t cht lk manage core components of their operations, such as leveraging digital twins – a digital replica of a real-world object or system – to understand air flow changes and better optimise conditions.
t cht lk manage core components of their operations, such as leveraging digital twins – a digital replica of a real-world object or system – to understand air flow changes and better optimise conditions.
Location is also an issue and, as a result, some innovative leaders are already looking to build near energy sources such as nuclear power to meet their
Andre Troskie, EMEA Field CISO, Veeam energy requirements, while lowering emissions. Similarly, companies are building data centres in strategic geographic locations, such as colder climates, to leverage natural cooling for infrastructure in the region’ s desert temperatures, enhancing sustainability and cost efficiency.
Yet, as companies set their net-zero emissions initiatives, it is important that their targets are defined, measured and executed to ensure they align with established national and international regulations and deadlines. To help data centres overcome their sustainability hurdles, here are some methods that operators can follow.
Cooling systems
Shift of responsibility from CISO to C-Suite
Responsibility for cybersecurity and data resilience can no longer be placed on the shoulders of CISOs alone. New EU regulations like NIS2 and DORA bring corporate accountability to the foreground, holding the wider corporate leadership team responsible.
Collectively, boards need to be educated on cyber threats as they face being held accountable for any cybersecurity incidents that occur under their watch – and can now be fined individually alongside the wider organisation in the case of non-compliance.
Despite this, awareness of corporate accountability is still too low. 95 % of EMEA organisations alone have siphoned budgets from other resource pots to reach compliance. So, the urgency is there, but C-suite action is yet to catch up. What do they need to change to get up to speed?
These regulations simply formalise what should have been occurring within organisations. For many, however, cybersecurity and resilience was still being sidelined. Understandably, the C-suite has historically left cybersecurity in the hands of the security teams. Admittedly its business value can be hard to see at times.
Getting first-person experience of your organisation’ s incident response plans is essential for executives seeking to understand their responsibilities in this new age of corporate accountability. The same regulations that demand this also call for consistent compliance, not a one-and-done tick box.
C-levels will need to be able to demonstrate that their organisation’ s incident response plans work in the real world, with consistent and rigorous scenario testing. These regulations do not call for executives to become experts on cybersecurity by any means. The core thing that C-suites need to know inside and out, are their incident response plans.
Take physical security safety as an example. You would not need to know the ins and outs of your fire alarm systems. Cybersecurity incident response plans follow a similar philosophy, and both NIS2 and DORA compliance hinges on their robustness, and that is where C-suites need to focus their efforts.
Cooling accounts for a significant portion of energy consumption in data centres, especially in hot climates like the Middle East. Water and liquid cooling technologies can minimise power consumption and enhance energy efficiency. We are seeing organisations build their data centres in colder climates such as Scandinavia to reduce cooling needs naturally.
Direct liquid cooling, which uses liquid channels to draw heat away from specific components, is gaining traction for its precision and efficiency in tackling the challenges of extreme heat
Dynamic power management
Data centres across the GCC can enhance energy efficiency by adopting dynamic power management systems. These technologies adjust energy usage based on real-time demand, ensuring optimal performance without wasting resources. For example, routers and switches with adaptive power settings can lower energy use during off-peak times, contributing to sustainability efforts.
Conversely, during peak demand, operations can be scaled up to meet increased requirements, ensuring consistent and reliable service levels. Doing so not only reduces unnecessary energy expenditure but also lowers the environmental impact associated with energy-intensive operations.
Circular Approach
In cooler climates, countries with integrated urban development plans can make use of data centres to capture and redistribute heat to surrounding facilities, such as residential areas or industrial zones. This approach promotes a circular energy model, where excess heat is redirected instead of discarded, reducing the environmental impact.
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