The Resilience + imperative for future Data Centers

We live in an age of hyperconnected communities, economies, and worlds. Data centers (networked computer systems for storage, processing, and distribution of large amounts of data)are the vital hubs connecting society, corporations, and governments. The changing climate and impending disasters pose a significant risk to the critical resources needed for operating these data centers, making them highly vulnerable. Resilience of data centers hence is not just critical for the seamless continuity of telecommunications but also for the other indispensable elements in the modern society.

The resources required for the functioning of data centers are classified as either tangible or digital. Buildings, water, energy, computer gear (e.g., servers, cables, storage, network switches, etc.), and people are examples of tangible resources. The digital assets include both data and applications. Data centers require the redundancy of energy and connectivity resources to function as all physical assets are susceptible to harsh weather and climate change.

Resilience in Global Data Centers

The sustainability of the data center is essential for stakeholders. Service providers like NTT, Equinix, and BT Global Services have not just implemented sustainability measures but also marketed their data center platforms and solutions to clients. Building resilience is essential for sustainability, and this phenomenon manifests in top-tier data centers. These data centers have the highest level of security and the least downtime. A breach of security in these centers could cause irrevocable damages to businesses – 50 per cent of businesses cannot recover from the breach of their data. Today, world-class top-tier data centers exhibit remarkable resilience and aim for sustainability in their processes and operations.

Several information services are utilized by data centers, including email, video, social media, computing, online shopping, and collaborations. Multiple IT devices housed in data center facilities, which deliver these services, consume electricity, and produce heat. The heat generated necessitates cooling, requiring additional cooling equipment and energy. In 2018, the datacenter industry consumed 205 terawatt-hours of electricity, accounting for 1% of the total energy produced worldwide in 2020 (Masanet et al.). The energy consumption projections for the sector further indicate an increasing trend. IEA (International Energy Association) predicted a constant growth in the energy demand of hyper-scale data centers (which can host upto hundreds of thousands of servers) compared to traditional and cloud data centers(non-hyper scale).

Author- Dr Anshul Yadav, Sector Expert, Telecommunications and infrastructure resilience