08
NEWS
Industry Experts Line up to Speak
at Data Centre Summit South
The Green Grid
Some of the
industry’s most
respected
thought leaders
will speak about a
range of
technology trends
and best practice
issues at the Data
Centre Summit
South conference
and exhibition,
which will take
place on 10th
February 2016 at
London’s
prestigious Barbican Centre. This free to attend one-day event will also offer
data centre professionals the opportunity to find out more about the latest
technology and network with their peers.
The conference programme has been designed to cover as many areas
as possible and with two seminar streams running concurrently throughout
the day, delegates are guaranteed to find out valuable information about
subjects that relate to their specific interests. The line-up comprises speakers
from all sectors of the data centre industry including manufacturers,
architects and consultants involved in the design and build of data centre
environments, as well as specialists from leading technology companies.
Highlights of the conference programme include Ian Bitterlin of Leeds
University, who will look at whether the data centre industry can maintain its
relentless growth and the impact of the Internet of Things (IoT), and Tony
Day, global director of data centre projects at Schneider Electric, who will
draw on his experience to highlight some key industry trends.
Also taking the stage will be Jonathan Arnold of Volta Data Centres, who
will examine connectivity issues, Neil Stobart of Cloudian on enterprise
storage strategies, Andy Bailey of Stratus Technologies exploring how to
keep data centres fully operational, and Peter Williams of Mayflex on the
importance of using network tools to monitor traffic. Dave Hitchins of Molex
Premise Networks will discuss outsourced multi-site IP infrastructure project
management, while the benefits of modular data centres are to be explored
by Glenn Conlon of Cannon Technologies.
It doesn’t end there though and Barry Shambrook of TCL Data will take
a look at the pros and cons of raised floors, while the subject of indirect
evaporative cooling is to be tackled by Christian Fieberg of R&M. They will be
joined by David Wolfenden of heatload.co.uk offering a four-step approach
to data centre testing and Kevin Linsell of Adapt, who will explain why the
economics of IT are changing and the opportunities presented by new cloud
economics.
In addition to the seminars, during regular breakout sessions delegates
will get a chance to speak directly to leading manufacturers and distributors
including Schneider Electric, Riello UPS, Geist, Sudlows, Stulz, Raritan, Draka,
Excel Networking Solutions and Olson Electronics. Exhibitors will showcase
new products and hold demonstrations of their cutting edge technology.
Hosted by Data Centre Events, the company’s managing director, Ian
Titchener, commented, ‘Data Centre Summit South is designed to attract
busy individuals who cannot spare the time to attend longer events,
don’t want to travel long distances and who wish to learn game changing
information from key industry thought leaders. London is the hub of the
UK’s data centre industry and I’m confident that those who attend will find
it a thoroughly beneficial use of their time.’
New research, commissioned by The Green Grid,
has found that while the majority of organisations
are facing growing pressures to improve the
efficiency of their data centres, 43 per cent of those
surveyed have no energy efficiency objectives in
place. Furthermore, 97 per cent felt that they could
improve their monitoring capabilities. This disconnect
between goals and an understanding of the measures
needed to make effective change, puts the ability of
organisations to manage their IT resources at risk.
Speaking about the findings, Roel Castelein, EMEA
Marketing chair for The Green Grid said: “The
real-world objectives of data centre management
and the ability to keep track of energy efficiency
should be going hand-in-hand if resources are to be
effectively managed. What our research shows is
that while data centres are recognised as a central
part of organisations’ energy efficiency strategies,
many are operating and making decisions, to
a certain degree, in the dar k.” The Green Grid,
a global consortium dedicated to advancing
resource efficiency in the IT sector, commissioned
the research, which was conducted in October
2015. 150 IT decision makers were questioned
within end-user organisations with data centre
responsibilities in the UK, France and Germany.
Key findings include:
• 88 per cent stated that data centres are
an important part of their Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) strategy
• However, nearly half (43 per cent) have no
energy efficiency objectives in place for the
design and operation of their data centres
• In addition, only 29 per cent of organisations
are able to entirely quantify the environmental
impact of their data centres
• This is despite increasing pressure from both
national and EU policy makers to improve
environmental sustainability
• Nevertheless, 97 per cent saw areas in which
their data centre monitoring, including energy
efficiency, could be improved
Roel continued: “Our research also found that the top
four challenges and opportunities at the board level
were all to do with reducing and predicting costs,
rather than on ‘green’ or resource efficient objectives.
This is likely driven by customer requirements
in an extremely competitive marketplace,
requiring increasing flexibility and ‘always on’
functionality, despite the common focus on data
centres in CSR strategies. Data centre managers
need to adapt their ambitions for the future, moving
away from immediate ROI towards long-term
sustainability.” Some of the findings presented a
positive outlook for future innovations, with nearly all
those surveyed clearly seeing areas for improvement
and 55 per cent stating that energy efficiency was
their highest advancement priority.
Delegates can find out more and register for free by visiting
www.datacentresummit.co.uk
www.thegreengrid.org
www.networkseuropemagazine.com