We are now in the cloud era. The data center has assumed a new, more prominent role as a strategic asset within the organization. Increasing capacity demands and the pressure to support the “always-on” digital business are forcing data centers to adapt, evolve, and respond at an increasingly accelerated rate. Cloud, mobility, IoT, big data – these and other interrelated trends are putting enormous pressure on the modern data center. To keep pace, today’s physical infrastructure has become vastly more complex, interconnected, and performance-driven than a decade ago. Consider this, the latest Cisco Global Cloud Index Report states that, “although the amount of global traffic crossing the Internet and IP WAN networks is projected to reach 2.0 ZB per year by 2019 , the amount of annual global data center traffic in 2014 rose to 3.5 ZB—and by 2019, will triple to reach 10.4 ZB per year.” Here’s the big point: Cisco’s numbers show that cloud traffic is continuing to increase where global cloud IP traffic will account for more than 83% of total data center traffic by 2019.
It’s also clear that spending around the modern data center is increasing as well. Global spending on IaaS rose to almost US$16.5 billion in 2015, an increase of 32.8 percent from 2014, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2014 to 2019 forecast at 29.1 percent, according to Gartner’s latest forecast. Finally, findings form another Gartner report go on to say that the use of cloud computing is growing, and by 2016 this growth will increase to become the bulk of new IT spend. 2016 will be a defining year for cloud as private cloud begins to give way to hybrid cloud, and nearly half of large enterprises will have hybrid cloud deployments by the end of 2017.
To help manage this evolving environment, new ways of thinking about and valuing infrastructure have emerged. Designers now think of physical elements such as power, space, processing, cooling, and network connectivity as variables that can be “adjusted” to meet their specific performance goals while containing costs. Meanwhile, software-based data center infrastructure management (DCIM) solutions, automated infrastructure management (AIM) tools, and “right sized” prefabricated modular data center options now enable IT and Facilities executives to manage their data centers more holistically.
In this new paradigm, opportunities to boost performance and profitability by increasing efficiency are everywhere; not just in power and cooling, but in capacity planning, asset management, scalability, space utilization (e.g. density), and more.
In this whitepaper from CommScope, you learn how leveraging these opportunities means embracing a new definition of efficiency reflecting a more holistic approach that encompasses the entire physical ecosystem.
The Connected and Efficient Data Center
Download this white paper from the Data Center Frontier White Paper Library
When it comes to defining and measuring the efficiency of data center physical infrastructure, the traditional discussion has typically begun and ended with power and cooling. This focus on power usage as the primary measure of efficiency is understandable. Energy represents 25 to 40 percent of a data center’s OpEx.
In the U.S., a 40 percent reduction in data center energy consumption—about half of what is technically possible—would yield $3.8 billion. So power cannot and should not be ignored as a source of efficiency gains.
However, if power and cooling represent 25 to 40 percent of a data center’s monthly OpEx, then 60 to 75 percent of those operating costs lie elsewhere – in other physical resources such as space, IT assets, and connectivity. These other resources all have associated costs, not only in terms of capital, but in time, productivity, effort and opportunity costs.
Managing all of these physical resources as an interconnected whole – this is where possibilities to drive a new level of efficiency abound. This paper points to several critical examples including:
- Space utilization
- Asset management
- Connectivity
Creating holistic command and control capabilities
Today’s DCIM solutions are capable of monitoring and managing entire IT and facility systems – operating historically and in real-tome. Download this whitepaper today to learn how you can create a truly powerful data center ecosystem. Using modern control tools, you can create greater levels of efficiency and scale. As the paper points out – these solutions include capabilities around:
- Holistic control, capacity utilization, and optimize space density with next-gen DCIM solutions.
- Optimizing cabling and connectivity delivery with speed and availability.
- Create greater levels of data center interconnectivity.
- Optimizing CapEx with prefabricated design options and right-sized data center solutions.
- Creating the next-generation connected and efficient data center
