extensive visibility across the entire data centre to give customers peace of mind. Environmental sensors alert our facility operators and clients to changing conditions to allow precise reporting of the environment. Our highly intelligent BMS integrates seamlessly to combine all monitored elements of the facility. This includes: ✓ Power, temperature and humidity monitoring ✓ DX cooling ✓ FM200 fire suppression ✓ Leak detection This high-level monitoring, together with optional service additions, available to all of our clients. SMART HANDS Deploying resources to site to perform planned and unplanned maintenance work can be inconvenient and costly. To help support the day-to-day operations of your hosted equipment, and therefore your business, we offer a comprehensive support service covering the management of on-site tasks, procedures and fault reporting. Our certified technicians are on hand, 24/7. Examples of the services covered by our Smart Hands offering are: ✓ Rack and unstack equipment ✓ Fluke® testing, replacement, addition or removal of cabling ✓ Backup media management ✓ Daily visual inspection of hardware ✓ Installation and swap-out of hardware components ✓ Power cycling of servers, routers or other equipment BUILD & TEST SUITE IP House provides a private and secure test suite for customers allowing for maintenance and build work to be carried out on-site. Equipment can be shipped directly to site allowing configuration to be completed at the facility. COMPLIANCE To ensure compliance with industry regulations and mitigate risk for end-users, IP House has also sought widely-recognised accreditations. These include: EN50600 – Used to certify that the facility meets the requirements of a concurrently maintainable data centre, using a four-level rating to describe the resilience and redundancy level of the site. ISO 27001 – For information security management systems. This helps organisations to manage the security of data assets such as financial information, intellectual property, employee details or information entrusted by third parties. ISO 9001 – For quality management. This family of standards provides both guidance and tools for companies who want to ensure that their products and services consistently meet customers' requirements, and that quality is continually improved. ISO 50001 – For energy management. This helps organisations to save money as well as helping to conserve resources and tackle climate change. ISO 14001 – For environmental management. This family of standards provides practical tools for companies looking to manage their environmental responsibilities. IP House renewed all the above ISO certifications against its facility in autumn 2019. “IP House are committed to providing customers with a secure, competitive and resilient colocation service, that safeguards them against downtime,” said Sean Hilliar, Data Centre Manager at IP House. “Our customers can be assured that we are focused on both innovation and continual improvement. These are the values on which our brand has been built and will be our differentiators in a market where space is currently low and capacity is in high demand.” IP House benefits from over 20 years of experience and knowledge across its management team from working with industry leading brands. It also benefits from being part of Metro Networks, which provides extensive coverage across the UK and connects the facility to other major national communication hubs. IP House has built strong relationships with a number of key customers who have benefited from the high specification of its facility and the wide range of services and support it offers. CUSTOMERS These include Bink Networks, a managed service provider. Bink says: “As an experienced operator, we have seen a steady rise in the number of solutions providers entering our industry. Our challenge was the procurement of a data centre footprint that would allow us to remain profitable in the future.” It said: “We were keen to explore the newly refurbished data suites at IP House and discover the potential benefits we could offer to our customers. The operators and extensive technology upgrades impressed us from our first visit. “We have measurable data to demonstrate to our customers that our hosting services at IP House deliver on our service and reputation as a trusted managed service provider. By working closely with the team at IP House, we have been able to facilitate a convenient expansion of our estate within the facility.” Joseph Waite, chief technology officer at Bink Networks, says: “We highly recommend the facility and operator, for the quality and standards upheld and for a team who extend their attributes, wherever possible, to assist their clients. With such a close-knit operation, you can be guaranteed a personalised service.” DEEP SEA Another satisfied customer is the Deep Sea Geographical Surveying Company. It said: “We were seeking a short-term colocation [for about three months] solution with rapid provisioning for our testbed environment with high-density power circuits. 63A feeds were required for suitable testing of our IT infrastructure, particularly for our UPS needs.” Post-completion, it also needed suitable logistical assistance to arrange smooth migration of the equipment to the final destination of a maritime expedition. The customer said: “IP House were a perfect fit for our project, having met our technical requirements. From our initial meeting, we were able to establish a close working relationship with the on-site team who were able to support and assist with our setup. “The Data Centre Manager showed an unrivalled passion for service delivery and client satisfaction. We were super confident in his capabilities, communications and planning around our solution. It said: “The service was delivered to an impeccable standard and we successfully completed the setup and commissioning of our IT infrastructure. Our team were able to complete this with great efficiency and they began the first phase of their expedition having had a comfortable, convenient, stress-free setup. A fully focused team is critical for our voyages.” Deep Sea Geographical Surveying Company's head of IT said: “We would like to thank the team at IP House for all their support, hospitality and for being able to turn around our requirement so quickly. The absence of any delays from IP House guaranteed we remained on target for the deployment for this submarine project.” RE-SOLUTION Another customer, Re-Solution, is also willing to chip in as to the merits of IP House. It said: “We needed a service partner who could facilitate the next step of our solutions strategy and support us in building our service portfolio, as we opened into new areas of opportunity. Low latency and high-bandwidth was a major factor for us, and IP House are able to deliver both, being in one of the UK’s most connected locations.” It added: “We were seeking a service provider who could be a true extension of our team, night or day. With a dedicated point of contact and a leadership team at the forefront, it was precisely the chain-free relationship that we were looking for and to build upon. “From a technical perspective, the Data Centre ticked all of our boxes, whilst demonstrating added value from their extensive ISO accreditations. “Our sales teams have been able to immediately utilise our investment at IP House by opening new services for potential opportunities. We have already begun campaigning around how we can help our existing clients on their IT infrastructure and cloud platform strategies.” Sean Draper, director of Re-Solution, said: “The team at IP House, most importantly the decision makers, are always available. We find this to be a priceless asset and core to our success, especially when we are faced with time constraints.” “They can quickly make decisions and turn around service requests for rapid results.” All this makes IP House a prime candidate for Data Centre Hosting/Colocation Supplier of the Year.
Data Centre Cloud Vendor of the Year
WINNER
Rubrik
Rubrik Cloud Data Management
Rubrik is a single platform that manages all data in the cloud, at the edge, or on-prem for archival, automation, recovery, compliance, and analytics. Some of the key benefits customers can achieve: - 70-90% of operational savings - 20-50% TCO savings over three years - Simplified backup and recovery processes - Protection from ransomware attacks through immutable data - Rapid adoption to the cloud through quick migration. Every company has data and more and more each day. Rubrik powers customers’ data and unleashes hard savings in a converged architecture. Our cloud data management is a single software fabric comprising four main components: Atlas (Cloud-Scale File System), Callisto (Distributed Metadata System), Cerebro (Data Management Layer), and Infinity (Interface and Application Awareness). Innovation To meet the testing standards of today, organisations need management simplicity across all their workloads and automation of routine daily tasks. Rubrik delivers an innovative new approach to data management, providing the foundation necessary to simplify backup and recovery, reclaim valuable time for business-critical projects, and transform IT organisations into business enablers. To add to its innovation, we are the industry’s only data management solution built on an API-first architecture. This means that every feature available through the Rubrik UI uses Rubrik’s own REST APIs. Users can leverage the APIs to easily integrate data protection with existing tools and even build new custom services. Listening to the customers Neill Smith, Head of IT Infrastructure, Scottish Government “We operate in a heavily regulated industry that requires our data management solution to be highly secure and reliable. Rubrik employs a comprehensive approach to security and ensures our data privacy and safety. This includes end-to-end encryption across our entire on-prem and cloud environment as well audit capabilities for meeting compliance.” Rubrik was able to deliver significant results for the Scottish government with: - 33% TCO savings - 60% management time savings - 6x faster backup performance Edward Poll, Head of IT Infrastructure, Cranfield University “As a leading global research institution, demand for agile services from our users is continuously increasing. We need forward thinking technology within our infrastructure. Since Rubrik is software converged and built on an API-first architecture, we receive hands-free management and automated orchestration, providing DevOps-like functionality while minimizing downtime.” Rubrik was able to deliver: - Lower RTOs for VMware, SQL, and Oracle RMAN workloads (from hours to minutes) - 83% management time savings.
Rubrik is a single platform that manages all data in the cloud, at the edge, or on-prem for archival, automation, recovery, compliance, and analytics. Some of the key benefits customers can achieve: - 70-90% of operational savings - 20-50% TCO savings over three years - Simplified backup and recovery processes - Protection from ransomware attacks through immutable data - Rapid adoption to the cloud through quick migration. Every company has data and more and more each day. Rubrik powers customers’ data and unleashes hard savings in a converged architecture. Our cloud data management is a single software fabric comprising four main components: Atlas (Cloud-Scale File System), Callisto (Distributed Metadata System), Cerebro (Data Management Layer), and Infinity (Interface and Application Awareness). Innovation To meet the testing standards of today, organisations need management simplicity across all their workloads and automation of routine daily tasks. Rubrik delivers an innovative new approach to data management, providing the foundation necessary to simplify backup and recovery, reclaim valuable time for business-critical projects, and transform IT organisations into business enablers. To add to its innovation, we are the industry’s only data management solution built on an API-first architecture. This means that every feature available through the Rubrik UI uses Rubrik’s own REST APIs. Users can leverage the APIs to easily integrate data protection with existing tools and even build new custom services. Listening to the customers Neill Smith, Head of IT Infrastructure, Scottish Government “We operate in a heavily regulated industry that requires our data management solution to be highly secure and reliable. Rubrik employs a comprehensive approach to security and ensures our data privacy and safety. This includes end-to-end encryption across our entire on-prem and cloud environment as well audit capabilities for meeting compliance.” Rubrik was able to deliver significant results for the Scottish government with: - 33% TCO savings - 60% management time savings - 6x faster backup performance Edward Poll, Head of IT Infrastructure, Cranfield University “As a leading global research institution, demand for agile services from our users is continuously increasing. We need forward thinking technology within our infrastructure. Since Rubrik is software converged and built on an API-first architecture, we receive hands-free management and automated orchestration, providing DevOps-like functionality while minimizing downtime.” Rubrik was able to deliver: - Lower RTOs for VMware, SQL, and Oracle RMAN workloads (from hours to minutes) - 83% management time savings.
RUNNER UP
NEC Technologies India Private Limited
Managed Services Division
NECTI Managed Services Division supports customers globally by providing SLA driven service delivery to optimize IT operations of Subsidiaries/Partners/End-Customers and meet business objectives. MSD Team offers services in different domains / technologies like servers, desktops, NOC, Virtualization, ITSM, Database etc. We have managed the performance and availability of data center with a holistic view of physical and virtual environment and maximized the value of infrastructure. Our major technology / solution is below: a. Cloud Services b. IT Outsourcing c. Managed End User Compute Services d. Managed Hosting Services
NECTI Managed Services Division supports customers globally by providing SLA driven service delivery to optimize IT operations of Subsidiaries/Partners/End-Customers and meet business objectives. MSD Team offers services in different domains / technologies like servers, desktops, NOC, Virtualization, ITSM, Database etc. We have managed the performance and availability of data center with a holistic view of physical and virtual environment and maximized the value of infrastructure. Our major technology / solution is below: a. Cloud Services b. IT Outsourcing c. Managed End User Compute Services d. Managed Hosting Services
Data Centre Facilities Vendor of the Year
WINNER
Huawei
Leading Smart DC——Huawei Data Center Energy
•What are your company's key distinguishing features and/or USP? Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have nearly 194,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world. The network energy product line is one of Huawei's fastest-growing product lines, and its products cover four areas: data center energy, telecom energy, smart photovoltaic, and automotive power. Committed to providing green, reliable, and intelligent network energy solutions for the ICT industry. At present, Huawei's network energy product line has 9 R & D centers, more than 1,200 invention patents, and more than 2,000 R & D staff. In 2019, it achieved income of 4.67 billion U.S. dollars, and its product concepts and quality have been recognized by the industry. In the domain of data center energy, Huawei integrates advanced power electronics technology, thermal management technology and AI technology to reduce data center PUE, reduce carbon emissions through innovation and practice, and provide customers with green intelligent data center solutions. Specific products and solutions include outdoor prefabricated modular data centers, indoor modular data centers, UPS, air conditioning and management systems. •What tangible impact has your company had on the market and your customers? Thanks to continuous investment and technology accumulation in the field of data center energy, Huawei's data center energy performance has grown steadily. According to third-party authority IHS and frost & sullivan report, outdoor prefabricated modular data centers ranked No. 1 in global market share. The indoor modular data center ranked No. 1 in global market share, and the modular UPS ranked No. 1 in global market share. At present, Huawei ’s data center energy solutions cover Carriers, ISP, governments, transportation, finance, manufacturing, energy, etc. Multiple industries. •What levels of customer service differentiate you from your competitors. There are some cooperative customers who have not been authorized publicly. Listed below are just some of the customers that have been served Carrier：British Telecom，Vodafone，Orange，China Unicom，China Mobile，China Telecom etc. ISP：Global Switch，Colt，Noris Network etc. Transportation：London Underground，Dubai International Airport，Mexico City Airport，Singapore CAAS etc. Manufacture：BMW，Mercedes-Benz，Heineken，Coca cola etc. Financial：Turkey Halkbank，Central Bank of Oman Data Center，Ethiopia Commercial Bank，China Construction Bank etc. Energy：Saudi Electricity Company，Mexico Pemex，Russian Grids，Electricity Generation Company Turkey etc. •What are the major differentiators between your company and your primary competitors? From the perspective of data center infrastructure, our major difference is modularity and intelligence. Modularity Compared with the traditional data center construction mode, the smart modular DC adopts the full-modular architecture. The standard interfaces of all components are prefabricated, pre-tested, and assembled onsite. The onsite construction and commissioning can be completed within one week, saving service rollout time. In addition, due to unpredictability of services, traditional construction mode planning and capacity expansion are difficult. One-time planning and construction are prone to excessive investment, resulting in high OPEX and resource waste. The modular construction mode can be deployed in phases with customers' services, and flexible capacity expansion, reducing initial investment. Intelligence In addition，Huawei smart modular DC solution integrates AI features based on modularization and maximizes the value of data center infrastructure by using iPower, iCooling, and iManager intelligent features. Huawei iPower can realize millisecond-level fault detection and millisecond-level fault isolation through power supply full-link monitoring, which can eliminate fire hazards and greatly improve the reliability and availability of data center energy infrastructure. For example, in the power distribution system, iPower incorporates AI technology, which can accurately predict the life and health of the battery, provide users with a maintenance decision basis in advance, eliminate battery packs with potential failures in time, and change passive response to active maintenance. It can automatically cut off the battery in extreme cases such as rapid temperature rise of the battery, thereby avoiding vicious events such as fire and greatly improving the reliability of the data center. iCooling @ AI technology can automatically infer the optimal system parameters under the PUE through the deep neural network to achieve the best energy efficiency in the data center. That is, the best "champion" is selected from more than 170,000 refrigeration system tuning control combinations in one minute, and the refrigeration system is controlled to operate in the best way. It is continuously optimized for 7 * 24 hours to improve the overall efficiency of the refrigeration system , Reduce PUE 8% -15%. iManager enables operation and maintenance from relying on "people" to relying on "DCIM +" for intelligent operation and maintenance. Including centralized and unified management of data center infrastructure to achieve preventive maintenance; GIS positioning technology to improve the response speed of fault location, and improve the efficiency of data center operations and maintenance. In addition, iManager can also realize the complete life cycle visual management of equipment assets, from storage, shelf, maintenance to withdrawal, tracking. From the perspective of the entire data center, Huawei can provide full-stack data center solutions, from L1 power, cooling, management, services, to L2 server, storage, network and L3 cloud. •Please supply any supportive quotes and/or case study materials to demonstrate the position of your company in the market. For the case, please refer to the attached attachment” Some of Huawei Data Center Facilities Success Cases”, which have been submitted separately Regarding market share, please refer to the attachment “Global market share and worldwide recognition”, which have been submitted separately
•What are your company's key distinguishing features and/or USP? Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have nearly 194,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world. The network energy product line is one of Huawei's fastest-growing product lines, and its products cover four areas: data center energy, telecom energy, smart photovoltaic, and automotive power. Committed to providing green, reliable, and intelligent network energy solutions for the ICT industry. At present, Huawei's network energy product line has 9 R & D centers, more than 1,200 invention patents, and more than 2,000 R & D staff. In 2019, it achieved income of 4.67 billion U.S. dollars, and its product concepts and quality have been recognized by the industry. In the domain of data center energy, Huawei integrates advanced power electronics technology, thermal management technology and AI technology to reduce data center PUE, reduce carbon emissions through innovation and practice, and provide customers with green intelligent data center solutions. Specific products and solutions include outdoor prefabricated modular data centers, indoor modular data centers, UPS, air conditioning and management systems. •What tangible impact has your company had on the market and your customers? Thanks to continuous investment and technology accumulation in the field of data center energy, Huawei's data center energy performance has grown steadily. According to third-party authority IHS and frost & sullivan report, outdoor prefabricated modular data centers ranked No. 1 in global market share. The indoor modular data center ranked No. 1 in global market share, and the modular UPS ranked No. 1 in global market share. At present, Huawei ’s data center energy solutions cover Carriers, ISP, governments, transportation, finance, manufacturing, energy, etc. Multiple industries. •What levels of customer service differentiate you from your competitors. There are some cooperative customers who have not been authorized publicly. Listed below are just some of the customers that have been served Carrier：British Telecom，Vodafone，Orange，China Unicom，China Mobile，China Telecom etc. ISP：Global Switch，Colt，Noris Network etc. Transportation：London Underground，Dubai International Airport，Mexico City Airport，Singapore CAAS etc. Manufacture：BMW，Mercedes-Benz，Heineken，Coca cola etc. Financial：Turkey Halkbank，Central Bank of Oman Data Center，Ethiopia Commercial Bank，China Construction Bank etc. Energy：Saudi Electricity Company，Mexico Pemex，Russian Grids，Electricity Generation Company Turkey etc. •What are the major differentiators between your company and your primary competitors? From the perspective of data center infrastructure, our major difference is modularity and intelligence. Modularity Compared with the traditional data center construction mode, the smart modular DC adopts the full-modular architecture. The standard interfaces of all components are prefabricated, pre-tested, and assembled onsite. The onsite construction and commissioning can be completed within one week, saving service rollout time. In addition, due to unpredictability of services, traditional construction mode planning and capacity expansion are difficult. One-time planning and construction are prone to excessive investment, resulting in high OPEX and resource waste. The modular construction mode can be deployed in phases with customers' services, and flexible capacity expansion, reducing initial investment. Intelligence In addition，Huawei smart modular DC solution integrates AI features based on modularization and maximizes the value of data center infrastructure by using iPower, iCooling, and iManager intelligent features. Huawei iPower can realize millisecond-level fault detection and millisecond-level fault isolation through power supply full-link monitoring, which can eliminate fire hazards and greatly improve the reliability and availability of data center energy infrastructure. For example, in the power distribution system, iPower incorporates AI technology, which can accurately predict the life and health of the battery, provide users with a maintenance decision basis in advance, eliminate battery packs with potential failures in time, and change passive response to active maintenance. It can automatically cut off the battery in extreme cases such as rapid temperature rise of the battery, thereby avoiding vicious events such as fire and greatly improving the reliability of the data center. iCooling @ AI technology can automatically infer the optimal system parameters under the PUE through the deep neural network to achieve the best energy efficiency in the data center. That is, the best "champion" is selected from more than 170,000 refrigeration system tuning control combinations in one minute, and the refrigeration system is controlled to operate in the best way. It is continuously optimized for 7 * 24 hours to improve the overall efficiency of the refrigeration system , Reduce PUE 8% -15%. iManager enables operation and maintenance from relying on "people" to relying on "DCIM +" for intelligent operation and maintenance. Including centralized and unified management of data center infrastructure to achieve preventive maintenance; GIS positioning technology to improve the response speed of fault location, and improve the efficiency of data center operations and maintenance. In addition, iManager can also realize the complete life cycle visual management of equipment assets, from storage, shelf, maintenance to withdrawal, tracking. From the perspective of the entire data center, Huawei can provide full-stack data center solutions, from L1 power, cooling, management, services, to L2 server, storage, network and L3 cloud. •Please supply any supportive quotes and/or case study materials to demonstrate the position of your company in the market. For the case, please refer to the attached attachment” Some of Huawei Data Center Facilities Success Cases”, which have been submitted separately Regarding market share, please refer to the attachment “Global market share and worldwide recognition”, which have been submitted separately
RUNNER UP
CBRE Data Centre Solutions
CBRE’s New Converged Data Center Model Adds Technology Services To Suite Of Data Center Solutions
In 2019 CBRE expanded its Data Center Solutions(DCS) offering to include an additional range of technology services. CBRE’s Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) business now manages and maintains both data center technology physical infrastructure—hardware and software (e.g., servers, storage, racks)—and data center facilities (e.g., UPS and HVAC). In addition, the Converged Data Center model encompasses services across the full real estate and IT lifecycle, including those in the Advisory and Project Management disciplines, such as: consulting, capital financing, site selection, development and project management, technology workload migration, and disposition of facilities. The integrated offering of technology and facilities management as well as advisory services is called the “Converged Data Center” model. “Our converged model provides a way to tie business-critical IT and mission-critical facilities together within one value-stream-based funding model,” said Jim Harding, Global President of Data Center Solutions for GWS. “This ultimately will help our clients be more competitive and achieve their digital transformation priorities.” CBRE’s clients, particularly those with responsibility for real estate, finance and information functions, will realize significant benefits from the Converged Data Center approach. These include: reduced costs, improved operational efficiency, visibility of end-to-end operations and associated costs, better informed organizational and investment decision-making, and the ability to move assets off the balance sheet to more closely resemble a cloud financial model. The technology scope of services within CBRE’s DCS group spans vendor-agnostic strategic consulting, such as cloud migration strategy and planning, data center planning and fit out, technical implementation and support (Smart Hands / Remote Hands), hardware maintenance, data destruction and asset recycling. Analytics, predictive maintenance, fault avoidance and speed to resolution—for both infrastructure equipment (e.g., UPS systems) and IT equipment (e.g., services)—will be provided through DCS’s analytics group, CBRE | Romonet. CBRE | Romonet CBRE | Romonet is a patented, cloud-based predictive analytics platform that delivers actionable intelligence and scenario modelling across all stages of the data centre lifecycle. The result is as accurate a picture as possible of any given data centre's financial, operational and environmental performance —enabling more visibility and informed decisions that unlock cost savings, drive profit, optimize energy consumption, increase reliability, and improve facility operations. Romonet’s analytics can be used to compare and contrast the total cost of ownership of one data centre design versus another before investing in building the facility; a team operating an existing site can use it to track whether the facility is continuously operating from an energy and water perspective as efficiently as possible; or executive leadership can have visibility into how data centre costs are contributing to each of their applications/ internal platforms or customers. Romonet provides big data visualisations, structured reporting, benchmarking and analysis spanning the following data centre lifecycle stages: Strategy and Design Romonet helps determine the best location for a specific data centre, and quantifies and validates how its design should perform from a total cost of ownership and efficiency perspective. Build and Commission. Romonet helps determine and validate that data centres under construction are being built and configured to meet the design’s intent, as well as to ensure that the financial business case for the particular investment is still valid. Maintenance and Operations Romonet provides insight to both operational and financial areas, including the ability to accurately predict performance under varying workloads or climate conditions, predict equipment failure risks, track and optimize energy usage, and accurately forecast return on investment. Upgrades and Modifications Romonet provides scenario modelling for upgrading major electrical, mechanical and cooling equipment, technology, and achieving next tier specifications and standards. Romonet’s innovative, award-winning platform is technology and vendor agnostic in terms of data source, allowing data to be extracted from almost any data acquisition system. CBRE currently delivers technology services to over 30 enterprise, colocation and hyperscale clients across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific and provides facilities management services to more than 800 data centers worldwide on behalf of leading corporations across sectors including: financial services, technology, media, healthcare, energy and utilities, life sciences, retail and real estate investment trusts. In the past five years, CBRE has completed more than 1,000 data center transactions, spanning 348 cities and 104 global markets.
In 2019 CBRE expanded its Data Center Solutions(DCS) offering to include an additional range of technology services. CBRE’s Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) business now manages and maintains both data center technology physical infrastructure—hardware and software (e.g., servers, storage, racks)—and data center facilities (e.g., UPS and HVAC). In addition, the Converged Data Center model encompasses services across the full real estate and IT lifecycle, including those in the Advisory and Project Management disciplines, such as: consulting, capital financing, site selection, development and project management, technology workload migration, and disposition of facilities. The integrated offering of technology and facilities management as well as advisory services is called the “Converged Data Center” model. “Our converged model provides a way to tie business-critical IT and mission-critical facilities together within one value-stream-based funding model,” said Jim Harding, Global President of Data Center Solutions for GWS. “This ultimately will help our clients be more competitive and achieve their digital transformation priorities.” CBRE’s clients, particularly those with responsibility for real estate, finance and information functions, will realize significant benefits from the Converged Data Center approach. These include: reduced costs, improved operational efficiency, visibility of end-to-end operations and associated costs, better informed organizational and investment decision-making, and the ability to move assets off the balance sheet to more closely resemble a cloud financial model. The technology scope of services within CBRE’s DCS group spans vendor-agnostic strategic consulting, such as cloud migration strategy and planning, data center planning and fit out, technical implementation and support (Smart Hands / Remote Hands), hardware maintenance, data destruction and asset recycling. Analytics, predictive maintenance, fault avoidance and speed to resolution—for both infrastructure equipment (e.g., UPS systems) and IT equipment (e.g., services)—will be provided through DCS’s analytics group, CBRE | Romonet. CBRE | Romonet CBRE | Romonet is a patented, cloud-based predictive analytics platform that delivers actionable intelligence and scenario modelling across all stages of the data centre lifecycle. The result is as accurate a picture as possible of any given data centre's financial, operational and environmental performance —enabling more visibility and informed decisions that unlock cost savings, drive profit, optimize energy consumption, increase reliability, and improve facility operations. Romonet’s analytics can be used to compare and contrast the total cost of ownership of one data centre design versus another before investing in building the facility; a team operating an existing site can use it to track whether the facility is continuously operating from an energy and water perspective as efficiently as possible; or executive leadership can have visibility into how data centre costs are contributing to each of their applications/ internal platforms or customers. Romonet provides big data visualisations, structured reporting, benchmarking and analysis spanning the following data centre lifecycle stages: Strategy and Design Romonet helps determine the best location for a specific data centre, and quantifies and validates how its design should perform from a total cost of ownership and efficiency perspective. Build and Commission. Romonet helps determine and validate that data centres under construction are being built and configured to meet the design’s intent, as well as to ensure that the financial business case for the particular investment is still valid. Maintenance and Operations Romonet provides insight to both operational and financial areas, including the ability to accurately predict performance under varying workloads or climate conditions, predict equipment failure risks, track and optimize energy usage, and accurately forecast return on investment. Upgrades and Modifications Romonet provides scenario modelling for upgrading major electrical, mechanical and cooling equipment, technology, and achieving next tier specifications and standards. Romonet’s innovative, award-winning platform is technology and vendor agnostic in terms of data source, allowing data to be extracted from almost any data acquisition system. CBRE currently delivers technology services to over 30 enterprise, colocation and hyperscale clients across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific and provides facilities management services to more than 800 data centers worldwide on behalf of leading corporations across sectors including: financial services, technology, media, healthcare, energy and utilities, life sciences, retail and real estate investment trusts. In the past five years, CBRE has completed more than 1,000 data center transactions, spanning 348 cities and 104 global markets.
Data Centre ICT Systems Vendor of the Year
WINNER
Spectra Logic
Spectra Logic Drives Data Centre Success for EMEA Customers and Partners
Aiming to increase data storage options for IT professionals working within data centres and other computing environments, Spectra Logic has been dedicated solely to storage innovation for 40 years. The company provides customers with complete data storage and data management solutions, seamlessly coordinating the many moving parts of today’s modern data infrastructures to increase the productivity and effectiveness of data centres. Driving Channel Success Spectra Logic has had a longtime focus in the EMEA market, with its European headquarters located in Bracknell, UK. Spectra has made significant investment to enlarge its market presence across EMEA over the last year; expanding its channel program to improve partner technical training and sales skills, helping channel partners obtain the skillsets to sell and deploy Spectra solutions in the field; and enabling sales partners to successfully communicate Spectra’s value proposition to business leaders. The SpectraEDGE partner portal offers a consolidated destination for authorized resellers to register deals, claim SPIFFs, request customized marketing materials, nurture shared leads and access other supporting documentation. Moreover, Spectra’s SpectraGuard support, touted as unmatched in responsiveness, provides the resources and in-house expertise to drive customer issues to resolution, helping to support data centres in EMEA and enabling the entire channel program to advance toward long-term success. The Spectra Logic Channel Program boasts over 800 worldwide channel partners, including more than 100 European partners and almost 40 in the UK alone. To further strengthen its presence in EMEA, Spectra recently hired its first UK Channel Sales Representative. Solely dedicated to the success of value-added resellers and Spectra’s Alliance Partner community, the new position offers catered assistance to UK resellers, helping them find opportunities, providing onsite training on Spectra solutions and supporting events. In addition, Spectra’s experienced sales team unites with resellers to customise solutions, offering IT and data storage expertise and acting as true advocates in the field. The result is a program that nurtures increased competency and confidence of resellers, empowering partners to talk to customers and build the data storage infrastructures that users need to thrive. Spectra Logic’s attention to these partnerships and close business relationships with numerous resellers in EMEA has helped land a number of well-respected customers in the last 12 months. These include a state-of-the-art cancer research facility in Cambridge; a high-end computer-generated animation studio in London; a foremost international institute for toxicology research in England; and a number of renowned universities and schools across the United Kingdom. In 2019, Spectra published end user case studies with the STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, FHNW Switzerland and the University of Bristol. Other public-facing customers over the years include the British Film Institute (BFI), ITV, Hat Trick Productions, Deluxe Digital Cinema, Videohouse, Imperial War Museums, University of Leeds, Edinburgh’s Parallel Computing Center (EPCC) and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. Expanding the Distribution Model Spectra’s partnership with UK distributor Exertis Hammer is a prime example of its growing distribution model. From events to product launches, joint engagements are coordinated to help drive demand and strengthen the relationships between distributors and resellers. In 2019, Spectra and Hammer co-sponsored joint presentations to channel partners at customer sites across the UK, creating the opportunity for executives from both companies to showcase their strong bond and mutual collaboration. Shared customers include a supplier of consulting and infrastructure support services in the UK, a British firm specialising in information technology products and services for educational organisations and the London offices of a global consulting firm. Another important UK distributor is Global Distribution. Last year, Spectra and Global Distribution worked together to deploy data storage solutions at one of the five largest British networks in audience share. The companies also boast an award-winning independent production studio based in London and a prime film, television and games school in England as joint customers. Technical Partners & Technology Integrations Lastly, Spectra also works with technology companies to develop solutions that address specific market needs for EMEA customers. The Spectra Developer Program, available for Spectra’s object storage platform, the BlackPearl® Converged Storage System, is unique in allowing organisations to create custom clients to interface with Spectra’s solution. The program’s dedicated website and resources streamline development and testing, providing developers with SDKs, APIs, and sample clients to create BlackPearl Spectra S3 applications and plug-ins. Technology partner IPV certified its media asset management application, Curator, to leverage Spectra storage targets. The IPV-Spectra solution equips data centres with a media-focused hybrid cloud platform that archives assets based on age, usage, and business relevance. Object Matrix, another UK-based partner, also certified their BlackPearl application through the program, creating a compelling one-stop shop for object-based content management. Other recently certified technology partners include Transmedia Dynamics (TMD), Tiger Technology, Marquis, Pixit Media and Suitcase TV. Spectra Logic understands its responsibility as a vendor in helping its customers and their system providers build modern data storage infrastructures. Spectra has the vision, portfolio and programs to support sales initiatives and build alliances in the channel that boost solution performance and reduce risks to data centres across EMEA.
Aiming to increase data storage options for IT professionals working within data centres and other computing environments, Spectra Logic has been dedicated solely to storage innovation for 40 years. The company provides customers with complete data storage and data management solutions, seamlessly coordinating the many moving parts of today’s modern data infrastructures to increase the productivity and effectiveness of data centres. Driving Channel Success Spectra Logic has had a longtime focus in the EMEA market, with its European headquarters located in Bracknell, UK. Spectra has made significant investment to enlarge its market presence across EMEA over the last year; expanding its channel program to improve partner technical training and sales skills, helping channel partners obtain the skillsets to sell and deploy Spectra solutions in the field; and enabling sales partners to successfully communicate Spectra’s value proposition to business leaders. The SpectraEDGE partner portal offers a consolidated destination for authorized resellers to register deals, claim SPIFFs, request customized marketing materials, nurture shared leads and access other supporting documentation. Moreover, Spectra’s SpectraGuard support, touted as unmatched in responsiveness, provides the resources and in-house expertise to drive customer issues to resolution, helping to support data centres in EMEA and enabling the entire channel program to advance toward long-term success. The Spectra Logic Channel Program boasts over 800 worldwide channel partners, including more than 100 European partners and almost 40 in the UK alone. To further strengthen its presence in EMEA, Spectra recently hired its first UK Channel Sales Representative. Solely dedicated to the success of value-added resellers and Spectra’s Alliance Partner community, the new position offers catered assistance to UK resellers, helping them find opportunities, providing onsite training on Spectra solutions and supporting events. In addition, Spectra’s experienced sales team unites with resellers to customise solutions, offering IT and data storage expertise and acting as true advocates in the field. The result is a program that nurtures increased competency and confidence of resellers, empowering partners to talk to customers and build the data storage infrastructures that users need to thrive. Spectra Logic’s attention to these partnerships and close business relationships with numerous resellers in EMEA has helped land a number of well-respected customers in the last 12 months. These include a state-of-the-art cancer research facility in Cambridge; a high-end computer-generated animation studio in London; a foremost international institute for toxicology research in England; and a number of renowned universities and schools across the United Kingdom. In 2019, Spectra published end user case studies with the STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, FHNW Switzerland and the University of Bristol. Other public-facing customers over the years include the British Film Institute (BFI), ITV, Hat Trick Productions, Deluxe Digital Cinema, Videohouse, Imperial War Museums, University of Leeds, Edinburgh’s Parallel Computing Center (EPCC) and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. Expanding the Distribution Model Spectra’s partnership with UK distributor Exertis Hammer is a prime example of its growing distribution model. From events to product launches, joint engagements are coordinated to help drive demand and strengthen the relationships between distributors and resellers. In 2019, Spectra and Hammer co-sponsored joint presentations to channel partners at customer sites across the UK, creating the opportunity for executives from both companies to showcase their strong bond and mutual collaboration. Shared customers include a supplier of consulting and infrastructure support services in the UK, a British firm specialising in information technology products and services for educational organisations and the London offices of a global consulting firm. Another important UK distributor is Global Distribution. Last year, Spectra and Global Distribution worked together to deploy data storage solutions at one of the five largest British networks in audience share. The companies also boast an award-winning independent production studio based in London and a prime film, television and games school in England as joint customers. Technical Partners & Technology Integrations Lastly, Spectra also works with technology companies to develop solutions that address specific market needs for EMEA customers. The Spectra Developer Program, available for Spectra’s object storage platform, the BlackPearl® Converged Storage System, is unique in allowing organisations to create custom clients to interface with Spectra’s solution. The program’s dedicated website and resources streamline development and testing, providing developers with SDKs, APIs, and sample clients to create BlackPearl Spectra S3 applications and plug-ins. Technology partner IPV certified its media asset management application, Curator, to leverage Spectra storage targets. The IPV-Spectra solution equips data centres with a media-focused hybrid cloud platform that archives assets based on age, usage, and business relevance. Object Matrix, another UK-based partner, also certified their BlackPearl application through the program, creating a compelling one-stop shop for object-based content management. Other recently certified technology partners include Transmedia Dynamics (TMD), Tiger Technology, Marquis, Pixit Media and Suitcase TV. Spectra Logic understands its responsibility as a vendor in helping its customers and their system providers build modern data storage infrastructures. Spectra has the vision, portfolio and programs to support sales initiatives and build alliances in the channel that boost solution performance and reduce risks to data centres across EMEA.
RUNNER UP
Parallels
Parallels RAS - Apps Delivery & VDI Solution
Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) is an all-in-one application delivery and VDI solution that allows users to securely access virtual workspaces from anywhere, on any device, anytime. Our cloud-ready software empowers organizations to embrace digital transformation by centralizing management of the IT infrastructure, streamlining multi-cloud deployment, reinforcing data security and improving process automation. Its flexible and scalable architecture allows organizations to quickly adapt to business demands. The key benefits of Parallels RAS include: Superior user experience - Parallels RAS enables users to productively work on applications and data from any operating system (OS) and platform, such as Windows, Linux, Mac®, iOS, Android, Chromebook™, thin clients and HTML5 clientless web access. Ultra-fast login and fast application response—in addition to effortless multitasking, hassle-free printing and full RemoteFX support—contribute to streamlining processes and increasing productivity. Enhanced data security - Deploying Parallels RAS reduces the risk of data loss and malicious activity by using policies that limit access based on user, group permissions, locations and devices. In addition, Parallels RAS supports FIPS 140-2 encryption and multifactor authentication (MFA). IT agility and business readiness - Parallels RAS allows organizations’ IT to quickly address business demands by supporting heterogenous Windows Servers OS environments (2008/R2, 2012/R2, 2016 and 2019), virtualization platforms (VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix Acropolis and Scale Computing HC3) and cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Easy to deploy, configure and maintain - Parallels RAS streamlines the deployment and maintenance of IT infrastructures. A unified and intuitive management console, configuration wizards and customizable set of tools can be used to configure Microsoft Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) and VDI, reducing IT workhours. Moreover, auto-provisioning and auto-scaling are available out of the box. Reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) - Parallels RAS is an all-in-one solution, saving resources, reducing the hardware footprint and lowering overhead costs. A single licensing model incorporates all the product’s comprehensive features, and the learning curve for admins is faster due to a minimal amount of free training needed.
Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) is an all-in-one application delivery and VDI solution that allows users to securely access virtual workspaces from anywhere, on any device, anytime. Our cloud-ready software empowers organizations to embrace digital transformation by centralizing management of the IT infrastructure, streamlining multi-cloud deployment, reinforcing data security and improving process automation. Its flexible and scalable architecture allows organizations to quickly adapt to business demands. The key benefits of Parallels RAS include: Superior user experience - Parallels RAS enables users to productively work on applications and data from any operating system (OS) and platform, such as Windows, Linux, Mac®, iOS, Android, Chromebook™, thin clients and HTML5 clientless web access. Ultra-fast login and fast application response—in addition to effortless multitasking, hassle-free printing and full RemoteFX support—contribute to streamlining processes and increasing productivity. Enhanced data security - Deploying Parallels RAS reduces the risk of data loss and malicious activity by using policies that limit access based on user, group permissions, locations and devices. In addition, Parallels RAS supports FIPS 140-2 encryption and multifactor authentication (MFA). IT agility and business readiness - Parallels RAS allows organizations’ IT to quickly address business demands by supporting heterogenous Windows Servers OS environments (2008/R2, 2012/R2, 2016 and 2019), virtualization platforms (VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix Acropolis and Scale Computing HC3) and cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Easy to deploy, configure and maintain - Parallels RAS streamlines the deployment and maintenance of IT infrastructures. A unified and intuitive management console, configuration wizards and customizable set of tools can be used to configure Microsoft Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) and VDI, reducing IT workhours. Moreover, auto-provisioning and auto-scaling are available out of the box. Reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) - Parallels RAS is an all-in-one solution, saving resources, reducing the hardware footprint and lowering overhead costs. A single licensing model incorporates all the product’s comprehensive features, and the learning curve for admins is faster due to a minimal amount of free training needed.
Excellence in Data Centre Services Award
WINNER
Kohler Uninterruptible Power
Scottish university updates the critical power protection for one of its data centres
When a major Scottish university wanted to update the critical power protection for one of its data centres they were faced with problems due to the small space available. Even though UPS systems have reduced in size over recent years, increases in forecast load presented them with a challenge. Kohler Uninterruptible Power (KUP) were able to custom design a system that not only fitted in the space available, but offered scaleability to cope with future load increases and delivered energy savings of 46% despite increased load and moving from one to two UPS units. The level of service prompted the client to select KUP for their next project. Rather than space, the challenge for a major banking group was time. Replacement of two existing UPS systems needed undertaking between 6pm on a Friday and 6pm the following Sunday, in a dark building. Normally switch out of just one system would take a whole weekend. Then to spice things up, and better serve their 13 million customers, a decision was made to also support desktop and call centre equipment with 5 additional UPS systems plus switchgear. KUP rose to the challenge by deploying 2 Project Managers and 10 Engineers, plus a supporting logistics team, to operate two shifts and work around the clock. Despite the tight timescale, challenges with cabling, restricted accessways and working by headtorch and temporary lighting, the job was successfully completed, so much so that again a follow-on project was awarded to KUP. Having arguably matched The Doctor’s ability to handle challenges with time and space, the KUP team were faced with a third test – to do this whilst ensuring 100% continuity of protection. By technically supporting one of the largest mobile phone providers in the UK with the design of cabling, cable runs, work phasing and switching, and demonstrating excellence in onsite installation and commissioning KUP was able to ensure the load was fully protected at all times. The client commented that they could not have been happier with how the complex upgrade, installation and live switch went. And a follow on project was completed for this client in March 2020.
When a major Scottish university wanted to update the critical power protection for one of its data centres they were faced with problems due to the small space available. Even though UPS systems have reduced in size over recent years, increases in forecast load presented them with a challenge. Kohler Uninterruptible Power (KUP) were able to custom design a system that not only fitted in the space available, but offered scaleability to cope with future load increases and delivered energy savings of 46% despite increased load and moving from one to two UPS units. The level of service prompted the client to select KUP for their next project. Rather than space, the challenge for a major banking group was time. Replacement of two existing UPS systems needed undertaking between 6pm on a Friday and 6pm the following Sunday, in a dark building. Normally switch out of just one system would take a whole weekend. Then to spice things up, and better serve their 13 million customers, a decision was made to also support desktop and call centre equipment with 5 additional UPS systems plus switchgear. KUP rose to the challenge by deploying 2 Project Managers and 10 Engineers, plus a supporting logistics team, to operate two shifts and work around the clock. Despite the tight timescale, challenges with cabling, restricted accessways and working by headtorch and temporary lighting, the job was successfully completed, so much so that again a follow-on project was awarded to KUP. Having arguably matched The Doctor’s ability to handle challenges with time and space, the KUP team were faced with a third test – to do this whilst ensuring 100% continuity of protection. By technically supporting one of the largest mobile phone providers in the UK with the design of cabling, cable runs, work phasing and switching, and demonstrating excellence in onsite installation and commissioning KUP was able to ensure the load was fully protected at all times. The client commented that they could not have been happier with how the complex upgrade, installation and live switch went. And a follow on project was completed for this client in March 2020.
RUNNER UP
TeleData UK
TeleData - bringing people and technology together
Founded in 2007, TeleData is one of the few remaining independent data centre operators in Manchester. ISO27001 accredited, we offer colocation, cloud hosting, workplace recovery and data centre services to businesses across the UK. We are the only data centre in the UK to offer an on-site NSI Gold Approved BS5979 security centre which gives us direct links to police control rooms and protects our security guards more than anyone else in the building, for effective response. Energy efficiencies We are pioneering in terms of energy efficiencies. Our approach is unrivalled, with power metered at every board and office in the building. We have been working closely with the Business Growth Hub and its consultants to intelligently reduce carbon emissions in all areas including cooling consumption - where we have implemented highly intelligent control systems; cold aisle containment; under-floor cold air channeling to minimise wastage; variable fans within condenser units; free air cooling systems; office space air conditioning controls to minimise wastage out of hours; highly efficient cooling pumps; cold aisle blanking throughout and a number of other measures including the controlled raising of temperatures in the cold and warm aisles. We have invested in the most efficient solutions at all times, regardless of increased upfront costs. In October 2019 we invested £1.5 Million in a new battery storage system to enhance energy efficiencies at our facility. The solution enables us to store electricity from the national grid at times of low demand and discharge it during the most beneficial periods, acting as a reserve during peak tariff times. The system also offers integrated variable voltage optimisation to deliver a stabilised voltage, thus boosting the resilience of the facility by improving the shelf life of equipment, while reducing unnecessary energy waste and optimising the incoming power supply. We are the only colocation provider in the UK to have implemented these technologies. This technology carries a number of advantages; - The low loss transformer, with voltage optimisation is proven to save between 8-10% of annually consumed kwhs and therefore carbon emissions. - Customers are insulated against increases in power pricing at the most expensive times of day/year as we can intelligently switch our power source to battery storage during these periods. This saves a huge amount of cost on the annual electricity bill of an intensive user. - Voltage optimisation allows us to regulate voltage at 225v at the transformer level, reducing energy wastage and extending the lifespan of equipment by up to 40%. Eliminating spikes in power delivery also reduces the likelihood of under or over voltage ‘tripping’, meaning more reliability and less outages. - As a power generator, TeleData can participate in Firm Frequency Response (FFR) and as a service provider to the National Grid, can use our approved storage assets to quickly reduce demand or increase generation to help balance the grid and avoid power outages. The current UK power network is becoming increasingly challenging to balance and so this is a huge benefit to the grid. The implementation of this system is an industry first. Data centres have the ideal ‘flat’ and consistent energy load to participate in these types of schemes with the grid, and to take advantage of the cost and energy saving potential that is associated with the system. Data centres traditionally don't like to be the first to implement a particular technology, but if this was implemented on a large scale then all parties would benefit - data centres, customers and of course, the environment. Customers can state that they host with one of the most energy efficiency conscious providers in the UK and be more comfortable with cost certainty as we take control of the times of day that energy is consumed from the grid. Security In December 2019 we invested over £125,000 into additional security measures including thermal imaging detection, dual speed gates, audio-challenge and ANPR. The new security system incorporates cutting edge CCTV cameras, including thermal imaging devices to minimise false alarms and improve the accuracy of detection; Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to enable visitors to securely register cars to enter the site compound without leaving their vehicles; a new security entrance portal with multi-factor authentication and anti-tailgating technology; and highly secure perimeter speed gates. Systems are permanently monitored by our onsite, BS5979 certified and police-linked security centre to enable higher levels of security and visitor validation whilst enhancing ease of access for authorised personnel. The new system also incorporates a site wide audio-challenge facility. This system also notifies designated persons within TeleData of a visitor’s arrival which is extremely useful if we know that someone is arriving and will require engineer assistance. Resilience In 2019 we invested a six figure sum into our cloud hosting platform, CloudActiv, which provides customers with truly resilient cloud hosting and effective disaster recovery of business-critical data and applications. Using Active-Active technology, CloudActiv provides constant sub-millisecond replication of data between two identical platforms. Active-Active architecture eliminates the risk of downtime by making it possible for customer’s data to be served from separate, synchronised hosting environments at any given time. This delivers immediate ‘active-active’ failover to protect customers against any full-site data centre outage, providing built-in, automatic disaster recovery and removing the expense and complications of building and managing separate standby environments. This means that if one hosting location goes down, another instantly takes over so that a customer’s business critical resources remain up and running, without any disruption of service. Support and customer care Our dedicated on-site support team is available 24x7 to customers. We pride ourselves on our levels and quality of communication to ensure customers are regularly and fully informed during any issues with their equipment or other service affecting issues. In the last three years (at least) we have not lost one single customer for any service issue and regularly receive praise for our quality of service. Unlike many other data centre providers, we have kept all cross connect pricing to install only, rather than implementing recurring charges. We also provide up to 2(N+N) UPS power protection to customer racks. Our building also offers business continuity suites for work area recovery, which enables data centre customers to connect disaster recovery desk space directly to colocated equipment within the same building. Our way of working in partnership with customers is regularly commented upon as a key differentiator. We assist our partners with site tours for their potential customers and for end users we offer complete transparency of all power usage and costs. No automated bills are sent out for over usage of network or power, instead we prefer to treat all customers fairly with a high quality of account management. “Moneysupermarket Group moved into Teledata back in 2007, at the time we commissioned 30 cabs to operate all of MSMG services, at this time MSMG operated 100% from this data centre. Moving forward 5 years Moneysupermarket Group started to explore re-platform of its entire technology estate, this involved completely redesigning every single application from the ground up and at the same time designing these applications to run in the cloud. As we moved more services out of the data centre to cloud the need for the data centre infrastructure reduced. Working with the team at Teledata we were able to reduce our footprint by 50% but still retaining the security of our infrastructure within the Data Centre. We worked closely with the engineering team at Teledata to relocate hardware and put up new security boundaries within the suite, all this while we were still operating live services from here. Our journey to the cloud has introduced many challenges along the way. The flexibility offered by Teledata has enabled us to work hard in areas where we need to but at the same time gave us the reassurance that if needed we were not going to be pushed out the DC at any given time. Over the past few years, MSMG and Teledata have had open book conversations about MSMG’s roadmaps and what our end goals look like. Throughout these conversations, Teledata has supported our plans and year on year helped us feel reassured of our presence within the DC, creating flexible contracted that work for both parties.” Hiten Lad, Head of TechOps, Moneysupermarket Group
Founded in 2007, TeleData is one of the few remaining independent data centre operators in Manchester. ISO27001 accredited, we offer colocation, cloud hosting, workplace recovery and data centre services to businesses across the UK. We are the only data centre in the UK to offer an on-site NSI Gold Approved BS5979 security centre which gives us direct links to police control rooms and protects our security guards more than anyone else in the building, for effective response. Energy efficiencies We are pioneering in terms of energy efficiencies. Our approach is unrivalled, with power metered at every board and office in the building. We have been working closely with the Business Growth Hub and its consultants to intelligently reduce carbon emissions in all areas including cooling consumption - where we have implemented highly intelligent control systems; cold aisle containment; under-floor cold air channeling to minimise wastage; variable fans within condenser units; free air cooling systems; office space air conditioning controls to minimise wastage out of hours; highly efficient cooling pumps; cold aisle blanking throughout and a number of other measures including the controlled raising of temperatures in the cold and warm aisles. We have invested in the most efficient solutions at all times, regardless of increased upfront costs. In October 2019 we invested £1.5 Million in a new battery storage system to enhance energy efficiencies at our facility. The solution enables us to store electricity from the national grid at times of low demand and discharge it during the most beneficial periods, acting as a reserve during peak tariff times. The system also offers integrated variable voltage optimisation to deliver a stabilised voltage, thus boosting the resilience of the facility by improving the shelf life of equipment, while reducing unnecessary energy waste and optimising the incoming power supply. We are the only colocation provider in the UK to have implemented these technologies. This technology carries a number of advantages; - The low loss transformer, with voltage optimisation is proven to save between 8-10% of annually consumed kwhs and therefore carbon emissions. - Customers are insulated against increases in power pricing at the most expensive times of day/year as we can intelligently switch our power source to battery storage during these periods. This saves a huge amount of cost on the annual electricity bill of an intensive user. - Voltage optimisation allows us to regulate voltage at 225v at the transformer level, reducing energy wastage and extending the lifespan of equipment by up to 40%. Eliminating spikes in power delivery also reduces the likelihood of under or over voltage ‘tripping’, meaning more reliability and less outages. - As a power generator, TeleData can participate in Firm Frequency Response (FFR) and as a service provider to the National Grid, can use our approved storage assets to quickly reduce demand or increase generation to help balance the grid and avoid power outages. The current UK power network is becoming increasingly challenging to balance and so this is a huge benefit to the grid. The implementation of this system is an industry first. Data centres have the ideal ‘flat’ and consistent energy load to participate in these types of schemes with the grid, and to take advantage of the cost and energy saving potential that is associated with the system. Data centres traditionally don't like to be the first to implement a particular technology, but if this was implemented on a large scale then all parties would benefit - data centres, customers and of course, the environment. Customers can state that they host with one of the most energy efficiency conscious providers in the UK and be more comfortable with cost certainty as we take control of the times of day that energy is consumed from the grid. Security In December 2019 we invested over £125,000 into additional security measures including thermal imaging detection, dual speed gates, audio-challenge and ANPR. The new security system incorporates cutting edge CCTV cameras, including thermal imaging devices to minimise false alarms and improve the accuracy of detection; Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to enable visitors to securely register cars to enter the site compound without leaving their vehicles; a new security entrance portal with multi-factor authentication and anti-tailgating technology; and highly secure perimeter speed gates. Systems are permanently monitored by our onsite, BS5979 certified and police-linked security centre to enable higher levels of security and visitor validation whilst enhancing ease of access for authorised personnel. The new system also incorporates a site wide audio-challenge facility. This system also notifies designated persons within TeleData of a visitor’s arrival which is extremely useful if we know that someone is arriving and will require engineer assistance. Resilience In 2019 we invested a six figure sum into our cloud hosting platform, CloudActiv, which provides customers with truly resilient cloud hosting and effective disaster recovery of business-critical data and applications. Using Active-Active technology, CloudActiv provides constant sub-millisecond replication of data between two identical platforms. Active-Active architecture eliminates the risk of downtime by making it possible for customer’s data to be served from separate, synchronised hosting environments at any given time. This delivers immediate ‘active-active’ failover to protect customers against any full-site data centre outage, providing built-in, automatic disaster recovery and removing the expense and complications of building and managing separate standby environments. This means that if one hosting location goes down, another instantly takes over so that a customer’s business critical resources remain up and running, without any disruption of service. Support and customer care Our dedicated on-site support team is available 24x7 to customers. We pride ourselves on our levels and quality of communication to ensure customers are regularly and fully informed during any issues with their equipment or other service affecting issues. In the last three years (at least) we have not lost one single customer for any service issue and regularly receive praise for our quality of service. Unlike many other data centre providers, we have kept all cross connect pricing to install only, rather than implementing recurring charges. We also provide up to 2(N+N) UPS power protection to customer racks. Our building also offers business continuity suites for work area recovery, which enables data centre customers to connect disaster recovery desk space directly to colocated equipment within the same building. Our way of working in partnership with customers is regularly commented upon as a key differentiator. We assist our partners with site tours for their potential customers and for end users we offer complete transparency of all power usage and costs. No automated bills are sent out for over usage of network or power, instead we prefer to treat all customers fairly with a high quality of account management. “Moneysupermarket Group moved into Teledata back in 2007, at the time we commissioned 30 cabs to operate all of MSMG services, at this time MSMG operated 100% from this data centre. Moving forward 5 years Moneysupermarket Group started to explore re-platform of its entire technology estate, this involved completely redesigning every single application from the ground up and at the same time designing these applications to run in the cloud. As we moved more services out of the data centre to cloud the need for the data centre infrastructure reduced. Working with the team at Teledata we were able to reduce our footprint by 50% but still retaining the security of our infrastructure within the Data Centre. We worked closely with the engineering team at Teledata to relocate hardware and put up new security boundaries within the suite, all this while we were still operating live services from here. Our journey to the cloud has introduced many challenges along the way. The flexibility offered by Teledata has enabled us to work hard in areas where we need to but at the same time gave us the reassurance that if needed we were not going to be pushed out the DC at any given time. Over the past few years, MSMG and Teledata have had open book conversations about MSMG’s roadmaps and what our end goals look like. Throughout these conversations, Teledata has supported our plans and year on year helped us feel reassured of our presence within the DC, creating flexible contracted that work for both parties.” Hiten Lad, Head of TechOps, Moneysupermarket Group
Data Centre Engineer of the Year
WINNER
Sudlows
Samuel Smith
Sam is a multi-talented data centre engineer who demonstrates clear ability for a diverse skill set within critical infrastructure consulting and project delivery. As an Uptime Institute Accredited Tier Designer, Sam’s abilities and strengths include; Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Mechanical systems design, concept and facility master planning, 3D rendering and video creation for facility walk-throughs that effectively communicate to clients how their projects will look. Sam is highly skilled working with the latest Building Information Modelling (BIM) & Revit software for detail design of facilities to LOD 400, testing and commissioning management for critical infrastructure facilities. His engineering ability is met with adaptability and flexibility to his audience, whether senior project stakeholders, site-based engineers and suppliers. During a recent project Sam has chaired and led commissioning meetings for the largest Co-Lo in the UAE, surrounded by senior and principle engineers some almost twice his senior Sam has demonstrated technical knowledge around data centre design, implementation and testing – holding his own in heated discussions which occur during the crucial moments of most large data centre build project. Within the office and as part of the Sudlows senior leadership team in Dubai, Sam exhibits an outstanding can-do attitude and always delivers strong value add and quality in all his duties called for in his role and the data centres projects which Sudlows undertakes. Sam’s comprehensive role isn’t limited to technical and engineering - he supports in the bid process for new opportunities, pricing of Sudlows professional services offering and the management of a team of engineers. More recently (over the last 6 months) Sam has had a key role in launching Sudlows’ second overseas office, located in Mumbai, India. Sam has taken a lead role for the Mumbai office and now spends the majority of his time there - ensuring that the right consultants are onboarded for the new office, ensuring consistency is maintained with the client and that the new teams are trained and mentored into delivering consultancy services to the Sudlows recognised highest of standards. During his time in the India office, Sam has demonstrated leadership, a clear desire and willingness to the extra mile and has been a key part in Sudlows securing and delivering over 100MW of critical infrastructure projects to a major global co-location provider based in India. Sam is an dynamic and impressive engineer who takes on new responsibilities with clear passion and determination to succeed. Over the last two years Sam has grown in confidence yet still modestly appreciates that he does not know all and seeks regular council with his peers and industry connections to greater his knowledge, understanding and problem-solving abilities. As an industry that is suffering an engineering skill shortage (reported by all major hyperscale’s) from new and young engineers – Sam is a prime example of the type of new engineers we as an industry need to develop and nurture in to what is fast becoming the backbone of modern civilisation.
Sam is a multi-talented data centre engineer who demonstrates clear ability for a diverse skill set within critical infrastructure consulting and project delivery. As an Uptime Institute Accredited Tier Designer, Sam’s abilities and strengths include; Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Mechanical systems design, concept and facility master planning, 3D rendering and video creation for facility walk-throughs that effectively communicate to clients how their projects will look. Sam is highly skilled working with the latest Building Information Modelling (BIM) & Revit software for detail design of facilities to LOD 400, testing and commissioning management for critical infrastructure facilities. His engineering ability is met with adaptability and flexibility to his audience, whether senior project stakeholders, site-based engineers and suppliers. During a recent project Sam has chaired and led commissioning meetings for the largest Co-Lo in the UAE, surrounded by senior and principle engineers some almost twice his senior Sam has demonstrated technical knowledge around data centre design, implementation and testing – holding his own in heated discussions which occur during the crucial moments of most large data centre build project. Within the office and as part of the Sudlows senior leadership team in Dubai, Sam exhibits an outstanding can-do attitude and always delivers strong value add and quality in all his duties called for in his role and the data centres projects which Sudlows undertakes. Sam’s comprehensive role isn’t limited to technical and engineering - he supports in the bid process for new opportunities, pricing of Sudlows professional services offering and the management of a team of engineers. More recently (over the last 6 months) Sam has had a key role in launching Sudlows’ second overseas office, located in Mumbai, India. Sam has taken a lead role for the Mumbai office and now spends the majority of his time there - ensuring that the right consultants are onboarded for the new office, ensuring consistency is maintained with the client and that the new teams are trained and mentored into delivering consultancy services to the Sudlows recognised highest of standards. During his time in the India office, Sam has demonstrated leadership, a clear desire and willingness to the extra mile and has been a key part in Sudlows securing and delivering over 100MW of critical infrastructure projects to a major global co-location provider based in India. Sam is an dynamic and impressive engineer who takes on new responsibilities with clear passion and determination to succeed. Over the last two years Sam has grown in confidence yet still modestly appreciates that he does not know all and seeks regular council with his peers and industry connections to greater his knowledge, understanding and problem-solving abilities. As an industry that is suffering an engineering skill shortage (reported by all major hyperscale’s) from new and young engineers – Sam is a prime example of the type of new engineers we as an industry need to develop and nurture in to what is fast becoming the backbone of modern civilisation.
RUNNER UP
Saudi Aramco
Abdullah Saleh Alharbi
Abdullah’s multi-disciplinary backgrounds led to major success in the data center era – where he works-. He successfully led major project in expanding a giant data center to meet the company’s ever-expanding computing requirements. The project was executed on an operational mission critical facility without any service impact or safety incident. Such complex project is a unique experience in the industry. Furthermore, Abdullah leveraged his experience through reviewing a prefabricated data center project and lately in designing an indoor smart modular data center where the design took place during COVID19 critical time. This represents the personal accountability to deliver great results at any circumstances. Leading mission critical operations towards zero downtime and safety incident in a giant and risky facility is a huge challenge. However, without a strategic focus to always refresh the center and do more with less, operation requirements will drain more resources and position the data center as a bottleneck in supporting the company’s expanding IT demand. Hence, Abdullah has initiated and implemented several innovations to augment the human element, supplement any current shortages, maximize safety, efficiency and maintaining the highest level of reliability. This was demonstrated through implementing Energy Optimization Program, Remote Racking Technology Project, Smartphones Connected Thermal-Camera, IR Thermal Monitoring Technology, and Remote Batteries Monitoring System for different scattered sites. In addition to the development of several PoCs for the smart data centers transformation as part of the digital transformation effort. The PoCs are related to Augmented Reality Solution for remote assistance between facilities’ experts and Artificial Intelligence solution to maximize the energy efficiency of the cooling system. Learning is a continuous journey and there are a lot of education channels that individuals usually pursue. Starting with the most effective way of learning which is teaching. Knowledge sharing transforms individual knowledge into organizational knowledge, attracts talents to the industry we work in, builds the knowledge-sharing culture as it needs a constant and consistent efforts, and harnesses knowledge to achieve business impact via showcasing the value they are bringing to their organizations. Hence, Abdullah takes the responsibility to collaborate with peers by delivering technical sessions and sharing experience. This was illustrated via the development of five in-company’s Engineering Procedures in the area of technologies and his efforts as Instructor at Saudi Aramco Talent Essentials Program (STEP) to deliver session related to IT and data centers. Also, he developed a new course related to UPS & Battery system and delivered many other education sessions for knowledge sharing to different organizations. At a national level, Abdullah has developed different technical sessions about data centers for local universities as part of an outreach program and was an invited instructor for UMM ALQURA University engineering collage for their virtual 2020 summer training. At a global level, Abdullah is a valued data center professional armed with the needed qualifications which helped him build an impressive reputation in the industry. Moving from the future outlook of the next generation data centers that was presented in “UAE 2019 Future Date Centers And Cloud Summit” to powering up this industry via DC technology that was presented in “2019 AFCOM Data Centers World Conference” in Phoenix USA, Abdullah was a global keynote speaker and panelist in several international conferences such as “The 3rd IEEE ICDCM 2019 International Conference on DC Microgrids” in Japan, “40th International Communication Energy Conference” in Italy, and “4th International Conference on Electric Power Equipment-Switching Technology” in China. He is a recognized technical professional as a result of his technical publications in IEEE, editorial board technical member at International Journal of Energy & Power Engineering, and different international conferences technical committees to evaluate and accept conference papers. Also, Abdullah published four technical papers in IEEE and was invited as a writer in the inaugural issuance of the international data center magazine (InnoVision) which was published in July 2020. Additionally, he will be a speaker in the largest virtual event for big data and cloud festival in October 2020. This is in addition to his patent in the data center field which is currently under filing. Abdullah is currently working as an engineering lead with data center organization in Saudi Aramco where it hosts all the company’s critical oil and gas computing loads such as hydrocarbon management, seismic processing, geological modeling, reservoir management and others to ensure reliable service delivery and enable the company to meet its strategic objectives, Abdullah has been marked as a data center engineering specialist in one of the most advanced data centers in the middle east. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in electrical power engineering with a GPA of 3.78/4 and a master’s degree in engineering management with a GPA of 3.88/4. Additionally, he is a certified data center management professional and a certified data center design professional by CNet in UK. He is also a certified green belt lean six sigma and a certified fundamental electrical engineer by US NCEES and Saudi counsel of Engineers (SCE) where he has a professional engineer credential. Also, he completed more than 170 hands-on technical and leadership training within Saudi Aramco. Irrespective of the leadership positions Abdullah has held such as leading scattered communications facilities, corporate data center site or technical support teams, his passion and commitment toward business make him a lead-by-example role model. This was confirmed through inspiring many members of different teams to do and learn more where they acquired higher educational degrees and international credentials. Furthermore, Abdullah is a mentor of eight engineers where he strives to build their success stories and enable Saudi Aramco to meet its objectives. In spite of his key operational obligations, Abdullah is passionate about what he does which reflects on the new generation he is working with. Additionally, his active involvement in media such as TV interviews, newspapers, and social media channels in relation to data center business is a motivational factor for others.
Abdullah’s multi-disciplinary backgrounds led to major success in the data center era – where he works-. He successfully led major project in expanding a giant data center to meet the company’s ever-expanding computing requirements. The project was executed on an operational mission critical facility without any service impact or safety incident. Such complex project is a unique experience in the industry. Furthermore, Abdullah leveraged his experience through reviewing a prefabricated data center project and lately in designing an indoor smart modular data center where the design took place during COVID19 critical time. This represents the personal accountability to deliver great results at any circumstances. Leading mission critical operations towards zero downtime and safety incident in a giant and risky facility is a huge challenge. However, without a strategic focus to always refresh the center and do more with less, operation requirements will drain more resources and position the data center as a bottleneck in supporting the company’s expanding IT demand. Hence, Abdullah has initiated and implemented several innovations to augment the human element, supplement any current shortages, maximize safety, efficiency and maintaining the highest level of reliability. This was demonstrated through implementing Energy Optimization Program, Remote Racking Technology Project, Smartphones Connected Thermal-Camera, IR Thermal Monitoring Technology, and Remote Batteries Monitoring System for different scattered sites. In addition to the development of several PoCs for the smart data centers transformation as part of the digital transformation effort. The PoCs are related to Augmented Reality Solution for remote assistance between facilities’ experts and Artificial Intelligence solution to maximize the energy efficiency of the cooling system. Learning is a continuous journey and there are a lot of education channels that individuals usually pursue. Starting with the most effective way of learning which is teaching. Knowledge sharing transforms individual knowledge into organizational knowledge, attracts talents to the industry we work in, builds the knowledge-sharing culture as it needs a constant and consistent efforts, and harnesses knowledge to achieve business impact via showcasing the value they are bringing to their organizations. Hence, Abdullah takes the responsibility to collaborate with peers by delivering technical sessions and sharing experience. This was illustrated via the development of five in-company’s Engineering Procedures in the area of technologies and his efforts as Instructor at Saudi Aramco Talent Essentials Program (STEP) to deliver session related to IT and data centers. Also, he developed a new course related to UPS & Battery system and delivered many other education sessions for knowledge sharing to different organizations. At a national level, Abdullah has developed different technical sessions about data centers for local universities as part of an outreach program and was an invited instructor for UMM ALQURA University engineering collage for their virtual 2020 summer training. At a global level, Abdullah is a valued data center professional armed with the needed qualifications which helped him build an impressive reputation in the industry. Moving from the future outlook of the next generation data centers that was presented in “UAE 2019 Future Date Centers And Cloud Summit” to powering up this industry via DC technology that was presented in “2019 AFCOM Data Centers World Conference” in Phoenix USA, Abdullah was a global keynote speaker and panelist in several international conferences such as “The 3rd IEEE ICDCM 2019 International Conference on DC Microgrids” in Japan, “40th International Communication Energy Conference” in Italy, and “4th International Conference on Electric Power Equipment-Switching Technology” in China. He is a recognized technical professional as a result of his technical publications in IEEE, editorial board technical member at International Journal of Energy & Power Engineering, and different international conferences technical committees to evaluate and accept conference papers. Also, Abdullah published four technical papers in IEEE and was invited as a writer in the inaugural issuance of the international data center magazine (InnoVision) which was published in July 2020. Additionally, he will be a speaker in the largest virtual event for big data and cloud festival in October 2020. This is in addition to his patent in the data center field which is currently under filing. Abdullah is currently working as an engineering lead with data center organization in Saudi Aramco where it hosts all the company’s critical oil and gas computing loads such as hydrocarbon management, seismic processing, geological modeling, reservoir management and others to ensure reliable service delivery and enable the company to meet its strategic objectives, Abdullah has been marked as a data center engineering specialist in one of the most advanced data centers in the middle east. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in electrical power engineering with a GPA of 3.78/4 and a master’s degree in engineering management with a GPA of 3.88/4. Additionally, he is a certified data center management professional and a certified data center design professional by CNet in UK. He is also a certified green belt lean six sigma and a certified fundamental electrical engineer by US NCEES and Saudi counsel of Engineers (SCE) where he has a professional engineer credential. Also, he completed more than 170 hands-on technical and leadership training within Saudi Aramco. Irrespective of the leadership positions Abdullah has held such as leading scattered communications facilities, corporate data center site or technical support teams, his passion and commitment toward business make him a lead-by-example role model. This was confirmed through inspiring many members of different teams to do and learn more where they acquired higher educational degrees and international credentials. Furthermore, Abdullah is a mentor of eight engineers where he strives to build their success stories and enable Saudi Aramco to meet its objectives. In spite of his key operational obligations, Abdullah is passionate about what he does which reflects on the new generation he is working with. Additionally, his active involvement in media such as TV interviews, newspapers, and social media channels in relation to data center business is a motivational factor for others.
Data Centre Industry Contribution of the Year
WINNER
Green Mountain - Tor Kristian Gyland (CEO)
Putting Norway on the datacenter map
It is only in the recent years the industry has opened its eyes towards Norway as a data centre location. From being “too far away, too complicated, too immature”, this region is now a rising star offering a value proposition of green energy, low power costs and stable framework conditions. We would like to nominate CEO of Green Mountain, Tor Kristian Gyland, for his immense contribution in building and promoting Norway as a data centre location. STARTING FROM SCRATCH Gyland’s journey in the data centre industry started in 2011, when he took the role as CTO of Green Mountain. This newly established company had an ambition of building a new industry in Norway, realizing that the country had all the prerequisites to become an attractive data centre destination. At this point, there were hardly any colocation providers in Norway and most of the enterprise data centers were hidden in office basements. Together with the first few employees of Green Mountain he crafted a strategy of building both the best and greenest data centres in Europe. Gyland was responsible for designing Green Mountain’s two first data centres, located in Stavanger and Rjukan. They have been TierIII certified by Uptime institute and have won numerous awards for innovative solutions and high-quality. PUTTING NORWAY FIRST Gyland saw early on that building top-notch facilities were not enough to attract international customers. “In order to position Norway as an attractive data centre destination we had to work together as a united industry. We also needed to work towards the authorities in Norway to create the best framework conditions possible and make the industry competitive in an international market.” says Gyland. Gyland has been heavily involved in these efforts, working together with competitors, NGOs and politicians to create a foundation for growth in the industry. All the work produced results and in 2018 the Norwegian government presented their data center strategy “Norway as a Data Center Nation”. (https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dokumenter/datasenterstrategien/id2590685/) This plan includes measures relating to tax reductions, facilitation of fibre optic cables, and less bureaucratic regulations. It has proven to be effective as the Norwegian industry has experienced a tremendous increase in establishments and interest from international clients like Microsoft (https://news.microsoft.com/europe/2018/06/20/microsoft-announces-two-new-datacentre-regions-in-norway/) and Google. (https://www.statkraft.com/media/news/2019/statkraft-facilitates-for-google/) ADVISING NEWCOMERS IN THE INDUSTRY One of the major challenges in presenting the Norwegian value proposition abroad was the fact that the players in the industry were not equally mature. It has therefore been important to Green Mountain to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience between the companies. This has been done both informally and through the "Invest in Norway" organization. Bringing the whole industry up to par and having a common narrative to present has been a vital factor in succeeding. “As a more mature player, we have a responsibility of setting the industry standard and making sure the whole industry works towards it.” says Gyland. PUSHING FOR CONNECTIVITY Improved connectivity is a critical factor in order to succeed. In Norway, there are now several new subsea fibre cables in the making or recently launched. Gyland, and Green Mountain, has been directly involved in one of these projects, the NO-UK cable.(https://no-uk.com/) In addition to being one of the owners, the landing station of the cable connecting Norway and the UK will be at the DC1-Stavanger facility. This 700 km long cable with be part of the Euroconnect-1 fiber network connecting Norway to important digital hubs such as London, Brussels, Amsterdam and Hamburg. “We have always had a strong value proposition with our renewable and abundant hydropower, low power prices, safe business environment and beneficial framework conditions. Now we can truly add multiple state-of-the art international fibre connections to the list, which makes our offer even stronger.” says Gyland. THE GROWTH ACCELERATED IN 2017 In 2017 Gyland was appointed the new CEO of Green Mountain. From this point, both Green Mountain and the Norwegian industry started reaping the fruits of their labor. For Green Mountain the contractual revenues have more than doubled every year since, and the growth is expected to continue. With the opening of our 3rd data centre in the Oslo region in September this year Green Mountain has a unique offering to the international data centre market. “The strategy of industry collaboration and putting Norway first has proven effective. We have managed to attract multi-national enterprises to the country and positioned Norway as a rising star among Europe’s data centre locations.” says Gyland. CLOSING THE COMPETENCE GAP Building a new industry also means developing a professional workforce that is specialized and capable of solving the challenges in data centre design and development. Gyland has been a proactive force in this regard as well. On one hand, he has made it Green Mountain’s strategy to build competence internally by taking in apprentices, and support the professional development of employees through further education and courses. On the other hand, he has contributed to the establishment of a higher professional study in data centre infrastructure technology at the Tinius Olsen School in Norway. This new study is the first of its kind in Northern Europe and provides a comprehensive understanding of how data centers are operated. This includes knowledge and skills in electrical, climate/energy/environment and safety, as well as computer knowledge. The graduates will be an important workforce to rely on as the industry grows. Gyland has for the last 5 years held guest lectures at the University of Oslo and at other conferences to spread the word and create interest for the datacenter business. THE IMPORTANCE OF SITE DEVELOPMENT Professional site development has always been a topic close to Gyland’s heart. “If we want to attract international clients, we have to know their needs and facilitate sites that satisfy their requirements. It is not sufficient to brag about our availability of power and land, we have to make the choice easy for them, in respect to all the factors affection site selection.” For instance, Gyland has been involved in the establishment of “New Kaupang” (https://newkaupang.com/), an organization showcasing sites in the western part of Norway and assisting international clients in gaining access to sites, stakeholders and resources. At Kalberg Valley, outside Stavanger, he is participating in the development of a new area with a potential to grow to 1.500 Acres, with a power capacity of 500 – 1000 MW and connectivity to cater for the world’s biggest Cloud and Content providers. “To become a truly attractive data center location, we have to show that Norway can host both hyperscalers and co-location clients with the same level of quality. I believe that our cooperative approach is the reason that an increasing number of companies choose Norway as their next data centre destination.”
It is only in the recent years the industry has opened its eyes towards Norway as a data centre location. From being “too far away, too complicated, too immature”, this region is now a rising star offering a value proposition of green energy, low power costs and stable framework conditions. We would like to nominate CEO of Green Mountain, Tor Kristian Gyland, for his immense contribution in building and promoting Norway as a data centre location. STARTING FROM SCRATCH Gyland’s journey in the data centre industry started in 2011, when he took the role as CTO of Green Mountain. This newly established company had an ambition of building a new industry in Norway, realizing that the country had all the prerequisites to become an attractive data centre destination. At this point, there were hardly any colocation providers in Norway and most of the enterprise data centers were hidden in office basements. Together with the first few employees of Green Mountain he crafted a strategy of building both the best and greenest data centres in Europe. Gyland was responsible for designing Green Mountain’s two first data centres, located in Stavanger and Rjukan. They have been TierIII certified by Uptime institute and have won numerous awards for innovative solutions and high-quality. PUTTING NORWAY FIRST Gyland saw early on that building top-notch facilities were not enough to attract international customers. “In order to position Norway as an attractive data centre destination we had to work together as a united industry. We also needed to work towards the authorities in Norway to create the best framework conditions possible and make the industry competitive in an international market.” says Gyland. Gyland has been heavily involved in these efforts, working together with competitors, NGOs and politicians to create a foundation for growth in the industry. All the work produced results and in 2018 the Norwegian government presented their data center strategy “Norway as a Data Center Nation”. (https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dokumenter/datasenterstrategien/id2590685/) This plan includes measures relating to tax reductions, facilitation of fibre optic cables, and less bureaucratic regulations. It has proven to be effective as the Norwegian industry has experienced a tremendous increase in establishments and interest from international clients like Microsoft (https://news.microsoft.com/europe/2018/06/20/microsoft-announces-two-new-datacentre-regions-in-norway/) and Google. (https://www.statkraft.com/media/news/2019/statkraft-facilitates-for-google/) ADVISING NEWCOMERS IN THE INDUSTRY One of the major challenges in presenting the Norwegian value proposition abroad was the fact that the players in the industry were not equally mature. It has therefore been important to Green Mountain to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience between the companies. This has been done both informally and through the "Invest in Norway" organization. Bringing the whole industry up to par and having a common narrative to present has been a vital factor in succeeding. “As a more mature player, we have a responsibility of setting the industry standard and making sure the whole industry works towards it.” says Gyland. PUSHING FOR CONNECTIVITY Improved connectivity is a critical factor in order to succeed. In Norway, there are now several new subsea fibre cables in the making or recently launched. Gyland, and Green Mountain, has been directly involved in one of these projects, the NO-UK cable.(https://no-uk.com/) In addition to being one of the owners, the landing station of the cable connecting Norway and the UK will be at the DC1-Stavanger facility. This 700 km long cable with be part of the Euroconnect-1 fiber network connecting Norway to important digital hubs such as London, Brussels, Amsterdam and Hamburg. “We have always had a strong value proposition with our renewable and abundant hydropower, low power prices, safe business environment and beneficial framework conditions. Now we can truly add multiple state-of-the art international fibre connections to the list, which makes our offer even stronger.” says Gyland. THE GROWTH ACCELERATED IN 2017 In 2017 Gyland was appointed the new CEO of Green Mountain. From this point, both Green Mountain and the Norwegian industry started reaping the fruits of their labor. For Green Mountain the contractual revenues have more than doubled every year since, and the growth is expected to continue. With the opening of our 3rd data centre in the Oslo region in September this year Green Mountain has a unique offering to the international data centre market. “The strategy of industry collaboration and putting Norway first has proven effective. We have managed to attract multi-national enterprises to the country and positioned Norway as a rising star among Europe’s data centre locations.” says Gyland. CLOSING THE COMPETENCE GAP Building a new industry also means developing a professional workforce that is specialized and capable of solving the challenges in data centre design and development. Gyland has been a proactive force in this regard as well. On one hand, he has made it Green Mountain’s strategy to build competence internally by taking in apprentices, and support the professional development of employees through further education and courses. On the other hand, he has contributed to the establishment of a higher professional study in data centre infrastructure technology at the Tinius Olsen School in Norway. This new study is the first of its kind in Northern Europe and provides a comprehensive understanding of how data centers are operated. This includes knowledge and skills in electrical, climate/energy/environment and safety, as well as computer knowledge. The graduates will be an important workforce to rely on as the industry grows. Gyland has for the last 5 years held guest lectures at the University of Oslo and at other conferences to spread the word and create interest for the datacenter business. THE IMPORTANCE OF SITE DEVELOPMENT Professional site development has always been a topic close to Gyland’s heart. “If we want to attract international clients, we have to know their needs and facilitate sites that satisfy their requirements. It is not sufficient to brag about our availability of power and land, we have to make the choice easy for them, in respect to all the factors affection site selection.” For instance, Gyland has been involved in the establishment of “New Kaupang” (https://newkaupang.com/), an organization showcasing sites in the western part of Norway and assisting international clients in gaining access to sites, stakeholders and resources. At Kalberg Valley, outside Stavanger, he is participating in the development of a new area with a potential to grow to 1.500 Acres, with a power capacity of 500 – 1000 MW and connectivity to cater for the world’s biggest Cloud and Content providers. “To become a truly attractive data center location, we have to show that Norway can host both hyperscalers and co-location clients with the same level of quality. I believe that our cooperative approach is the reason that an increasing number of companies choose Norway as their next data centre destination.”
RUNNER UP
Saudi Aramco
Abdullah Saleh Alharbi
Abdullah’s multi-disciplinary backgrounds led to major success in the data center era – where he works-. He successfully led major project in expanding a giant data center to meet the company’s ever-expanding computing requirements. The project was executed on an operational mission critical facility without any service impact or safety incident. Such complex project is a unique experience in the industry. Furthermore, Abdullah leveraged his experience through reviewing a prefabricated data center project and lately in designing an indoor smart modular data center where the design took place during COVID19 critical time. This represents the personal accountability to deliver great results at any circumstances. Leading mission critical operations towards zero downtime and safety incident in a giant and risky facility is a huge challenge. However, without a strategic focus to always refresh the center and do more with less, operation requirements will drain more resources and position the data center as a bottleneck in supporting the company’s expanding IT demand. Hence, Abdullah has initiated and implemented several innovations to augment the human element, supplement any current shortages, maximize safety, efficiency and maintaining the highest level of reliability. This was demonstrated through implementing Energy Optimization Program, Remote Racking Technology Project, Smartphones Connected Thermal-Camera, IR Thermal Monitoring Technology, and Remote Batteries Monitoring System for different scattered sites. In addition to the development of several PoCs for the smart data centers transformation as part of the digital transformation effort. The PoCs are related to Augmented Reality Solution for remote assistance between facilities’ experts and Artificial Intelligence solution to maximize the energy efficiency of the cooling system. Learning is a continuous journey and there are a lot of education channels that individuals usually pursue. Starting with the most effective way of learning which is teaching. Knowledge sharing transforms individual knowledge into organizational knowledge, attracts talents to the industry we work in, builds the knowledge-sharing culture as it needs a constant and consistent efforts, and harnesses knowledge to achieve business impact via showcasing the value they are bringing to their organizations. Hence, Abdullah takes the responsibility to collaborate with peers by delivering technical sessions and sharing experience. This was illustrated via the development of five in-company’s Engineering Procedures in the area of technologies and his efforts as Instructor at Saudi Aramco Talent Essentials Program (STEP) to deliver session related to IT and data centers. Also, he developed a new course related to UPS & Battery system and delivered many other education sessions for knowledge sharing to different organizations. At a national level, Abdullah has developed different technical sessions about data centers for local universities as part of an outreach program and was an invited instructor for UMM ALQURA University engineering collage for their virtual 2020 summer training. At a global level, Abdullah is a valued data center professional armed with the needed qualifications which helped him build an impressive reputation in the industry. Moving from the future outlook of the next generation data centers that was presented in “UAE 2019 Future Date Centers And Cloud Summit” to powering up this industry via DC technology that was presented in “2019 AFCOM Data Centers World Conference” in Phoenix USA, Abdullah was a global keynote speaker and panelist in several international conferences such as “The 3rd IEEE ICDCM 2019 International Conference on DC Microgrids” in Japan, “40th International Communication Energy Conference” in Italy, and “4th International Conference on Electric Power Equipment-Switching Technology” in China. He is a recognized technical professional as a result of his technical publications in IEEE, editorial board technical member at International Journal of Energy & Power Engineering, and different international conferences technical committees to evaluate and accept conference papers. Also, Abdullah published four technical papers in IEEE and was invited as a writer in the inaugural issuance of the international data center magazine (InnoVision) which was published in July 2020. Additionally, he will be a speaker in the largest virtual event for big data and cloud festival in October 2020. This is in addition to his patent in the data center field which is currently under filing. Abdullah is currently working as an engineering lead with data center organization in Saudi Aramco where it hosts all the company’s critical oil and gas computing loads such as hydrocarbon management, seismic processing, geological modeling, reservoir management and others to ensure reliable service delivery and enable the company to meet its strategic objectives, Abdullah has been marked as a data center engineering specialist in one of the most advanced data centers in the middle east. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in electrical power engineering with a GPA of 3.78/4 and a master’s degree in engineering management with a GPA of 3.88/4. Additionally, he is a certified data center management professional and a certified data center design professional by CNet in UK. He is also a certified green belt lean six sigma and a certified fundamental electrical engineer by US NCEES and Saudi counsel of Engineers (SCE) where he has a professional engineer credential. Also, he completed more than 170 hands-on technical and leadership training within Saudi Aramco. Irrespective of the leadership positions Abdullah has held such as leading scattered communications facilities, corporate data center site or technical support teams, his passion and commitment toward business make him a lead-by-example role model. This was confirmed through inspiring many members of different teams to do and learn more where they acquired higher educational degrees and international credentials. Furthermore, Abdullah is a mentor of eight engineers where he strives to build their success stories and enable Saudi Aramco to meet its objectives. In spite of his key operational obligations, Abdullah is passionate about what he does which reflects on the new generation he is working with. Additionally, his active involvement in media such as TV interviews, newspapers, and social media channels in relation to data center business is a motivational factor for others.
Abdullah’s multi-disciplinary backgrounds led to major success in the data center era – where he works-. He successfully led major project in expanding a giant data center to meet the company’s ever-expanding computing requirements. The project was executed on an operational mission critical facility without any service impact or safety incident. Such complex project is a unique experience in the industry. Furthermore, Abdullah leveraged his experience through reviewing a prefabricated data center project and lately in designing an indoor smart modular data center where the design took place during COVID19 critical time. This represents the personal accountability to deliver great results at any circumstances. Leading mission critical operations towards zero downtime and safety incident in a giant and risky facility is a huge challenge. However, without a strategic focus to always refresh the center and do more with less, operation requirements will drain more resources and position the data center as a bottleneck in supporting the company’s expanding IT demand. Hence, Abdullah has initiated and implemented several innovations to augment the human element, supplement any current shortages, maximize safety, efficiency and maintaining the highest level of reliability. This was demonstrated through implementing Energy Optimization Program, Remote Racking Technology Project, Smartphones Connected Thermal-Camera, IR Thermal Monitoring Technology, and Remote Batteries Monitoring System for different scattered sites. In addition to the development of several PoCs for the smart data centers transformation as part of the digital transformation effort. The PoCs are related to Augmented Reality Solution for remote assistance between facilities’ experts and Artificial Intelligence solution to maximize the energy efficiency of the cooling system. Learning is a continuous journey and there are a lot of education channels that individuals usually pursue. Starting with the most effective way of learning which is teaching. Knowledge sharing transforms individual knowledge into organizational knowledge, attracts talents to the industry we work in, builds the knowledge-sharing culture as it needs a constant and consistent efforts, and harnesses knowledge to achieve business impact via showcasing the value they are bringing to their organizations. Hence, Abdullah takes the responsibility to collaborate with peers by delivering technical sessions and sharing experience. This was illustrated via the development of five in-company’s Engineering Procedures in the area of technologies and his efforts as Instructor at Saudi Aramco Talent Essentials Program (STEP) to deliver session related to IT and data centers. Also, he developed a new course related to UPS & Battery system and delivered many other education sessions for knowledge sharing to different organizations. At a national level, Abdullah has developed different technical sessions about data centers for local universities as part of an outreach program and was an invited instructor for UMM ALQURA University engineering collage for their virtual 2020 summer training. At a global level, Abdullah is a valued data center professional armed with the needed qualifications which helped him build an impressive reputation in the industry. Moving from the future outlook of the next generation data centers that was presented in “UAE 2019 Future Date Centers And Cloud Summit” to powering up this industry via DC technology that was presented in “2019 AFCOM Data Centers World Conference” in Phoenix USA, Abdullah was a global keynote speaker and panelist in several international conferences such as “The 3rd IEEE ICDCM 2019 International Conference on DC Microgrids” in Japan, “40th International Communication Energy Conference” in Italy, and “4th International Conference on Electric Power Equipment-Switching Technology” in China. He is a recognized technical professional as a result of his technical publications in IEEE, editorial board technical member at International Journal of Energy & Power Engineering, and different international conferences technical committees to evaluate and accept conference papers. Also, Abdullah published four technical papers in IEEE and was invited as a writer in the inaugural issuance of the international data center magazine (InnoVision) which was published in July 2020. Additionally, he will be a speaker in the largest virtual event for big data and cloud festival in October 2020. This is in addition to his patent in the data center field which is currently under filing. Abdullah is currently working as an engineering lead with data center organization in Saudi Aramco where it hosts all the company’s critical oil and gas computing loads such as hydrocarbon management, seismic processing, geological modeling, reservoir management and others to ensure reliable service delivery and enable the company to meet its strategic objectives, Abdullah has been marked as a data center engineering specialist in one of the most advanced data centers in the middle east. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in electrical power engineering with a GPA of 3.78/4 and a master’s degree in engineering management with a GPA of 3.88/4. Additionally, he is a certified data center management professional and a certified data center design professional by CNet in UK. He is also a certified green belt lean six sigma and a certified fundamental electrical engineer by US NCEES and Saudi counsel of Engineers (SCE) where he has a professional engineer credential. Also, he completed more than 170 hands-on technical and leadership training within Saudi Aramco. Irrespective of the leadership positions Abdullah has held such as leading scattered communications facilities, corporate data center site or technical support teams, his passion and commitment toward business make him a lead-by-example role model. This was confirmed through inspiring many members of different teams to do and learn more where they acquired higher educational degrees and international credentials. Furthermore, Abdullah is a mentor of eight engineers where he strives to build their success stories and enable Saudi Aramco to meet its objectives. In spite of his key operational obligations, Abdullah is passionate about what he does which reflects on the new generation he is working with. Additionally, his active involvement in media such as TV interviews, newspapers, and social media channels in relation to data center business is a motivational factor for others.
Data Centre ICT Storage Product of the Year
WINNER
Open-E
Open-E JovianDSS
Open-E JovianDSS is a unified data storage software based on Linux and ZFS (Zettabyte File System). The software is designed especially for Enterprise Software-Defined Storage environments. There are three main areas covered by Open-E JovianDSS: 1. Data Storage 2. Backup & Disaster Recovery 3. Business Continuity The first area is Data Storage, where the centralized data storage is accessible over protocols such as iSCSI, Fibre Channel (FC), NFS and SMB/CIFS. Open-E JovianDSS, based on the Linux architecture, provides better hardware compatibility compared to other products. It also supports VMware, Citrix, and Microsoft Hyper-V making it a perfect fit for any virtualized storage environment. Open-E JovianDSS can be easily set up as a virtual storage appliance in a virtual environment or can be installed on a physical server. Thanks to the implementation of the most advanced file system - ZFS, it provides multiple layers of data protection mechanisms including: Self-healing, Data and metadata check-summing, Atomic Transaction Writes and more. . Backup & Disaster Recovery is supported in Open-E JovianDSS by On- and Off-site Data Protection feature. It allows you to perform data backup and data restore in case of a disaster. The backup is independent of underlying data - everything can be backed up. This functionality is based on snapshots which can be restored on local as well as on remote destinations. The data can also be instantly accessed from the backup destination. You are also able to define retention plans that will help you to set up even very complex backup schemes, according to your needs. This solution is especially useful when working with Open-E JovianDSS in a data center. The third area, Business Continuity is related to the continuous availability of all company’s data that is essential when maintaining critical business operations in case of unexpected harmful events. Business Continuity in Open-E JovianDSS is achieved by a High Availability failover clustering which minimizes server downtime periods, eliminates single points of failure and provides the highest performance, reliability, and data availability. The built-in solution supports a huge number of topologies ranging from small cluster-in-a-box setups to big rack servers with multiple JBODs, local clusters up to stretched metro clusters, handling both: shared and non-shared data storage environments.
Open-E JovianDSS is a unified data storage software based on Linux and ZFS (Zettabyte File System). The software is designed especially for Enterprise Software-Defined Storage environments. There are three main areas covered by Open-E JovianDSS: 1. Data Storage 2. Backup & Disaster Recovery 3. Business Continuity The first area is Data Storage, where the centralized data storage is accessible over protocols such as iSCSI, Fibre Channel (FC), NFS and SMB/CIFS. Open-E JovianDSS, based on the Linux architecture, provides better hardware compatibility compared to other products. It also supports VMware, Citrix, and Microsoft Hyper-V making it a perfect fit for any virtualized storage environment. Open-E JovianDSS can be easily set up as a virtual storage appliance in a virtual environment or can be installed on a physical server. Thanks to the implementation of the most advanced file system - ZFS, it provides multiple layers of data protection mechanisms including: Self-healing, Data and metadata check-summing, Atomic Transaction Writes and more. . Backup & Disaster Recovery is supported in Open-E JovianDSS by On- and Off-site Data Protection feature. It allows you to perform data backup and data restore in case of a disaster. The backup is independent of underlying data - everything can be backed up. This functionality is based on snapshots which can be restored on local as well as on remote destinations. The data can also be instantly accessed from the backup destination. You are also able to define retention plans that will help you to set up even very complex backup schemes, according to your needs. This solution is especially useful when working with Open-E JovianDSS in a data center. The third area, Business Continuity is related to the continuous availability of all company’s data that is essential when maintaining critical business operations in case of unexpected harmful events. Business Continuity in Open-E JovianDSS is achieved by a High Availability failover clustering which minimizes server downtime periods, eliminates single points of failure and provides the highest performance, reliability, and data availability. The built-in solution supports a huge number of topologies ranging from small cluster-in-a-box setups to big rack servers with multiple JBODs, local clusters up to stretched metro clusters, handling both: shared and non-shared data storage environments.
RUNNER UP
Huawei Technologies
Huawei OceanStor Distributed Storage
1. Demonstrate specific innovations Huawei OceanStor Distributed Storage has realized unified management of four storage protocols: block, file, object, and HDFS. The storage converges three protocols (file, object, HDFS) for unified access. That means users can access the same data using any of of the three access methods. Also, the system supports object and file storage compression and deduplication capabilities with no external components, like compression card. The system performance and utilization ratio with Erasure Coding is higher than in other vendors’ systems. A new hardware node for distributed storage (Atlantic node) allows to achieve 2.4 Petabyte of raw capacity in 5 unit enclosure (as of the end of April 2020) 2. Demonstrate how our products are different from traditional products Traditionally, vendors either support four protocol unified management without interoperability (Ceph), or implement gateway-based solution on file or block storage (Dell EMC). While the first approach leads to high operational inefficiencies, the second impacts performance and does not provide full semantics support for different protocols. As for compression and deduplication commonly used in all-flash arrays, even if this functionality is present in distributed file and object storage among offerings on the market, competitors achieve it through a separate compression card which significantly increases installation costs. As for Erasure Coding utilization rate, Huawei OceanStor Distributed Storage can go over 90% - significantly higher than other vendors–without sacrificing the system performance. The density of Atlantic storage nodes is 20-30% higher than its competitors (Dell EMC). 3. The demo product is not the evolution of the previous product, but a disruptive change. Four protocols unified management and three protocols full interoperability with native semantics is a radical change in the way traditional on premise storages work. A Pacific hardware node for distributed object storage is a system build from the scratch to cater to voluminous data processing needs. 4. Demonstrate what value this innovation will bring to customers Huawei OceanStor Distributed Storage allows save capital expenditures for higher resource utilization and protocol convergence, operational expenditures through hardware resources consolidation. Thus, traditionally, a few copies of the same data should exist within the realm of each protocol to allow access to the storage resources which leads to multiple copies of the same data in the system, and slow processes because of frequent data transfers. With Huawei OceanStor Distributed Storage system, customers can eliminate such inefficiencies. In the data processing process with high capacity requirements like in case of automatic driving scenarios, the S3 object protocol serves data import needs, the HDFS protocol runs at data pre-processing stage, and the NFS / CIFS file protocol comes into play for data training and simulation. Through integration of different protocols, the overall process efficiency improves by over 30%.
1. Demonstrate specific innovations Huawei OceanStor Distributed Storage has realized unified management of four storage protocols: block, file, object, and HDFS. The storage converges three protocols (file, object, HDFS) for unified access. That means users can access the same data using any of of the three access methods. Also, the system supports object and file storage compression and deduplication capabilities with no external components, like compression card. The system performance and utilization ratio with Erasure Coding is higher than in other vendors’ systems. A new hardware node for distributed storage (Atlantic node) allows to achieve 2.4 Petabyte of raw capacity in 5 unit enclosure (as of the end of April 2020) 2. Demonstrate how our products are different from traditional products Traditionally, vendors either support four protocol unified management without interoperability (Ceph), or implement gateway-based solution on file or block storage (Dell EMC). While the first approach leads to high operational inefficiencies, the second impacts performance and does not provide full semantics support for different protocols. As for compression and deduplication commonly used in all-flash arrays, even if this functionality is present in distributed file and object storage among offerings on the market, competitors achieve it through a separate compression card which significantly increases installation costs. As for Erasure Coding utilization rate, Huawei OceanStor Distributed Storage can go over 90% - significantly higher than other vendors–without sacrificing the system performance. The density of Atlantic storage nodes is 20-30% higher than its competitors (Dell EMC). 3. The demo product is not the evolution of the previous product, but a disruptive change. Four protocols unified management and three protocols full interoperability with native semantics is a radical change in the way traditional on premise storages work. A Pacific hardware node for distributed object storage is a system build from the scratch to cater to voluminous data processing needs. 4. Demonstrate what value this innovation will bring to customers Huawei OceanStor Distributed Storage allows save capital expenditures for higher resource utilization and protocol convergence, operational expenditures through hardware resources consolidation. Thus, traditionally, a few copies of the same data should exist within the realm of each protocol to allow access to the storage resources which leads to multiple copies of the same data in the system, and slow processes because of frequent data transfers. With Huawei OceanStor Distributed Storage system, customers can eliminate such inefficiencies. In the data processing process with high capacity requirements like in case of automatic driving scenarios, the S3 object protocol serves data import needs, the HDFS protocol runs at data pre-processing stage, and the NFS / CIFS file protocol comes into play for data training and simulation. Through integration of different protocols, the overall process efficiency improves by over 30%.
Data Centre ICT Security Product of the Year
WINNER
digitronic computersysteme gmbh
Managed confidentiality for large IT infrastructures
What is new? HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services has some more and new features in compare to HiCrypt™. HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services allows • central management of all encrypted shares • connection to existing user management without media disruption • safe and intuitive separation of responsibilities • meets high safety requirements • workflow integration • script-based control is possible • fully scalable • auditable • creates managed confidentiality • very comfortable SSO on HiCrypt-Shares How does the product break with conventional ideas? • Digitization, globalization and CLOUD do not necessarily lead to a loss of control over confidential data content! • With the help of encryption, confidentiality can be restored. • The important thing is to keep the cryptographic secret that encodes data under control and keep it separate from the data! • We solve this: Key Ownership Guarantee How does it go beyond marginal improvements on something the already exists? HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services makes no difference. No matter wheter small or big structure - HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services is suitable for everyone. It offers a manageable confidentiality which is easy and scalable to realize. HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services serves conveniently and centrally all encrypted shares. How do customer benefit from the product? HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services allows a separation of the phases technical, administrative preparation of comfortable administration, user and recovery management of confidential shares. HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services allows an introduction of one or more global managers who are legitimized by the board and act as a link between IT administration and trust management. Assigned roles can be global manager (has sovereignty over all data, can be the only user to delete), technican (has sovereignty over IT administration, but can only prepare the encryption of shares), share manager (can be the only one to decrypt, manage shares but cannot access the content) and user (the only working with the client and can access the content oft he assigned shares).
What is new? HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services has some more and new features in compare to HiCrypt™. HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services allows • central management of all encrypted shares • connection to existing user management without media disruption • safe and intuitive separation of responsibilities • meets high safety requirements • workflow integration • script-based control is possible • fully scalable • auditable • creates managed confidentiality • very comfortable SSO on HiCrypt-Shares How does the product break with conventional ideas? • Digitization, globalization and CLOUD do not necessarily lead to a loss of control over confidential data content! • With the help of encryption, confidentiality can be restored. • The important thing is to keep the cryptographic secret that encodes data under control and keep it separate from the data! • We solve this: Key Ownership Guarantee How does it go beyond marginal improvements on something the already exists? HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services makes no difference. No matter wheter small or big structure - HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services is suitable for everyone. It offers a manageable confidentiality which is easy and scalable to realize. HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services serves conveniently and centrally all encrypted shares. How do customer benefit from the product? HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services allows a separation of the phases technical, administrative preparation of comfortable administration, user and recovery management of confidential shares. HiCrypt™ Enterprise Services allows an introduction of one or more global managers who are legitimized by the board and act as a link between IT administration and trust management. Assigned roles can be global manager (has sovereignty over all data, can be the only user to delete), technican (has sovereignty over IT administration, but can only prepare the encryption of shares), share manager (can be the only one to decrypt, manage shares but cannot access the content) and user (the only working with the client and can access the content oft he assigned shares).
RUNNER UP
RDS-Tools
RDS-Knight
RDS-Knight is a unique security tool, the only program on the Remote Desktop market which offers seven types of protection combined in a single product!! Features go from Time and Localization Restrictions, Secure Users Desktops and Endpoints, Inspect and Manage Users' Privileges, to blocking Brute-Force and Ransomware Attacks. As so, it offers many more features than the competition. ● First, RDS-Knight is easy and quick to configure. Installation takes only minutes and does not require any firewall change (its own built-in firewall can be activated), open port or VPN. ● Second, RDS-Knight enables administrators to fine-tune and enforce rules for users and groups using Working Hours Restrictions, One Click to Secure Desktops, Permissions (Inspect and Manage users Privileges) and Endpoint Access Protection. These additional layers of security, at the user level, are an efficient way to keep your RDS server secure while making the utilization of remote services easier for users. ● Last important point, RDS-Knight is designed to work for the widest range of Windows operating systems, with the greatest performance possible. As an example, RDS-Knight includes an amazing Ransomware protection, which is a great addition offering and leveraging different technologies to catch threats as quickly as possible. ● RDS-Knight is cost-effective. It exists in two editions: Essentials and Ultimate. The “Essentials” license costs only $50/server and is valid for unlimited users! It includes three of the protections that allow to block IPs, brute-force attacks and to restrict users’ rights! The “Ultimate” license provides the full-featured product for only $250/ server! You pay once, and benefit from the best protection for all your RDS users, without any limit of time!
RDS-Knight is a unique security tool, the only program on the Remote Desktop market which offers seven types of protection combined in a single product!! Features go from Time and Localization Restrictions, Secure Users Desktops and Endpoints, Inspect and Manage Users' Privileges, to blocking Brute-Force and Ransomware Attacks. As so, it offers many more features than the competition. ● First, RDS-Knight is easy and quick to configure. Installation takes only minutes and does not require any firewall change (its own built-in firewall can be activated), open port or VPN. ● Second, RDS-Knight enables administrators to fine-tune and enforce rules for users and groups using Working Hours Restrictions, One Click to Secure Desktops, Permissions (Inspect and Manage users Privileges) and Endpoint Access Protection. These additional layers of security, at the user level, are an efficient way to keep your RDS server secure while making the utilization of remote services easier for users. ● Last important point, RDS-Knight is designed to work for the widest range of Windows operating systems, with the greatest performance possible. As an example, RDS-Knight includes an amazing Ransomware protection, which is a great addition offering and leveraging different technologies to catch threats as quickly as possible. ● RDS-Knight is cost-effective. It exists in two editions: Essentials and Ultimate. The “Essentials” license costs only $50/server and is valid for unlimited users! It includes three of the protections that allow to block IPs, brute-force attacks and to restrict users’ rights! The “Ultimate” license provides the full-featured product for only $250/ server! You pay once, and benefit from the best protection for all your RDS users, without any limit of time!
Data Centre ICT Networking Product of the Year
WINNER
Bridgeworks
WAN Data Acceleration Powers Database Synchronicity, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Bridgeworks industry defining Data Acceleration technology is re-defining Wide Area Networks enabling organisations to reach transfer speeds up to 200x faster, whether large volumes, encrypted or media files. Using Automated, AI technology Bridgeworks dramatically alleviates the effects of latency and packet loss, meaning that data can get to where it needs to be quicker and maximising business performance with dramatic ROI. Solutions such as Bridgeworks PORTrockIT go beyond the traditional choices and capabilities of WAN Optimisation and SD-WAN, allowing organisations to improve the efficiency of their WAN links. Francois Steyl, CTO at StratIT says: “Bridgeworks is unique in what it does, and addresses the latency, packet loss and ingress and egress rates which is the culprit for poor throughput rates across the WAN. The ease of the Virtual appliance deployment and the adjusting of routing rules makes Bridgeworks the clear solution to accelerate data across a customer’s WAN. The implementation of Bridgeworks’ solutions at Investec Private Bank, has realised a 424% increase in total traffic sent across the WAN, which provides an almost instantaneous Return on Investment”. Alternatives such as Aryaka were considered, but solutions such as PORTrockIT were found to meet all of Investec’s requirements after a proof of concept (POC) of 6 months duration. This POC was carried out after StratIT introduced Investec to Bridgeworks. POC: No Acceleration The baseline for the POC began with no acceleration, and with host-to-host traffic with accelerator in-path. The total traffic transferred between 1st February and 1st April 2018 was 9.3TB. The average rate of transfer was 3-5MB/s, and all of the databases were out of sync. POC: With Acceleration The next step was to add accelerator to accelerator traffic in-path of servers. The total traffic transferred between 1st February and 1st April 2019 equalled 55TB. This amounted to a 424% increase in total traffic, with an average rate of transfer 11-15MB/s. Unlike when there was no WAN data acceleration, all of the Oracle and SQL databases were in sync. Journalist Joe O’Halloran writes in his Computerweekly article, 'Investec Bank cashes in on WAN acceleration' that Mark Backes, infrastructure architect and team lead at Investec Bank, said the company couldn't simply add faster connectivity at the problem: “No matter how much bandwidth we threw, we couldn’t resolve [the challenges] with more speed. TCP application packet acceleration was the limiting factor – there is only so much a day that you can push and we just had to find a way to reduce latency.” Backes concludes: "The bottom line of the WAN acceleration technology is that more people can go online and are able to trade – and that means money. The type of gains taken from the Bridgeworks technology will now be put into future RFPs. “We need a federation of acceleration.” Venesia Oxford, Senior Account Manager at Datacentrix has also stated: “Through the utilisation of the Bridgeworks technology, Investec can finally utilise more of their actual Bandwidth investment, compared to what was possible in the past. The improved application response times means quicker turnaround times enabling faster decision making which impacts customer satisfaction and internal business collaborations. The Bridgeworks technology is one of the data management principles available to customers from the all-encompassing data management portfolio offered from Datacentrix." The Bank has 10,000 employees. As for its IT environment it currently has: • An MPLS WAN link with a handover from one SP to another between continents. • A Microsoft Windows and Red Hat Operating systems on Dell commodity kit. • An Oracle Enterprise Database, SQL Enterprise Database. Tackling challenges For the purpose of GDPR the Investec must ensure critical system data in not older than a few hours to meet regulatory requirements. Data sovereignty regulations for SecuritEase mean the servers will need to be hosted in the EU. Subsequently, the data cannot be older than a few hours to achieve compliance with the regulations. Investec Wealth and Investment require access to servers residing in the UK to provide clients with offshore investment capability. The Bank is partnered with Swiss Bank, and it uses its Swiss brokering licence. The issue is that geographic latency between South Africa and the UK meant less than 20% utilisation of WAN links for the replication of RRP data. MPLS latency between the two countries is +-180ms. The time for these data sets to be moved across the South Africa and the UK link is currently between 14-15 hours, which can cause challenges in keeping RRP databases in synchronicity. The need to achieve the following led Investec to Bridgeworks: • Reduce data replication times and keeping DB’s in sync; • Reduce non-productive transfer windows; • Ability to fully utilise all available WAN bandwidth i.e. WAN infrastructure investment is right sized to the transfer task ; • Ability to reduce application visible latency i.e. deliver content quicker to customers and collaborators. • Minimal impact and footprint to existing WAN/LAN infrastructure • Solution available as virtual machine • Software/Routing changes required for acceleration no need to deploy additional physical hardware to the environment. The price of Bridgeworks solutions was also a factor that attracted Investec. The Bank expects to save money as a result of the introduction of Bridgeworks WAN Data Acceleration solutions. It will also allow Investec to fully utilise the available bandwidth between the sites – helping to resolve the core business problems faced by Investec – such as the replication of SQL and Oracle enterprise databases.
Bridgeworks industry defining Data Acceleration technology is re-defining Wide Area Networks enabling organisations to reach transfer speeds up to 200x faster, whether large volumes, encrypted or media files. Using Automated, AI technology Bridgeworks dramatically alleviates the effects of latency and packet loss, meaning that data can get to where it needs to be quicker and maximising business performance with dramatic ROI. Solutions such as Bridgeworks PORTrockIT go beyond the traditional choices and capabilities of WAN Optimisation and SD-WAN, allowing organisations to improve the efficiency of their WAN links. Francois Steyl, CTO at StratIT says: “Bridgeworks is unique in what it does, and addresses the latency, packet loss and ingress and egress rates which is the culprit for poor throughput rates across the WAN. The ease of the Virtual appliance deployment and the adjusting of routing rules makes Bridgeworks the clear solution to accelerate data across a customer’s WAN. The implementation of Bridgeworks’ solutions at Investec Private Bank, has realised a 424% increase in total traffic sent across the WAN, which provides an almost instantaneous Return on Investment”. Alternatives such as Aryaka were considered, but solutions such as PORTrockIT were found to meet all of Investec’s requirements after a proof of concept (POC) of 6 months duration. This POC was carried out after StratIT introduced Investec to Bridgeworks. POC: No Acceleration The baseline for the POC began with no acceleration, and with host-to-host traffic with accelerator in-path. The total traffic transferred between 1st February and 1st April 2018 was 9.3TB. The average rate of transfer was 3-5MB/s, and all of the databases were out of sync. POC: With Acceleration The next step was to add accelerator to accelerator traffic in-path of servers. The total traffic transferred between 1st February and 1st April 2019 equalled 55TB. This amounted to a 424% increase in total traffic, with an average rate of transfer 11-15MB/s. Unlike when there was no WAN data acceleration, all of the Oracle and SQL databases were in sync. Journalist Joe O’Halloran writes in his Computerweekly article, 'Investec Bank cashes in on WAN acceleration' that Mark Backes, infrastructure architect and team lead at Investec Bank, said the company couldn't simply add faster connectivity at the problem: “No matter how much bandwidth we threw, we couldn’t resolve [the challenges] with more speed. TCP application packet acceleration was the limiting factor – there is only so much a day that you can push and we just had to find a way to reduce latency.” Backes concludes: "The bottom line of the WAN acceleration technology is that more people can go online and are able to trade – and that means money. The type of gains taken from the Bridgeworks technology will now be put into future RFPs. “We need a federation of acceleration.” Venesia Oxford, Senior Account Manager at Datacentrix has also stated: “Through the utilisation of the Bridgeworks technology, Investec can finally utilise more of their actual Bandwidth investment, compared to what was possible in the past. The improved application response times means quicker turnaround times enabling faster decision making which impacts customer satisfaction and internal business collaborations. The Bridgeworks technology is one of the data management principles available to customers from the all-encompassing data management portfolio offered from Datacentrix." The Bank has 10,000 employees. As for its IT environment it currently has: • An MPLS WAN link with a handover from one SP to another between continents. • A Microsoft Windows and Red Hat Operating systems on Dell commodity kit. • An Oracle Enterprise Database, SQL Enterprise Database. Tackling challenges For the purpose of GDPR the Investec must ensure critical system data in not older than a few hours to meet regulatory requirements. Data sovereignty regulations for SecuritEase mean the servers will need to be hosted in the EU. Subsequently, the data cannot be older than a few hours to achieve compliance with the regulations. Investec Wealth and Investment require access to servers residing in the UK to provide clients with offshore investment capability. The Bank is partnered with Swiss Bank, and it uses its Swiss brokering licence. The issue is that geographic latency between South Africa and the UK meant less than 20% utilisation of WAN links for the replication of RRP data. MPLS latency between the two countries is +-180ms. The time for these data sets to be moved across the South Africa and the UK link is currently between 14-15 hours, which can cause challenges in keeping RRP databases in synchronicity. The need to achieve the following led Investec to Bridgeworks: • Reduce data replication times and keeping DB’s in sync; • Reduce non-productive transfer windows; • Ability to fully utilise all available WAN bandwidth i.e. WAN infrastructure investment is right sized to the transfer task ; • Ability to reduce application visible latency i.e. deliver content quicker to customers and collaborators. • Minimal impact and footprint to existing WAN/LAN infrastructure • Solution available as virtual machine • Software/Routing changes required for acceleration no need to deploy additional physical hardware to the environment. The price of Bridgeworks solutions was also a factor that attracted Investec. The Bank expects to save money as a result of the introduction of Bridgeworks WAN Data Acceleration solutions. It will also allow Investec to fully utilise the available bandwidth between the sites – helping to resolve the core business problems faced by Investec – such as the replication of SQL and Oracle enterprise databases.
RUNNER UP
Raritan, a brand of Legrand
The Dominion® KX IV-101 KVM-over-IP Switch - Single-Port Ultra Performance Solution
What are your product's/solution's key distinguishing features and/or USP? The Dominion® KX IV-101 (DKX4-101), Raritan’s highest performing KVM-over-IP switch, provides a new level of Ultra HD 4K performance for remote access and management. More powerful and flexible than any other KVM-over-IP solution available on the market, it supports higher video resolutions, faster frame rates, higher video quality, and substantially faster virtual media. The KX IV-101 supports unblocked, Java-free, BIOS-level remote access of a single server, PC or workstation over LAN, WAN or even the Internet. A native HDMI device, the KX IV-101 has available cables/adapters for VGA, DVI, Mini DisplayPort, and USB-C. It provides users the most flexibility with access remote computers via User Station, laptop, PC or Smartphone. The KX IV-101 supports many of the popular Dominion features such as virtual media, absolute mouse synchronization, LDAP/Radius/AD authentication, AES encryption, support for up to 8 simultaneous sessions, and much, much more. Key Features: 1. Ultra-High Performance 4K and 1080p Video: The Dominion KX IV-101 supports access to servers with 4K video resolution (3840x2160), up to 30 frames per second with the new KX IV User Station. It also supports HD resolutions up to 1920x1080 and 1920x1200 at up to 60 frames per second with high quality 4:4:4 colour for high quality images and video. 2. Flexible, Multi-Purpose, IP-Based: The KX IV-101 has user-configurable bandwidth to operate over LAN, WAN, and even the Internet for emergency out-of-hours IT support. As a flexible IP solution, it is accessible via User Station, Laptop, PC, and Smartphone supporting users, managers, engineers, and IT. Java-free KVM access is available on Windows, Linux and Mac. 3. Dominion Features and Compatibility: The KX IV-101 supports many of the popular Dominion features such as: BIOS-level access, virtual media, absolute mouse synchronization, LDAP/Radius/AD authentication, AES encryption, and support for up to 8 simultaneous sessions. Utilize the KX IV-101 with the other Dominion products, KX III or IV User Stations. Native support for HDMI, with optional adapters for VGA, DVI, Mini DisplayPort and USB-C. 4. Integrated KVM Solution: The KX IV-101 scales with Raritan’s CommandCenter management system, allowing multiple users to access multiple KX IV-101 and KX III switches, in single or multiple locations, across the country or even the world. CommandCenter integrates with the KX User Stations, Dominion products, as well as popular IT solutions such as VNC, RDP and SSH. What tangible impact has your product/solution had on the market and your customers? Broadcast, control rooms, labs, remote facilities, government, military and manufacturing all have unique and demanding remote access and management needs. They need high performance remote access but with the flexibility that only an IP based KVM switch can provide. Raritan has responded to these needs by creating the world’s fastest and most flexible KVM-over-IP solution ever. The 4th generation KX IV-101 delivers productivity, reliability and security, to support users, managers, engineering and IT in the most demanding and challenging environments. The Dominion KX IV 101’s exciting new and unique features include: • KX IV User Station is up to 3 times faster than the KX III and supports 3 monitors. • Virtual Power Button can power on/off a computer device, using an external device control feature (KXIV Terminal Block hardware). This can power on/off devices without the use of an outlet-switched PDU! • PDView or new KVM iPhone App can be used to configure and administer the KX IV. Users can remotely access and control servers through Apple iPhone and iPad devices, directly or through CC-SG with the same level of security that they now enjoy via their laptops. The KX IV-101 is perfect for customers that require: (1) high performance access to computers, servers, PCs and workstations, or (2) those that require a single-port KVM-over-IP switch. High performance customers may be in the following industries: broadcast, media, control room, government, military, aerospace, scientific, engineering, security, or medical. These users need any (or all) of the following: • Use of high-resolution content, 1080p, 1440p, 1600p up to 4K • Dynamic or video applications requiring 30 to 60 frames per second • Work with high quality video, images, maps, etc. Other users may require one or more single-port KVM-over-IP switches for traditional remote management applications such as remote offices, colo, remote facilities, cubes/closets, edge applications, small labs or wherever there is a small number of computers to be remotely managed. What are the major differentiators between your product/solution and those of your primary competitors? The Dominion KX IV-101 is the highest performing KVM-over-IP switch, offering a superior video performance and highly flexible IP based solution, that is not available anywhere else on the market. 1. Superior Video Performance: Versus other one-port KVM-over-IP switches, the KX IV-101 has substantially higher performance, supporting higher resolutions up to 4K, faster frames-per-second up to 60 and higher quality images to 4:4:4. In terms of performance, there is simply no comparison between the KX IV-101 and traditional KVM switches. • Higher video resolutions to 4K • Faster frame rates to 60 FPS • High quality images and video to 4:4:4 • 3X Faster Virtual Media • New High-Performance User Station 2. Flexible, IP-based Solution: Versus other high performance KVM systems used in broadcast and control rooms, the KX IV-101 provides similar high performance, but is much more flexible than these systems including: • Works over LAN, WAN or even the internet. Runs over the corporate network. Does not require fiber, 10G Ethernet or an independent network. • Can be accessed over IP via user station, PC, or laptop. Many high-performance systems only work via an expensive hardware receiver or decoder; they don’t support PC or laptop access by IT, engineering or management. • The KX User Stations support a desktop user interface where users can simultaneously access multiple KVM sessions, including RDP, VNC and SSH access to servers. The new KX IV User Station supports 4K and up to 3 monitors. • As an IP-solution, a KX IV-101 solution is easier to deploy/expand and is often less expensive. For further information on The Dominion® KX IV-101, please visit: https://www.raritan.com/products/kvm-serial/kvm-over-ip-switches/4k-kvm-single-port-ip-switch Nominator/Nominee details: Company: Raritan, a brand of Legrand Name: Daniel Price Job Title: Sales Manager Telephone: +44 (0) 207 090 1395 Email address: daniel.price@raritan.com Website: www.raritan.com
What are your product's/solution's key distinguishing features and/or USP? The Dominion® KX IV-101 (DKX4-101), Raritan’s highest performing KVM-over-IP switch, provides a new level of Ultra HD 4K performance for remote access and management. More powerful and flexible than any other KVM-over-IP solution available on the market, it supports higher video resolutions, faster frame rates, higher video quality, and substantially faster virtual media. The KX IV-101 supports unblocked, Java-free, BIOS-level remote access of a single server, PC or workstation over LAN, WAN or even the Internet. A native HDMI device, the KX IV-101 has available cables/adapters for VGA, DVI, Mini DisplayPort, and USB-C. It provides users the most flexibility with access remote computers via User Station, laptop, PC or Smartphone. The KX IV-101 supports many of the popular Dominion features such as virtual media, absolute mouse synchronization, LDAP/Radius/AD authentication, AES encryption, support for up to 8 simultaneous sessions, and much, much more. Key Features: 1. Ultra-High Performance 4K and 1080p Video: The Dominion KX IV-101 supports access to servers with 4K video resolution (3840x2160), up to 30 frames per second with the new KX IV User Station. It also supports HD resolutions up to 1920x1080 and 1920x1200 at up to 60 frames per second with high quality 4:4:4 colour for high quality images and video. 2. Flexible, Multi-Purpose, IP-Based: The KX IV-101 has user-configurable bandwidth to operate over LAN, WAN, and even the Internet for emergency out-of-hours IT support. As a flexible IP solution, it is accessible via User Station, Laptop, PC, and Smartphone supporting users, managers, engineers, and IT. Java-free KVM access is available on Windows, Linux and Mac. 3. Dominion Features and Compatibility: The KX IV-101 supports many of the popular Dominion features such as: BIOS-level access, virtual media, absolute mouse synchronization, LDAP/Radius/AD authentication, AES encryption, and support for up to 8 simultaneous sessions. Utilize the KX IV-101 with the other Dominion products, KX III or IV User Stations. Native support for HDMI, with optional adapters for VGA, DVI, Mini DisplayPort and USB-C. 4. Integrated KVM Solution: The KX IV-101 scales with Raritan’s CommandCenter management system, allowing multiple users to access multiple KX IV-101 and KX III switches, in single or multiple locations, across the country or even the world. CommandCenter integrates with the KX User Stations, Dominion products, as well as popular IT solutions such as VNC, RDP and SSH. What tangible impact has your product/solution had on the market and your customers? Broadcast, control rooms, labs, remote facilities, government, military and manufacturing all have unique and demanding remote access and management needs. They need high performance remote access but with the flexibility that only an IP based KVM switch can provide. Raritan has responded to these needs by creating the world’s fastest and most flexible KVM-over-IP solution ever. The 4th generation KX IV-101 delivers productivity, reliability and security, to support users, managers, engineering and IT in the most demanding and challenging environments. The Dominion KX IV 101’s exciting new and unique features include: • KX IV User Station is up to 3 times faster than the KX III and supports 3 monitors. • Virtual Power Button can power on/off a computer device, using an external device control feature (KXIV Terminal Block hardware). This can power on/off devices without the use of an outlet-switched PDU! • PDView or new KVM iPhone App can be used to configure and administer the KX IV. Users can remotely access and control servers through Apple iPhone and iPad devices, directly or through CC-SG with the same level of security that they now enjoy via their laptops. The KX IV-101 is perfect for customers that require: (1) high performance access to computers, servers, PCs and workstations, or (2) those that require a single-port KVM-over-IP switch. High performance customers may be in the following industries: broadcast, media, control room, government, military, aerospace, scientific, engineering, security, or medical. These users need any (or all) of the following: • Use of high-resolution content, 1080p, 1440p, 1600p up to 4K • Dynamic or video applications requiring 30 to 60 frames per second • Work with high quality video, images, maps, etc. Other users may require one or more single-port KVM-over-IP switches for traditional remote management applications such as remote offices, colo, remote facilities, cubes/closets, edge applications, small labs or wherever there is a small number of computers to be remotely managed. What are the major differentiators between your product/solution and those of your primary competitors? The Dominion KX IV-101 is the highest performing KVM-over-IP switch, offering a superior video performance and highly flexible IP based solution, that is not available anywhere else on the market. 1. Superior Video Performance: Versus other one-port KVM-over-IP switches, the KX IV-101 has substantially higher performance, supporting higher resolutions up to 4K, faster frames-per-second up to 60 and higher quality images to 4:4:4. In terms of performance, there is simply no comparison between the KX IV-101 and traditional KVM switches. • Higher video resolutions to 4K • Faster frame rates to 60 FPS • High quality images and video to 4:4:4 • 3X Faster Virtual Media • New High-Performance User Station 2. Flexible, IP-based Solution: Versus other high performance KVM systems used in broadcast and control rooms, the KX IV-101 provides similar high performance, but is much more flexible than these systems including: • Works over LAN, WAN or even the internet. Runs over the corporate network. Does not require fiber, 10G Ethernet or an independent network. • Can be accessed over IP via user station, PC, or laptop. Many high-performance systems only work via an expensive hardware receiver or decoder; they don’t support PC or laptop access by IT, engineering or management. • The KX User Stations support a desktop user interface where users can simultaneously access multiple KVM sessions, including RDP, VNC and SSH access to servers. The new KX IV User Station supports 4K and up to 3 monitors. • As an IP-solution, a KX IV-101 solution is easier to deploy/expand and is often less expensive. For further information on The Dominion® KX IV-101, please visit: https://www.raritan.com/products/kvm-serial/kvm-over-ip-switches/4k-kvm-single-port-ip-switch Nominator/Nominee details: Company: Raritan, a brand of Legrand Name: Daniel Price Job Title: Sales Manager Telephone: +44 (0) 207 090 1395 Email address: daniel.price@raritan.com Website: www.raritan.com
Data Centre ICT Compute Product of the Year
WINNER
RNT Rausch GmbH
Tormenta VarioScaler
Tormenta® VarioScaler: Limits belong to yesterday! Total flexibility of performance and scalability. One thing unites large data centres and smaller city carriers: Storage space is limited but ever more companies are outsourcing heavy-duty services. RNT Rausch offers a server system that scales up flexibly in terms of level and functionality using modules with the Tormenta VarioScaler. Growth without pain An end to new purchases in the data centre simply because new customers or functions are in-house: With the Tormenta VarioScaler simply exchange the components or stock the casing up. Determine the server architecture for yourself You determine the server architecture yourself because from a component height above 1 rack unit, you use different mainboards, drives, power suppliers etc. in modules and flexibly as the system requires them. Drive modules, boards, power supplies – the choice is yours! In addition, the casing can be expanded using extension modules up to 3 rack units high. Tormenta VarioScaler is the first scalable seversystem from 1U to 3U. Key features - first scalable chassis from 1U up to 3U - all standard motherboard form factors are supported - individual configurable HDD, NVMe and SSD options CPU / Memory - Intel® Atom® C3000 - Intel® Xeon® E3 / E5 - Intel® Xeon® D - Intel® Xeon® Scalable - AMD® Epyc™ Mainboard Single socket - mITX - mATX Single or dual socket - ATX - eATX Hard drive bays 4 HDD bays per 1U, each optional with: - 1 x 3,5″ SATA - 2 x 2,5″ NVMe SSD 2HE - 2 x 2,5″ SAS/SATA 15mm - 4 x 2,5″ SATA SSD 7,5mm PCI Slots - 1U: up to 3 PICe - 2U: up to 7 x PICe low profile - 3U: up to 7 x PICe full size Power supplies - 250W 80 + bronze, - 400W 80 + gold - 400W 1+1 PSU 80 + Platinum - 700W 1+1 PSU 80 + Platinum
Tormenta® VarioScaler: Limits belong to yesterday! Total flexibility of performance and scalability. One thing unites large data centres and smaller city carriers: Storage space is limited but ever more companies are outsourcing heavy-duty services. RNT Rausch offers a server system that scales up flexibly in terms of level and functionality using modules with the Tormenta VarioScaler. Growth without pain An end to new purchases in the data centre simply because new customers or functions are in-house: With the Tormenta VarioScaler simply exchange the components or stock the casing up. Determine the server architecture for yourself You determine the server architecture yourself because from a component height above 1 rack unit, you use different mainboards, drives, power suppliers etc. in modules and flexibly as the system requires them. Drive modules, boards, power supplies – the choice is yours! In addition, the casing can be expanded using extension modules up to 3 rack units high. Tormenta VarioScaler is the first scalable seversystem from 1U to 3U. Key features - first scalable chassis from 1U up to 3U - all standard motherboard form factors are supported - individual configurable HDD, NVMe and SSD options CPU / Memory - Intel® Atom® C3000 - Intel® Xeon® E3 / E5 - Intel® Xeon® D - Intel® Xeon® Scalable - AMD® Epyc™ Mainboard Single socket - mITX - mATX Single or dual socket - ATX - eATX Hard drive bays 4 HDD bays per 1U, each optional with: - 1 x 3,5″ SATA - 2 x 2,5″ NVMe SSD 2HE - 2 x 2,5″ SAS/SATA 15mm - 4 x 2,5″ SATA SSD 7,5mm PCI Slots - 1U: up to 3 PICe - 2U: up to 7 x PICe low profile - 3U: up to 7 x PICe full size Power supplies - 250W 80 + bronze, - 400W 80 + gold - 400W 1+1 PSU 80 + Platinum - 700W 1+1 PSU 80 + Platinum
RUNNER UP
SQream
SQream enables organizations to rapidly analyze massive amounts of data faster, to improve the wisdom and speed of insights.
Every organization is striving to be more data driven, to run operations more efficiently and to generate a superior customer experience. However, the insights that can be gleamed from algorithms are dependent on the quantity, quality and variety of the data that their models read. The amount of data that needs to be ingested is staggering. The need to ingest petabytes of data can stress out standard data processing systems, resulting in models that take too long to run, or less accurate conclusions by reading in less than the optimal amount of data. Forrester reports that between 60 and 73 percent of all data within an enterprise goes unused for analytics. SQream DB, a GPU-based columnar database, simplifies and accelerates the ability to analyze massive amounts of data with the ability to scale as the volume of data grows. SQream DB’s transparent metadata collection and adaptive automatic compression lets data scientists run queries on terabytes to petabytes of data, where other databases simply can’t function. SQream DB harnesses the raw brute-force power and high throughput capabilities of the GPU, with MPP-on-chip capabilities to speed up data queries. It enables complex tasks to be performed in parallel with performance that’s unachievable utilizing classic CPUs. The optimized columnar storage system utilized by SQream DB is partitioned both horizontally and vertically for heavy analytic operations like joins, aggregations, summarizations, and sorting. SQream also eliminates the need for pre-aggregation or pre-modeling, which is a huge time saver, by reducing the time and resources required for data preparation. Because they can perform queries on ray data, data scientists and BI analysts are able ask more questions about more data from a wider variety of perspectives. In addition, by achieving more computing power with less hardware, SQream DB is more cost efficient which is important for research organizations. A handful of GPU-enabled servers can support a large enterprise’s data compute needs, while delivering faster performance at a fraction of the cost of competing CPU-only solutions. Thanks to SQream database’s powerful GPU-based technology and unique architecture, up to 1 PB of human genome sequences were analyzed at a cancer research institute significantly faster than with previous methods. Now they are able to compare hundreds of genome sequences in two hours while previously it took two months to analyze only a handful of genome sequences. Data analytics are critical for creating and maintaining a competitive advantage. Having the right data architecture can result in ad hoc analytics at scale to optimize processes and bring in more revenue from increased insights. SQream DB is a fast powerful database that provide the speed and accuracy data scientists need to make an organization wiser and more competitive.
Every organization is striving to be more data driven, to run operations more efficiently and to generate a superior customer experience. However, the insights that can be gleamed from algorithms are dependent on the quantity, quality and variety of the data that their models read. The amount of data that needs to be ingested is staggering. The need to ingest petabytes of data can stress out standard data processing systems, resulting in models that take too long to run, or less accurate conclusions by reading in less than the optimal amount of data. Forrester reports that between 60 and 73 percent of all data within an enterprise goes unused for analytics. SQream DB, a GPU-based columnar database, simplifies and accelerates the ability to analyze massive amounts of data with the ability to scale as the volume of data grows. SQream DB’s transparent metadata collection and adaptive automatic compression lets data scientists run queries on terabytes to petabytes of data, where other databases simply can’t function. SQream DB harnesses the raw brute-force power and high throughput capabilities of the GPU, with MPP-on-chip capabilities to speed up data queries. It enables complex tasks to be performed in parallel with performance that’s unachievable utilizing classic CPUs. The optimized columnar storage system utilized by SQream DB is partitioned both horizontally and vertically for heavy analytic operations like joins, aggregations, summarizations, and sorting. SQream also eliminates the need for pre-aggregation or pre-modeling, which is a huge time saver, by reducing the time and resources required for data preparation. Because they can perform queries on ray data, data scientists and BI analysts are able ask more questions about more data from a wider variety of perspectives. In addition, by achieving more computing power with less hardware, SQream DB is more cost efficient which is important for research organizations. A handful of GPU-enabled servers can support a large enterprise’s data compute needs, while delivering faster performance at a fraction of the cost of competing CPU-only solutions. Thanks to SQream database’s powerful GPU-based technology and unique architecture, up to 1 PB of human genome sequences were analyzed at a cancer research institute significantly faster than with previous methods. Now they are able to compare hundreds of genome sequences in two hours while previously it took two months to analyze only a handful of genome sequences. Data analytics are critical for creating and maintaining a competitive advantage. Having the right data architecture can result in ad hoc analytics at scale to optimize processes and bring in more revenue from increased insights. SQream DB is a fast powerful database that provide the speed and accuracy data scientists need to make an organization wiser and more competitive.
Data Centre ICT Automation/Orchestration Innovation of the Year
WINNER
RiT Tech Ltd
XpedITe from RiT Tech – The metamorphosis of DCIM
The requirement for innovation: DCIM has become a term that is considered tarnished by many. Generally, it has failed to deliver on the promises made and in many cases is merely a beefed up BMS or overpriced Asset Register! The reality is that there can be no genuine DCIM system unless it covers integration with the IT stack. Ultimately the IT load is the reason for the data centres existence so a true DCIM needs to cover more than just the building alone. With this integration the so called DCIM solution will merely be an overly complex and therefore overly expensive Building Management System or an unnecessarily weighty asset register. To highlight this point, it is worth noting that the categories for the DCS awards are split into the traditional data centre silos somewhat reinforcing this separation. RiT seeks to eliminate these unhelpful boundaries with its XpedITe platform in order to achieve a fully integrated data centre infrastructure, removing the current barriers to efficient data centre operations and service delivery. Since the introduction of the DCIM concept to the general market over a decade ago, many changes have taken place in the data centre and infrastructure sector, as the concept struggled to mature. Nevertheless, experts are still predicting a 16% growth to 2024 with a forecast market value of over $3bn. Moreover, the move towards distributed, digital infrastructures and hybrid environments has been one of the most significant shifts, which necessitates the overview and orchestration of infrastructure environments across multiples sites. Aligning IT and facilities management for a complete view of the infrastructure, can always be a challenge. However, XpedITe’s full-stack integration capability gives the customers a true Single Pain of Glass to manage all infrastructure from the energy supply to the CMDB. RiT’s solution and product description: There is a reason that DCIM hasn’t been more widely adopted and flourished. It has gained a bad reputation for many reasons, but the functionality promised for DCIM and yet be delivered is necessary to help us manage ever more complex, hybrid environments, so is still very much a need for tools to fill this vacant niche. These newer smarter and more integrated tools need to connect to facilities systems, network systems, IT systems and orchestrate continual change within a modern highly dynamic data centre environment. The metamorphosis of DCIM from a nascent set of disparate and siloed tools to a fully-fledged, integrated and comprehensive management system for all data centre elements is more accurately reflected in the term DNIO: Data centre, Network and Infrastructure Orchestration. RiT Tech have brought together multiple areas of expertise within separate disciplines, focusing on feedback from multinational clients. Areas such as asset management, integration, speed to implement, and time to value have been common areas of complaint for traditional DCIM products, which need to be rectified for a product to be usefully adopted. RiT’s DNIO approach and concept addresses the complaints common to existing DCIM products and has a data-centric focus allowing flexibility and fully bespoke configurations, which deliver maximum efficiency via full-stack integration in an open framework. As pioneers in Automated Infrastructure Management (AIM) and intelligent connectivity, and more recently in facilities and IT management, RiT’s pioneering R&D Centre in Israel is the birth-place of AIM - Automated Infrastructure Management, which now forms the basis of the ISO standard ISO/IEC 18598. RiT Tech are now applying this structured standardised approach to DCIM with the DNIO platform. The DNIO concept builds on the foundations of DCIM, and addresses the three major challenges that IT and Data Centre leaders face today: 1. Increasingly complex, inter-connected, hybrid environments becoming difficult to manage. 2. Uptime and availability risk for smooth DC Operations. 3. Efficiency and cost reduction for maximum business agility. Having an accurate and updated inventory of the IT and data centre assets is the foundation of any DCIM solution which can effectively manage the MAC (Moves, Adds, Changes) process in a data centre. XpedITe includes a full asset management module, a full patch and connectivity module, and a very powerful work-order capability, which integrates into a multi-environment workflow, to help manage staff and resources to maximum efficiency in the data centre. Capacity management is also a very significant element of data centre management, spanning the full stack from the grid supply to the network port. Having a trustworthy, automated source of capacity and load information, such as XpedITe’s intelligent commissioning capability able to perform capacity management and planning, saves technicians up to 70% of the time taken to find available space for new installs. XpedITe also provides full visibility in terms of monitoring, managing and controlling IT & electro-mechanical devices for more effective utilisation of both. RiT Tech also provides an Open Framework for integration with other systems, such as linking asset management to the central ERP system. As part of the installation programme, the joint team ensures that the technologies and business processes are working in harmony across the full spectrum of data centre operations. Having a cross-functional system, which streamlines processes across departments and centralizes the data from multiple disparate systems, enables the possibility for preventative maintenance of critical systems. This minimises the cost of any failures, and alerts when conditions have been hit where failures have occurred in the past. Customer example and case study: This submission seeks to address the current situation and highlight a Data Centre, Network, Infrastructure and Orchestration (DNIO), platform that actually delivers on many of the unfulfilled promises that have been made for DCIM by demonstrating the features already available within the XpedITe solution and also by referencing an extremely successful project completed during the latter half of 2019 for a very well-known international financial services organisation, which was based entirely based on the XpedITe solution. The international financial services corporation has multiple data centre sites and decided to migrate its primary data centre to a new remote facility. Up until this point the customer did not have any form of DCIM solution at the primary site. As part of this migration project it was concluded that a suitable DCIM system was required to address the specific needs of the relocation. These are detailed as follows: 1. The ability to manage the remote site in terms of both building infrastructure & IT elements, without the need for a constant presence on site. 2. The ability to optimize, plan and monitor all activities within the data centre, including building infrastructure components, cabinet power supplies, all deployed IT equipment, power and IT connectivity as well as any other equipment present. 3. The ability to ensure all information security and prevent any potential data leakage. 4. The ability to integrate to a CMDB as well as power and security systems. 5. The ability to co-manage other secondary sites using the same system (e.g. DR sites). The customer chose the XpedITe DNIO platform as the preferred DCIM solution, for the following key reasons: 1. The XpedITe DNIO platform was the only system to offer a complete end-to-end solution, which fully covers both building infrastructure and IT needs without undermining or neglecting either one of them. 2. A modern, flexible, state of the art technology platform (HTML5, Angular2, GOJS etc.), capable of rapid, fully functional and easy integration with existing specialist toolsets. 3. Comprehensive and easy-to-use Single Pane-Of-Glass User Interface. 4. Highly integrated capabilities and knowledge. 5. Flexibility of R&D adjustments to rapidly accommodate customer needs. 6. Support from a dedicated and committed professional team with intimate knowledge of the toolset and the specific customer deployment. 7. Backing from a global technology leader with a widely recognised and trusted brand identity (Intel). Project details: 1. Required a highly condensed timeframe. 2. The customer has never used a DCIM system before. Therefore, there was no corporate strategy, regulations, or guidelines referencing DCIM. 3. The new site was not similar in any way to the current legacy data centre, in terms of size, structure, complexity, installed equipment or daily operations. Therefore, the structure and planning of the DCIM environment needed to be developed from the outset. 4. Many aspects of the project scope and Statement of Work (E.G. equipment deployments, integrations and future plans), were not known initially, and had to be developed or adjusted as the project progressed. 5. Integration to CMDB, power equipment and existing sensor and monitoring systems, had to be performed and these systems were installed or acquired by the customer. 6. The broad and fully-integrated feature of the XpedITe platform and the ability to introduce, adjust and deliver the XpedITe DNIO platform in such a dynamic way encouraged the entire customer team to fully embrace this platform as the primary management system for the new data centre. Competitive position. Alternative products were not able to: 1. Genuine integration capabilities – Mainly to CMDB and existing monitoring tools as well as previously installed equipment. 2. Easy and seamless implementation of the customer’s rules and policies within the platform as a fundamental part of several workflows 3. A real single pain of glass that gathers both the facility and supporting mechanical and electrical infrastructure side as well as the network connectivity and IT deployments. 4. Real time functionality across all installed equipment (Building, Network and IT). 5. Planning and capacity planning automation Implementation phase: 1. The project was led from the customer’s side by the integrated IT infrastructure team (including system, network, database & building facility personnel). 2. As a prerequisite, all customer assets (present and future), were mapped using the CMDB, IT system configurations, or by manual audit. 3. RiT Tech completed this integration to the customer’s CMDB as well as power and security systems, according to a condensed project schedule. 4. More than 200 catalogue items were created or modified according to customer requests or requirements. 5. The entire site infrastructure of the data centre from cabinets, through to all installed devices down to the last patch cord and network connectivity were created and set in the system. 6. Dashboards, reports and company rules were created and customized according to customer requirements. 7. Sophisticated algorithms were written to enable comprehensive, end-to-end, automatic provisioning of any moves, adds or changes. 8. Thorough training was conducted to the different user groups and viewers of the system. Use phase: 1. The customer will use the XpedITe platform for fully comprehensive asset management of all assets (IT and Facility), within in all data centre sites (local and remote). 2. According to the new company regulations all moves, adds and changes of any equipment, and any changes in infrastructure within all corporate sites, will be conducted and implemented solely through the XpedITe DNIO platform. 3. Automatic planning for moves, adds and changes of any devices using company rules, developed algorithms, work orders, change control support and required equipment labelling. 4. Real-Time monitoring and alerting of all installed equipment and connectivity across the entire inventory in all sites through the use of bespoke customer dashboards notifications. 5. Real-Time monitoring and alerting for power, environmental conditions, changes and trends using integration through the Power & Thermal Telemetries module. 6. XpedITe is now being used not during the operational phase but also for future planning and relocation projects. 7. Existing sites were audited in order to plan the new site, and then migrated over. All target designs are all held within XpedITe and used to manage the migration. 8. All planning and design as well as implementation is done using XpedITe, allowing for accurate and fast new plans and rapid migration. 9. XpedITe has a fast import for floor layout, and configurable, intelligent layers to provide consistent visibility across the customer’s infrastructure, all of its data centres, and people spaces. RiT Tech provides an Open Framework for integration with other systems, such as linking asset management to the central ERP system. As part of the overall programme, the joint team are working together to ensure that the technologies and business processes installed deliver the following benefits: 1. Intelligent Commissioning saves around 30% of resource time per IMAC ticket 2. Unlimited Integration enables the full-stack functionality, real-time management and true integrated workflow 3. Real-time management allows up-to-date information and enables better decision-making 4. Reduced operating cost from energy usage effectiveness and efficiency 5. Having a complete view of the power draw and energy consumption of the IT and data centre assets together 6. Consistency and visibility across the enterprise and all of its data centers 7. Providing a real-time view of energy consumption and energy efficiency of the entire data centre 8. Help both IT and facilities managers work together to make more informed decisions about overall energy usage, operational and workflow optimisation 9. Full visibility in terms of monitoring, management and control of IT and electro-mechanical devices for better utilisation of both elements 10. Support in calculating the cost of delivering individual services from the data centre RiT Website: https://www.rittech.com/rit-software
The requirement for innovation: DCIM has become a term that is considered tarnished by many. Generally, it has failed to deliver on the promises made and in many cases is merely a beefed up BMS or overpriced Asset Register! The reality is that there can be no genuine DCIM system unless it covers integration with the IT stack. Ultimately the IT load is the reason for the data centres existence so a true DCIM needs to cover more than just the building alone. With this integration the so called DCIM solution will merely be an overly complex and therefore overly expensive Building Management System or an unnecessarily weighty asset register. To highlight this point, it is worth noting that the categories for the DCS awards are split into the traditional data centre silos somewhat reinforcing this separation. RiT seeks to eliminate these unhelpful boundaries with its XpedITe platform in order to achieve a fully integrated data centre infrastructure, removing the current barriers to efficient data centre operations and service delivery. Since the introduction of the DCIM concept to the general market over a decade ago, many changes have taken place in the data centre and infrastructure sector, as the concept struggled to mature. Nevertheless, experts are still predicting a 16% growth to 2024 with a forecast market value of over $3bn. Moreover, the move towards distributed, digital infrastructures and hybrid environments has been one of the most significant shifts, which necessitates the overview and orchestration of infrastructure environments across multiples sites. Aligning IT and facilities management for a complete view of the infrastructure, can always be a challenge. However, XpedITe’s full-stack integration capability gives the customers a true Single Pain of Glass to manage all infrastructure from the energy supply to the CMDB. RiT’s solution and product description: There is a reason that DCIM hasn’t been more widely adopted and flourished. It has gained a bad reputation for many reasons, but the functionality promised for DCIM and yet be delivered is necessary to help us manage ever more complex, hybrid environments, so is still very much a need for tools to fill this vacant niche. These newer smarter and more integrated tools need to connect to facilities systems, network systems, IT systems and orchestrate continual change within a modern highly dynamic data centre environment. The metamorphosis of DCIM from a nascent set of disparate and siloed tools to a fully-fledged, integrated and comprehensive management system for all data centre elements is more accurately reflected in the term DNIO: Data centre, Network and Infrastructure Orchestration. RiT Tech have brought together multiple areas of expertise within separate disciplines, focusing on feedback from multinational clients. Areas such as asset management, integration, speed to implement, and time to value have been common areas of complaint for traditional DCIM products, which need to be rectified for a product to be usefully adopted. RiT’s DNIO approach and concept addresses the complaints common to existing DCIM products and has a data-centric focus allowing flexibility and fully bespoke configurations, which deliver maximum efficiency via full-stack integration in an open framework. As pioneers in Automated Infrastructure Management (AIM) and intelligent connectivity, and more recently in facilities and IT management, RiT’s pioneering R&D Centre in Israel is the birth-place of AIM - Automated Infrastructure Management, which now forms the basis of the ISO standard ISO/IEC 18598. RiT Tech are now applying this structured standardised approach to DCIM with the DNIO platform. The DNIO concept builds on the foundations of DCIM, and addresses the three major challenges that IT and Data Centre leaders face today: 1. Increasingly complex, inter-connected, hybrid environments becoming difficult to manage. 2. Uptime and availability risk for smooth DC Operations. 3. Efficiency and cost reduction for maximum business agility. Having an accurate and updated inventory of the IT and data centre assets is the foundation of any DCIM solution which can effectively manage the MAC (Moves, Adds, Changes) process in a data centre. XpedITe includes a full asset management module, a full patch and connectivity module, and a very powerful work-order capability, which integrates into a multi-environment workflow, to help manage staff and resources to maximum efficiency in the data centre. Capacity management is also a very significant element of data centre management, spanning the full stack from the grid supply to the network port. Having a trustworthy, automated source of capacity and load information, such as XpedITe’s intelligent commissioning capability able to perform capacity management and planning, saves technicians up to 70% of the time taken to find available space for new installs. XpedITe also provides full visibility in terms of monitoring, managing and controlling IT & electro-mechanical devices for more effective utilisation of both. RiT Tech also provides an Open Framework for integration with other systems, such as linking asset management to the central ERP system. As part of the installation programme, the joint team ensures that the technologies and business processes are working in harmony across the full spectrum of data centre operations. Having a cross-functional system, which streamlines processes across departments and centralizes the data from multiple disparate systems, enables the possibility for preventative maintenance of critical systems. This minimises the cost of any failures, and alerts when conditions have been hit where failures have occurred in the past. Customer example and case study: This submission seeks to address the current situation and highlight a Data Centre, Network, Infrastructure and Orchestration (DNIO), platform that actually delivers on many of the unfulfilled promises that have been made for DCIM by demonstrating the features already available within the XpedITe solution and also by referencing an extremely successful project completed during the latter half of 2019 for a very well-known international financial services organisation, which was based entirely based on the XpedITe solution. The international financial services corporation has multiple data centre sites and decided to migrate its primary data centre to a new remote facility. Up until this point the customer did not have any form of DCIM solution at the primary site. As part of this migration project it was concluded that a suitable DCIM system was required to address the specific needs of the relocation. These are detailed as follows: 1. The ability to manage the remote site in terms of both building infrastructure & IT elements, without the need for a constant presence on site. 2. The ability to optimize, plan and monitor all activities within the data centre, including building infrastructure components, cabinet power supplies, all deployed IT equipment, power and IT connectivity as well as any other equipment present. 3. The ability to ensure all information security and prevent any potential data leakage. 4. The ability to integrate to a CMDB as well as power and security systems. 5. The ability to co-manage other secondary sites using the same system (e.g. DR sites). The customer chose the XpedITe DNIO platform as the preferred DCIM solution, for the following key reasons: 1. The XpedITe DNIO platform was the only system to offer a complete end-to-end solution, which fully covers both building infrastructure and IT needs without undermining or neglecting either one of them. 2. A modern, flexible, state of the art technology platform (HTML5, Angular2, GOJS etc.), capable of rapid, fully functional and easy integration with existing specialist toolsets. 3. Comprehensive and easy-to-use Single Pane-Of-Glass User Interface. 4. Highly integrated capabilities and knowledge. 5. Flexibility of R&D adjustments to rapidly accommodate customer needs. 6. Support from a dedicated and committed professional team with intimate knowledge of the toolset and the specific customer deployment. 7. Backing from a global technology leader with a widely recognised and trusted brand identity (Intel). Project details: 1. Required a highly condensed timeframe. 2. The customer has never used a DCIM system before. Therefore, there was no corporate strategy, regulations, or guidelines referencing DCIM. 3. The new site was not similar in any way to the current legacy data centre, in terms of size, structure, complexity, installed equipment or daily operations. Therefore, the structure and planning of the DCIM environment needed to be developed from the outset. 4. Many aspects of the project scope and Statement of Work (E.G. equipment deployments, integrations and future plans), were not known initially, and had to be developed or adjusted as the project progressed. 5. Integration to CMDB, power equipment and existing sensor and monitoring systems, had to be performed and these systems were installed or acquired by the customer. 6. The broad and fully-integrated feature of the XpedITe platform and the ability to introduce, adjust and deliver the XpedITe DNIO platform in such a dynamic way encouraged the entire customer team to fully embrace this platform as the primary management system for the new data centre. Competitive position. Alternative products were not able to: 1. Genuine integration capabilities – Mainly to CMDB and existing monitoring tools as well as previously installed equipment. 2. Easy and seamless implementation of the customer’s rules and policies within the platform as a fundamental part of several workflows 3. A real single pain of glass that gathers both the facility and supporting mechanical and electrical infrastructure side as well as the network connectivity and IT deployments. 4. Real time functionality across all installed equipment (Building, Network and IT). 5. Planning and capacity planning automation Implementation phase: 1. The project was led from the customer’s side by the integrated IT infrastructure team (including system, network, database & building facility personnel). 2. As a prerequisite, all customer assets (present and future), were mapped using the CMDB, IT system configurations, or by manual audit. 3. RiT Tech completed this integration to the customer’s CMDB as well as power and security systems, according to a condensed project schedule. 4. More than 200 catalogue items were created or modified according to customer requests or requirements. 5. The entire site infrastructure of the data centre from cabinets, through to all installed devices down to the last patch cord and network connectivity were created and set in the system. 6. Dashboards, reports and company rules were created and customized according to customer requirements. 7. Sophisticated algorithms were written to enable comprehensive, end-to-end, automatic provisioning of any moves, adds or changes. 8. Thorough training was conducted to the different user groups and viewers of the system. Use phase: 1. The customer will use the XpedITe platform for fully comprehensive asset management of all assets (IT and Facility), within in all data centre sites (local and remote). 2. According to the new company regulations all moves, adds and changes of any equipment, and any changes in infrastructure within all corporate sites, will be conducted and implemented solely through the XpedITe DNIO platform. 3. Automatic planning for moves, adds and changes of any devices using company rules, developed algorithms, work orders, change control support and required equipment labelling. 4. Real-Time monitoring and alerting of all installed equipment and connectivity across the entire inventory in all sites through the use of bespoke customer dashboards notifications. 5. Real-Time monitoring and alerting for power, environmental conditions, changes and trends using integration through the Power & Thermal Telemetries module. 6. XpedITe is now being used not during the operational phase but also for future planning and relocation projects. 7. Existing sites were audited in order to plan the new site, and then migrated over. All target designs are all held within XpedITe and used to manage the migration. 8. All planning and design as well as implementation is done using XpedITe, allowing for accurate and fast new plans and rapid migration. 9. XpedITe has a fast import for floor layout, and configurable, intelligent layers to provide consistent visibility across the customer’s infrastructure, all of its data centres, and people spaces. RiT Tech provides an Open Framework for integration with other systems, such as linking asset management to the central ERP system. As part of the overall programme, the joint team are working together to ensure that the technologies and business processes installed deliver the following benefits: 1. Intelligent Commissioning saves around 30% of resource time per IMAC ticket 2. Unlimited Integration enables the full-stack functionality, real-time management and true integrated workflow 3. Real-time management allows up-to-date information and enables better decision-making 4. Reduced operating cost from energy usage effectiveness and efficiency 5. Having a complete view of the power draw and energy consumption of the IT and data centre assets together 6. Consistency and visibility across the enterprise and all of its data centers 7. Providing a real-time view of energy consumption and energy efficiency of the entire data centre 8. Help both IT and facilities managers work together to make more informed decisions about overall energy usage, operational and workflow optimisation 9. Full visibility in terms of monitoring, management and control of IT and electro-mechanical devices for better utilisation of both elements 10. Support in calculating the cost of delivering individual services from the data centre RiT Website: https://www.rittech.com/rit-software
RUNNER UP
Apstra
Apstra AOS 3.2
Apstra AOS 3.2 redefines network recovery with the industry’s first and only vendor-agnostic Intent Time Voyager. The Intent Time Voyager enables customers to travel through the history of their network and bring the network back to any known state in time helping to resolve network outages. This revolutionary product provides customers with the ability to time travel within their own networks to release their business’ full innovative potential. Apstra AOS 3.2 enables IT to recover quickly from mishaps caused by humans or machines by enabling network engineers to recover their entire data center fabric state, configuration, and real-time continuous validation to a specific point in time; backward or forward with a few simple clicks. It is the only technology in the industry to break this ground, presenting a new level of control and flexibility to open networks that is also extremely cost-effective. The unique Intent Time Voyager capability is enabled by the Apstra AOS single source of truth and self-documenting capability, which also provides assurance validations about the drift between the intended and operational state of the entire fabric.
Apstra AOS 3.2 redefines network recovery with the industry’s first and only vendor-agnostic Intent Time Voyager. The Intent Time Voyager enables customers to travel through the history of their network and bring the network back to any known state in time helping to resolve network outages. This revolutionary product provides customers with the ability to time travel within their own networks to release their business’ full innovative potential. Apstra AOS 3.2 enables IT to recover quickly from mishaps caused by humans or machines by enabling network engineers to recover their entire data center fabric state, configuration, and real-time continuous validation to a specific point in time; backward or forward with a few simple clicks. It is the only technology in the industry to break this ground, presenting a new level of control and flexibility to open networks that is also extremely cost-effective. The unique Intent Time Voyager capability is enabled by the Apstra AOS single source of truth and self-documenting capability, which also provides assurance validations about the drift between the intended and operational state of the entire fabric.
Data Centre Managed Services Innovation of the Year
WINNER
Yellowbrick Data
Yellowbrick Cloud Data Warehouse
As companies strive to create value and bolster competitiveness using real-time business analytics, data warehouses are becoming overloaded with data stored for future analysis. Most of today’s data warehouses cannot support the ingest of data in real-time or interactive applications and are not built to retain the massive amounts of historical data. They are also plagued with rising support costs and escalating use expenses. Some cloud data warehouses are engineered systems, and some are software running on hypervisors. The Yellowbrick Cloud Data Warehouse is a data warehouse service offering that overcomes the scale, cost and performance challenges posed by legacy and cloud-only data warehouses. Its unique architecture allows customers to connect multiple public and private clouds to a single Yellowbrick Cloud Data Warehouse and ensures industry leading performance and unparalleled data access without lock-in, so customers have the flexibility to migrate to or from a cloud at will. Yellowbrick Data’s hybrid approach to data warehousing provides many benefits including the ability to quickly spin up new databases; link on-premises to the cloud so business critical data is kept on premises and other data is available in the cloud; attach to data from any public cloud; and allow different applications users and teams to choose their own cloud. With Yellowbrick, all of these models are supported, and all can be run from the same underlying data warehouse. As the world’s fastest SQL data warehouse, the Yellowbrick Data Warehouse easily scales from terabytes to petabytes, supports unmatched concurrency and delivers database query speeds up to 100X faster than traditional solutions. Enterprises across a variety of industries, including insurance, banking, telecommunications, retail, healthcare, and entertainment rely on Yellowbrick Data to power their real-time data warehouses.
As companies strive to create value and bolster competitiveness using real-time business analytics, data warehouses are becoming overloaded with data stored for future analysis. Most of today’s data warehouses cannot support the ingest of data in real-time or interactive applications and are not built to retain the massive amounts of historical data. They are also plagued with rising support costs and escalating use expenses. Some cloud data warehouses are engineered systems, and some are software running on hypervisors. The Yellowbrick Cloud Data Warehouse is a data warehouse service offering that overcomes the scale, cost and performance challenges posed by legacy and cloud-only data warehouses. Its unique architecture allows customers to connect multiple public and private clouds to a single Yellowbrick Cloud Data Warehouse and ensures industry leading performance and unparalleled data access without lock-in, so customers have the flexibility to migrate to or from a cloud at will. Yellowbrick Data’s hybrid approach to data warehousing provides many benefits including the ability to quickly spin up new databases; link on-premises to the cloud so business critical data is kept on premises and other data is available in the cloud; attach to data from any public cloud; and allow different applications users and teams to choose their own cloud. With Yellowbrick, all of these models are supported, and all can be run from the same underlying data warehouse. As the world’s fastest SQL data warehouse, the Yellowbrick Data Warehouse easily scales from terabytes to petabytes, supports unmatched concurrency and delivers database query speeds up to 100X faster than traditional solutions. Enterprises across a variety of industries, including insurance, banking, telecommunications, retail, healthcare, and entertainment rely on Yellowbrick Data to power their real-time data warehouses.
RUNNER UP
Asigra
Asigra Cloud Backup Software
Asigra provides managed service providers around the world with the ability to quickly manage the recovery of customer data from anywhere in the world. As the industry’s most comprehensive MSP platform for the data protection of servers, virtual machines, endpoint devices, databases and applications, SaaS and IaaS based applications, Asigra lowers the total cost of ownership, reduces recovery time objectives, and eliminates silos of backup data by providing a single consolidated repository with 100% recovery assurance and anti-ransomware defense. Asigra helps MSPs control the complexity of data growth requiring the maintainance of countless backup agents across an entire corporate IT environment, making data protection increasingly unfeasible. With IT being responsible for more sources of data than ever, from physical servers, virtual machines and cloud apps to remote laptops and multiple types of smartphones. How can you protect it all to meet stringent compliance and business continuity obligations, no matter where the data resides? A modern backup solution must be both flexible and holistic to let nothing slip through the cracks. Manage data with streamlined processes - Error-prone manual backup and recovery saps productivity and undermines user trust. Under growing pressure to deliver value to the business, IT can no longer afford to waste resources on tedious, inefficient backup and recovery processes. But what if you could reduce any outage to just a blip that users barely notice? No disruption. No productivity drop. No lost revenue. No complaints. Backup solutions must have expertise built-in with extensive automation and intuitive consoles to minimize manual effort and human error. Innovative anti-ransomware capabilities for managed service providers - What will you do when ransomware locks your customers out of their applications and/or data? It may not be as simple as recovering the latest backup as the backup may also be corrupted if proper protections are not in place. Organizations must guard against malware on many fronts. But as devices on the network proliferate and connect to a growing constellation of online services, the universe of potential attack vectors expands. In fact, it may be impossible to stop malicious code from ever entering your IT environment. Backup data is the last line of defense. Without it, the organization has nothing to fall back on when ransomware strikes. Only Asigra stops the ransomware Attack-Loop™. The company's sophisticated signature-less malware detection engines identify and quarantine unauthorized or malicious embedded code, including unknown and “zero day” attacks, from penetrating backup and replication streams.
Asigra provides managed service providers around the world with the ability to quickly manage the recovery of customer data from anywhere in the world. As the industry’s most comprehensive MSP platform for the data protection of servers, virtual machines, endpoint devices, databases and applications, SaaS and IaaS based applications, Asigra lowers the total cost of ownership, reduces recovery time objectives, and eliminates silos of backup data by providing a single consolidated repository with 100% recovery assurance and anti-ransomware defense. Asigra helps MSPs control the complexity of data growth requiring the maintainance of countless backup agents across an entire corporate IT environment, making data protection increasingly unfeasible. With IT being responsible for more sources of data than ever, from physical servers, virtual machines and cloud apps to remote laptops and multiple types of smartphones. How can you protect it all to meet stringent compliance and business continuity obligations, no matter where the data resides? A modern backup solution must be both flexible and holistic to let nothing slip through the cracks. Manage data with streamlined processes - Error-prone manual backup and recovery saps productivity and undermines user trust. Under growing pressure to deliver value to the business, IT can no longer afford to waste resources on tedious, inefficient backup and recovery processes. But what if you could reduce any outage to just a blip that users barely notice? No disruption. No productivity drop. No lost revenue. No complaints. Backup solutions must have expertise built-in with extensive automation and intuitive consoles to minimize manual effort and human error. Innovative anti-ransomware capabilities for managed service providers - What will you do when ransomware locks your customers out of their applications and/or data? It may not be as simple as recovering the latest backup as the backup may also be corrupted if proper protections are not in place. Organizations must guard against malware on many fronts. But as devices on the network proliferate and connect to a growing constellation of online services, the universe of potential attack vectors expands. In fact, it may be impossible to stop malicious code from ever entering your IT environment. Backup data is the last line of defense. Without it, the organization has nothing to fall back on when ransomware strikes. Only Asigra stops the ransomware Attack-Loop™. The company's sophisticated signature-less malware detection engines identify and quarantine unauthorized or malicious embedded code, including unknown and “zero day” attacks, from penetrating backup and replication streams.
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Sponsors for 2020
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