The datacentre is a key element in building a global infrastructure, according to Datacenter Dynamics’ Mike Foskett.
Foskett made his comments during the opening address at a Datacenter Dynamics conference in Sydney.
The aim of the session was to address an overview of global infrastructure trends arising from the company’s research.
According to Foskett, energy efficiency, expansion of capacity and downtime are vital elements for the global infrastructure.
He said energy efficiency is important for the planet, the future and to currently reduce operating costs.
“The time has come to reduce energy use and make our legacy of existing and yet to be built datacentres more efficient,” Foskett said.
In an era of technological advancements, though companies have to take relatively simple measures in making the switch, they are hesitant to do so, he said.
“It has now become easy to do. So the question now is, why wouldn’t you?” Foskett added.
The second trend he outlined was the expansion of capacity.
This, especially in the face of the economic downturn, has resulted in more real plans with containerisation modularisation.
Companies are building and spending only on what they currently require.
Foskett said the changing market demands had resulted in rapid deployment duration. What might take 18 months to buildout might be able to be completed in approximately three to six months depending on the complexity and current stock system.
“Perhaps we would see server containers now as a commodity and we might see some sort of market commodity within that,” he said.
Foskett also mentioned downtime and the human factors of global infrastructure as the last trend.
Recent research conducted by Datacenter Dynamics revealed that there is a large variation difference in downtime cost estimates.
The study suggests that recovery period costs not fully factored into the loss of business costs could potentially be the reason behind the difference.
Results from the research also showed supply chain management as the largest cost by sector – almost equal to the e-commerce section.
It also confirmed a disconnect between the people who operate the data centre and their higher board level management about the cause of downtime.
“Financial services only come in at about 15 per cent of the retain arms. Perhaps, it is because they have got a high resiliency and others still believe that the cloud will save them,” he said.
