As the pandemic began to make an impact in early 2020, it became clear that data center operators were going to have to invest more if they were to provide the services on which their customers were increasingly reliant. Short-term needs included pro...
Across the world, data center owners and managers are striving to buy more renewable energy and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. The global internet giants and the largest colocation companies have led the way with huge green energy purchases...
Transitioning to renewable energy use is an important, but not easily achieved, goal. Although the past decade has seen significant improvements in IT energy efficiency, there are indications that this may not continue. Moore’s Law may be slowing, mo...
Recent extreme weather-related events in the US (the big freeze in Texas, fires on the west coast) have once again highlighted the need for data center operators to reassess their risks in the face of climate change. The topic is discussed in depth i...
In Uptime Institute’s recent report on preparing for the extreme effects of climate change (The gathering storm: Climate change and data center resiliency), there were over a dozen references to the dangers of extremely hot weather, which can overwhe...
Sustainability is becoming a key issue for data center operators. Investors, customers and legislators are increasingly demanding carbon emissions reporting and 100% renewable energy use. Organizations risk charges of greenwashing if purchased renewa...
Through 2021 and beyond, the world will begin to recover from its acute crisis — COVID-19 — and will turn its attention to other matters. Few if any of these issues will be as important as climate change, a chronic condition that will become more pre...
Following a scramble to effectively staff data centers during a pandemic, many wary managers are beginning to see remote monitoring and automation systems in a more positive light, including those driven by AI. The reasoning is clear. Against a backg...
Outsourcing the requirement to own and operate data center capacity is the cornerstone of many digital transformation strategies, with almost every large enterprise spreading their workloads across their own data centers, colocation sites and public ...
What we can expect for mission-critical digital infrastructure in 2021? Each autumn Uptime Institute, like many other organizations, puts together a list of some of the big trends and themes for the year ahead. This time, we have focused on five big ...
Uptime Institute’s examination of some of the top trends in data centers in 2021 reveals a vibrant sector that is growing, especially around the edge, and increasingly embracing new innovations. It is also entering a phase of re-assessment; of infras...
When the PUE (power usage effectiveness) metric was first discussed at a meeting of The Green Grid in Santa Clara, back in 2007, a microphone stand was placed in each aisle of the auditorium. The importance of the initiative was understood even then:...
It has long been said that enterprises in the US have a different attitude to their use of technology than their counterparts elsewhere. True or not, a recurring narrative is that the US is technologically more bold — more ambitious, more free spendi...
Data center spending is on the rise; forecasting capacity requirements remains a top challenge for operators; and data center infrastructure management and prefabricated data center components are now mainstream. These are some of the findings of the...
As discussed in Note #71 (In thunder, lightning, or in rain?), climate change requires data center managers to not only review existing emergency plans but also anticipate previously unforeseen challenges. For any organization, the health and safety ...
Andy Lawrence
Jay Dietrich
Intelligence Team