The world’s data volume is increasing rapidly. Luigi Traino, Digital Systems Global Product Line Manager at ABB, explores the latest innovations which will help data center professionals stay ahead of the curve and primed for growth.

The world of big data is expanding. In 2020, it was estimated that approximately 306.4 billion emails and 500 million tweets were sent daily. As industries become more reliant on digital infrastructure, shifting from legacy data platforms to the cloud, and we conduct more of our personal lives online than ever before, global data volume is projected to increase at an unprecedented rate, soaring to 180 zettabytes by 2025.

Of course, all of this new data needs a home, offering a serious growth opportunity for the modern data sector. According to the International Energy Agency, data centers are set to consume one fifth of the world’s power supply by 2025.

But much like the technologies themselves, tapping into these evolving megatrends will require data professionals to reimagine their operations and pursue major improvements across data infrastructure to provide a more sustainable, agile and reliable foundation for the developing digital world.

Scalability Made Easy

One of the most important considerations for any future-fit data center is the power supply. Some of the biggest data centers in the world contain many tens of thousands of IT devices and require more than 100 megawatts (MW) of power capacity – enough to power around 80,000 US households. If these go offline, there can be huge financial and legal consequences, making it crucial for operators to ensure maximum power reliability.

Adding further complication is the shift from a traditional colocation model, typically involving long-term contracts including payment for power not used, to a pay-for-use model. This means providers now need to be able to expand their power capacity in line with evolving demand, quickly, with minimum disruption and often at a moment’s notice.

The power distribution market is keeping pace. At ABB, our modular solutions are designed to provide a rapid response solution for even the shortest delivery frameworks and the most complex data center projects, allowing operators to ‘pay as they grow’.

Changes can be accomplished quickly without downtime, increasing time to deployment by as much as 50 percent. A modular approach also frees up stranded capital that could add value to other areas of the business and reduces the risk of making long-term commitments based on the unknown.

In the past, a data center might have had to invest 40MW - a huge capital outlay and operational disruption - to scale up its power supply in response to a demand surge. Today, the data center can choose to have smaller modules installed over a period of time as simple ‘add-ons’ at the exact point of need, allowing the operation to evolve organically in line with the market.

Fit for the future

As the world’s sustainability agenda continues to mount, data centers must also be looking to not only meet their current local ‘green’ regulations, but to exceed them, future proofing themselves as rules continue to become stricter. This might involve focusing on highly energy efficient solutions, limiting, or reducing diesel genset usage, or monitoring and controlling their energy use more effectively.

Energy efficiency can be improved on several fronts. As 50 percent of the power required to run a server is used by its central processing unit (CPU), this should be the first port of call. Power management features can optimize power consumption and minimize energy waste by dynamically switching between multiple performance states based on use.

Meanwhile, on the power distribution front, operators could consider operating a UPS at 240/415V, three-phase, four-wire output power. This way, a server can be fed directly, and achieve an incremental 2 percent reduction in facility energy use. Cooling systems also should not be forgotten. Installing rear door heat exchanges or low harmonic drives can provide energy savings in cooling with minimal impact to power quality.

If the budget is available, data centers can also think about plugging into the Smart Grid or installing green power sources within their facility, such as hydrogen fuel cells, which would significantly reduce energy use and emissions.

Other ways to reduce energy use include fitting battery energy storage systems, drive consolidation, and minimizing idle IT equipment with distributed computing. Virtualization programs can also improve the use of hardware to enable a reduction in the number of power-consuming services and storage devices to improve server usage by around 40 percent.

When Knowledge is Power

To get the best out of power quality and distribution upgrades, smart solutions, such as data automation packages, are a worthwhile investment. The most advanced combine monitoring and control of facilities with IT asset management and capacity planning to give operators detailed insights into how various aspects of their data centers are performing, allowing them to make better strategic decisions. Predictive maintenance features help providers to identify and address issues early before they become a more serious problem.

It is a complex feat to effectively upgrade a data center operation, but, as demand for data continues to skyrocket, it is increasingly a non-negotiable, by taking advantage of the latest developments in power distribution, data centers can ensure they have a solid foundation that allows them to meet today’s needs and keep pace with global digitalization.