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Almost every business today finds itself deeply reliant on IT, a testament to the digital era we live in. The stark reality is that most work processes grind to a halt without IT support. Furthermore, the scope of IT has expanded far beyond the confines of traditional data centers. It now extends across the enterprise, encompassing not just data centers but also edge computing locations and colocation sites. In this landscape, nearly every aspect of IT has become mission-critical.
The Vital Link Between Power and IT
Work is undeniably dependent on IT, yet IT itself hinges on a consistent power supply. A power outage can bring work to an abrupt standstill, highlighting the crucial role of electricity in maintaining operational continuity. While attention often gravitates towards servers, software, network infrastructure, and cloud services, the importance of a stable and reliable power source for all IT sites is equally critical. This realization underscores that the reliability of your power supply is as vital as the dependability of your application containers and IT infrastructure.
Modernizing IT for AI
You don’t have to be the CIO to know there is an AI revolution taking place across the world. AI will transform numerous facets of both work and life. To fully leverage AI, companies must first modernize their datacenters to accommodate it. Generative AI is not only encaptivating users and audiences; it is driving exponential growth in computing requirements. Jensen Huang, the CEO of chipmaker Nvidia, described this transition period as follows:
“You’re seeing the beginning of a 10-year transition to basically recycle or reclaim the world’s data centers and build it out as accelerated computing. You’ll have a pretty dramatic shift in the spend of the data center from traditional computing, and to accelerated computing.”
A key aspect of this modern technological evolution is the shift from Central Processing Units (CPUs) to Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). GPUs typically consume more power and require more cooling compared to CPUs. Their greater number of cores, coupled with their ability to run multiple operations in parallel, make them considerably more power-hungry than the sequential processing design of their CPU predecessors. Consequently, as organizations transition their server infrastructure to accommodate AI and similar technologies, there’s also a crucial need to upgrade their power and cooling systems to support these more demanding GPUs.
The Time to Modernize Is Now
The rapid pace of digital transformation taking place necessitates constant reevaluation of data center asset viability. Hardware and software must constantly be upgraded, and bandwidth pipelines must perpetually be expanded. We are at a stage in which postponing technology upgrades and turning a blind eye to the need for modernization of aging hardware is a risky proposition because business objectives are now tied to technology. However, the modernization of datacenters in enterprises today must encompass more than just upgrading technology and expanding capacity. It requires a comprehensive approach, which includes a keen focus on power consumption and cooling.
For instance, modern datacenters are increasingly integrating high-density equipment, necessitating more power and enhanced cooling solutions compared to older technologies. As companies evolve to become more scalable and adaptable to changing demands, it’s crucial that their power supply and cooling systems are equally flexible and able to match workload variations. Just as system architects integrate resilience into critical compute, storage, and networking infrastructure, a similar emphasis must be placed on ensuring resilient power and cooling sources. This is vital because any interruption in these fundamental physical infrastructures can have a direct impact on the business applications and processes that are essential for the company’s operations.
It’s Not Just About More Power
Undoubtedly, the demand for more power to fuel the engines of business will continue to rise. However, this expansion cannot occur without a conscientious regard for the future. The global community is increasingly emphasizing the need for businesses to source power responsibly to ensure that the future remains secure. In the current landscape, businesses are under escalating pressure from governments, customers, investors, and other stakeholders to serve as responsible stewards of the environment.
A 2023 Deloitte report showed notable changes in companies recognizing their responsibility to shape a sustainable future. Sustainability, in fact, is becoming a business approach to creating long-term value, a fact substantiated by a 2023 Accenture report showed that companies with consistently high ratings for ESG performance enjoyed average operating margins 4.7 times higher than medium ESG performers. Those firms also tended to score 2.6 times higher on shareholder returns.
See More: How to Protect Hybrid IT Infrastructure Against Physical and Environmental Threats
The need for companies to reassess how they power and cool their expanding IT infrastructure is driven by more than a commitment to enhanced stewardship. The resurgence of inflation demands businesses maximize value from every resource, and rising interest rates have escalated the cost of capital, compelling companies to make more judicious and strategic investments. These changing economic and financial conditions are helping to drive data modernization as well.
You Need Greater Visibility
The growing complexity of today’s hybrid enterprises has increased the need for greater visibility into the underlying layers of both on-prem and cloud computing centers. Companies are investing heavily in observability tools to ensure network operational and cybersecurity teams can stay ahead of potential issues that might disrupt business processes. This level of observability needs to extend all the way to the foundational layer of power and cooling, because if the power isn’t right, the upper layers of IT won’t be either.
Assessing both current and anticipated loads is critical for maintaining data center health. If loads have increased beyond the original design capacity, certain power systems may risk overload, or what was once redundant capacity may become essential for supporting current demands, effectively eliminating redundancy altogether. Conversely, there may be scenarios where systems are now significantly oversized, especially with the shift of workloads to virtualized or outsourced solutions. While these systems can handle the load, their continued operation might not be cost-effective. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of present loads and future growth projections is essential for efficient and sustainable data center operation.
EcoStruxure IT: Enhancing Datacenter Visibility
Developed by Schneider Electric, EcoStruxure IT is a robust infrastructure management solution designed to elevate an IT team’s visibility and control over their datacenter’s physical infrastructure. This cloud-based, vendor-neutral, and resilient platform offers real-time monitoring of essential datacenter assets, including power, cooling, and environmental systems. Mirroring the capabilities of leading network observability tools, EcoStruxure IT consolidates a comprehensive view of infrastructure components across all locations into a unified interface. IT teams gain an integrated solution to manage and monitor critical components, whether located in the datacenter, remote edge site, or somewhere else within distributed IT environments.
System requirements for the EcoStruxure IT Gateway
The level of visibility EcoStruxure IT provides isn’t limited to alerts, however. Full visibility includes predictive management and data-driven recommendations that can be used to mitigate issues before they have any impact. The constant aggregation and analysis of data from the infrastructure can also provide IT valuable insights that can guide strategic planning, operational improvements, and energy management. Furthermore, as an all-encompassing platform, EcoStruxure IT supports compliance efforts with its detailed reporting capabilities, covering various operational aspects of datacenter management.
Smoothing the Transition to Modernization
If you want to achieve the sustainability objectives of your organization, your solution provider should be a role model themselves. As the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, Schneider Electric continues to be recognized as a leading player in driving sustainability actions. As just one example, Schneider Electric holds the number one position among electrical components and equipment companies in the 2022 Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) conducted by the renowned rating agency S&P Global.
Schneider Electric has the solutions to help you transition to a modernized datacenter that incorporates not only sustainability, but efficiency, adaptability, and resilience to ensure that your infrastructure is fully optimized to sustain your business processes. Datacenter modernization is not a partial job. To do it right demands a holistic approach, from the top-tier cloud and virtual environments down to the foundational physical infrastructure. Make sure that modernization includes the core of your physical infrastructure as well. Doing so in a sustainable manner will position your business as a forward-thinking, responsible entity.
To learn more about EcoStruxure IT, visit Schneider Electric.
Wanda Parisien is a computing expert who navigates the vast landscape of hardware and software. With a focus on computer technology, software development, and industry trends, Wanda delivers informative content, tutorials, and analyses to keep readers updated on the latest in the world of computing.
