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State of the Industry 2024 – What Lies Ahead for the Data Centre Sector?

By Blog, Downloads, Event, News, Press Release, Thought Leadership

As we reflect on Keysource’s State of the Industry Event 2024, the excitement and valuable discussions from the event continue to resonate within the data centre community. Now in its seventh year, this annual gathering has firmly established itself as a pivotal moment for data centre professionals, delivering crucial insights and expert analysis.

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Event Highlights

This year’s event delved into the rapidly evolving landscape of the data centre sector, highlighting how technology advancements are reshaping the industry. Attendees explored critical issues impacting the sector, including:

  • Sustainability Pressures: Strategies for integrating eco-friendly practices without compromising performance.
  • Skills Shortages: Innovative approaches to attract and retain talent in a competitive market.
  • Supply Chain Complexities: Navigating global supply challenges to ensure operational continuity.

The unveiling of our 2024 survey results provided a comprehensive overview of industry trends, reaffirming that balancing speed, substance, and sustainability remains a central theme for data centres moving forward.

Key Discussions

Participants had the opportunity to hear from industry leaders who shared their approaches to:

  • Adapting to New Regulations: Ensuring compliance while maintaining operational efficiency.
  • Managing Rising Costs: Implementing cost-effective solutions without sacrificing quality.
  • Integrating Sustainable Practices: Moving towards greener data centre operations to meet environmental goals.

”Keysource's event had great discussions and clear insights that really helped us understand the challenges and opportunities coming up

State of the Industry 2024 Attendee

”The State of the Industry event was a real eye-opener—great discussions with a clear look at the challenges we all face in our industry. Highly recommend it.

State of the Industry 2024 Attendee

Download The Full Report

Gain comprehensive insights from the State of the Industry 2024 Event by downloading our detailed report. Whether you’re addressing project delivery challenges, sustainability goals, or the ongoing skills shortage, our report offers invaluable perspectives from over 250 industry professionals.


At Keysource, we specialise in helping organisations to overcome the challenges of sustainable data centre design, building and management

Speak to our team today for tailored advice and guidance on creating and operating a data centre fit for the next generation of computing.

Contact us
7 November 2024

Navigating the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED): What Data Centre Operators Need to Know

By Blog, Thought Leadership

Prepare for the New EED Rules

The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) is a European Union (EU) directive that sets energy efficiency targets for member states. The latest revision of the EED, which was adopted in 2021, includes a number of new provisions for data centres, which are responsible for a significant portion of the EU’s energy consumption.

Some of the new EED rules for data centres will come into effect as early as next year but data centre operators should start preparing now to comply with the new requirements.

What do the new rules include?

Mandatory reporting for large data centres

Data centres with a capacity of at least 500kW will be required to report their energy efficiency data to the EU Commission on an annual basis. This data will be used to track progress towards the EU’s energy efficiency targets and to identify areas where further improvement is needed.

Minimum energy performance standards for new and refurbished data centres

New and refurbished data centres will be required to meet minimum energy performance standards. These standards will be based on the best available technology and will be updated on a regular basis to reflect technological advancements.

Obligation to promote the use of renewable energy

Data centre operators will be required to promote the use of renewable energy in their facilities. This may involve installing on-site renewable energy generation systems or purchasing renewable energy from the grid.

Additional requirements

In addition to the new rules outlined above, the EED also includes a number of other requirements that may be of interest to data centre operators, such as:

  • Reporting on key sustainability indicators: Data centre operators will be required to report on a number of key sustainability indicators, including total data centre energy consumption, temperature set points, and ICT equipment utilization.
  • Compliance with EN50600-4 KPIs: Data centre operators will be required to comply with four of the eight EN50600-4 KPIs, which are a set of standards for measuring and reporting on the energy efficiency of data centres.

How Keysource Can Help You Prepare for the New EED Rules

Data centre operators need to start preparing now to comply with the new EED requirements.

Keysource can help you with this process as we provide a range of helpful services.

Energy audits

We can conduct a comprehensive energy audit of your data centre to identify areas where energy consumption can be reduced.

Energy management systems

We can help you to implement an energy management system to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs.

Compliance planning

We can help you to develop a plan to comply with the new reporting requirements, including identifying the data that needs to be collected and the systems that will be used to collect and report the data.

Renewable energy assessments

We can assess your renewable energy options and help you to develop a plan to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels and meet the new renewable energy requirements.

Contact us today to learn more about how
we can help you to prepare for the
new EED regulations

Our team of experts has a deep understanding of the new EED rules
and how they will impact data centre operators.

We are committed to helping our clients to comply with the new rules
and to reduce their environmental impact.

Contact us
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16 October 2023

State of the Industry 2023

By Blog, Downloads, Event, News, Press Release, Thought Leadership

Now in it’s sixth year, Keysource’s State of the Industry Report 2023, focuses on the data centre trilemma: balancing speed, substance and sustainability. It’s packed with insights from over 250 data centre professionals, and it’s essential information for anyone involved in our industry.

The report highlights the trilemma the industry is facing in dealing with the competing and compelling challenges of developing and delivering on sustainability targets; the pressure to speed up project delivery to remain competitive; and the continuing supply chain and skills issues. This is against a background of rising costs and new EU and imminent UK Regulation changes.

”The pressure to speed up project delivery is perhaps the most concerning finding of the report with 75% of those surveyed identifying quality issues which could reasonably have been identified or better managed earlier as a result. Certainly, we are seeing some organisations prioritising speed above all else which is at best risky, especially considering our respondents’ strong concerns about getting the correct advice as the skills shortage continues to bite.

Jon HealyChief Operating Officer, Keysource

The report shows that the skills shortage continues with competing demand both ‘client side’ and within the supply chain for the same people. This is reflected by the fact that only a third of respondents are confident in the quality of the information that is being provided which negatively impacts the ability to make informed decisions. As a result, nearly half of respondents chose to sub-contract more projects or services than they had planned, as the industry turns even more to supply chain partners to keep to programme timescales. According to the majority of respondents this approach had a positive impact including better quality and quicker delivery, with the inevitable trade off of a higher cost.

There are some encouraging findings around sustainability with 69% of respondents having a seat at the table when discussing sustainability targets and over half having a separate ‘green budget’ that can be used for sustainable solutions and initiatives. However, this positive progress is at odds with the just 17% who consider sustainability to be a high priority and the fact that less than a third said they were making significant progress with their sustainability strategy – with over half still not having one at all! In addition, 64% of respondents haven’t evaluated the carbon impact of existing data centre services and solutions and 57% aren’t intending to evaluate future investments, meaning missed opportunities to make both carbon and financial savings.

”The inrush of available capital that we have seen enter the data centre market is reflective of its promising returns and the comparative performance of other markets. This is coupled with a relatively low risk given its resilience through recent years, which is overall very positive for the short and medium term of the industry. This said, these conditions can quickly change given the influences this sector has from a range of areas such as technology, regulation, energy resources, corporate governance, and a lack of skilled people.

So, whilst this year’s state of the industry report shows that the data centre and related sectors continue to grow despite these challenges and the current global unrest, political scepticism, and economic uncertainty, it also flags that a number of common challenges still remain and these are forcing decision makers to operate differently. Our industry has a clear trilemma and the need to solve all three are equally important!

Jon HealyChief Operating Officer, Keysource

Get the State of the Industry Report 2023


At Keysource, we specialise in helping organisations to overcome the challenges of sustainable data centre design, building and management

Speak to our team today for tailored advice and guidance on creating and operating a data centre fit for the next generation of computing.

Contact us
28 September 2023

8 Tips to Reduce Costs of Data Centre Energy Bills

By Blog, Thought Leadership

Operating a data centre is expensive, but energy consumption is vital to the ongoing expenses of a data centre, which is one of the reasons why the industry is making such a drive for sustainability.

Today, the most significant cost of running a data centre is energy, with the average data centre spending 25% to 60% of its total expenses on energy consumption alone in the UK. It illustrates the need to act by integrating green technologies into new and legacy data centres.

What uses the most energy in a data centre?

Energy consumption is the biggest expense involved in running a data centre. This is because of the immense costs of running servers and the necessary cooling infrastructure. In fact, data centre energy consumption has grown so much that it now accounts for 3% of the global electricity supply.

So, what are the largest contributors to your data centre energy bill?

Servers/IT Equipment – Servers, storage and networking devices and peripherals are the largest energy consumers in data centres.
Cooling – Data centres generate massive amounts of heat. Advanced cooling systems, including chillers and air conditioning units, are required to prevent overheating.
Power Distributions – Data centres rely on Power Distribution Units (PDUs), including Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs), to distribute electricity and provide emergency power if outages occur.
Lighting – Whilst lighting doesn’t consume as much energy as servers and cooling systems, permanent lighting is required for maintenance, monitoring and accessibility. This fact alone means lighting contributes a large chunk to your energy expenditure.

Can data centres reduce their energy consumption?

Data centres can take action to reduce their energy consumption. Although data centres will always consume significant energy, taking steps can result in massive cost savings.
Actions like upgrading legacy technology, recycling old systems and using renewable energy sources are ways that data centres can tackle the sustainability issue.
Additionally, new data centres can focus on sustainability as part of a genuinely green data centre. The Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact has already been established to set firm guidelines as to what constitutes a sustainable data centre.
For existing data centres, the path to sustainability will likely be a long-term endeavour because legacy hardware may need to be replaced within the boundaries of current budgets.

Tips on how to reduce costs of data centre energy bills

Utility bills are no small expense. Whilst some data centres may concede these as unavoidable expenses, creative problem-solving and a real commitment to sustainability can save data centres tens of thousands annually.
Follow these tips for some simple ways to reduce the cost of data centre energy bills:
1

Integrate modern cooling systems

Cooling systems are an enormous drain on your resources. Some estimates state that inefficient data centres could spend up to 60% of their utility bills on cooling alone.
By introducing next-generation cooling solutions however, companies can decrease their utility bills. Some ideas could include:
  • Deploying hot/cold aisle configurations.
  • Minimising bypass airflow.
  • Investing in air handlers and chillers.
Doing away with legacy cooling systems can reduce your energy wastage and allow you to take more control over environmental conditions, including temperature and humidity.
2

Software-powered smart design

Experts know that data centre efficiency boils down to choosing the solutions that cover the greatest workload with the lowest number of hardware pieces.
Identifying underutilised pieces of equipment and removing underused applications can lower your energy costs across the board. It’s also possible to remove “bloatware” from the equation.
Bloatware is ineffectual software that drains power from your data centre due to excessive CPU cycles.
In other words, software-powered smart design is based on limiting hardware and doing more with less.
3

Leveraging server virtualisation

Server virtualisation is a powerful tool enabling you to consolidate servers and storage as part of a single platform. Virtualisation allows you to segregate applications, data and operating systems.
Running applications on shared hardware via virtual machines reduces your need for space, more power, more cooling and more resources.
Note that server virtualisation cannot solve all of your problems. For example, you may still require underutilised equipment to handle peak loads. Either way, virtualisation still contributes to efficiently migrating your data centre’s workload.
4

Controlling airflow management

Airflow management is another crucial energy efficiency practice. For example, if your data centre has raised floors, there’s a strong possibility that you are experiencing uncontrolled air leakage. Sealing these raised floors and removing unnecessary blockages within would be one solution.
What if clutter control and underfloor blockages are irresolvable problems? In this case, consider installing overhead cable trays. According to Schneider Electric, overhead cable trays lead to a 24% reduction in cooling fan power consumption.
5

Switch to variable-speed fans

Another option for decreasing energy usage is moving to variable-speed fans. This move could provide a much-needed CPU fan speed reduction.
The beauty of these fans is that they only run at the required speeds when needed. This is because they operate using sophisticated thermostatic equipment.
You can apply this same principle to other devices beyond your servers. Consider examining the cooling features of hardware like UPSs.
6

Use liquid cooling solutions

High-performance hardware often experiences the trade-off between high-performance vs high energy consumption. This is why high-end equipment often relies on adopting liquid cooling for CPUs as standard.
Instead of using fans to move air across a heat sink, liquid cooling involves using a liquid, such as water, to dissipate heat.
Today, experts consider liquid cooling to be the gold standard of cooling when compared to air-cooling methods.
7

Increase the temperature

Once upon a time, raising the temperature within a data centre would be considered risky. However, equipment vendors have designed systems capable of operating at higher temperatures than usual.
Many servers can operate at 77 degrees Fahrenheit, but most data centres still stick to the 65 degrees Fahrenheit guideline for temperature.
Raising the ambient temperature a few degrees can reduce your cooling systems’ power usage without impacting server performance. Moreover, taking this step requires no investment or overhead.
8

Power down inactive servers

Server virtualisation has demonstrated the sustainability advantages of doing more with your hardware to use less; but, why not power down entire servers that are not in use?
Too many data centres always keep them spinning because they want to have more business agility, but is it worth the thousands in costs that come with operating inactive servers?
Try searching for instances where servers can be powered down. The chances are, there may be some objections to this move, such as:
Lower Server Life Expectancy – The myth that power cycling lowers the server’s life expectancy is just that: a myth. Servers are built using the same components as hardware that’s commonly power cycled, including medical devices and vehicles.
Too Long to Power – Some people claim that servers take too long to power up. However, you can counter this by turning off boot-time diagnostic checks or booting from operational snapshots.
Customer Dissatisfaction – Users have shown they are willing to hang in there to get up and running. Most application architectures don’t decline user requests but slow them down; this has been shown to have zero impact on retention or satisfaction rates.
In short, servers are built to be switched on and off at will. If you have the budget for automation technology, you can even set up parameters that will automatically power up or down servers for maximum energy efficiency.

What is the most cost effective way to reduce energy consumption in data centres?

Upgrading your energy efficiency often means making significant investments; but, there are low-cost alternatives.
Upping the temperature is one option as part of controlled pilot experiments. On the other hand, you can also use “free” outside air-cooling to help harness the Earth’s natural resources.
Studies have shown that this option works incredibly well. For example, Intel saw a 74% reduction in power consumption after implementing free-air cooling. According to the computing giant’s findings, they saved $3 million in cost savings and used 76 million gallons of water less.

If you’re ready to reduce your energy bills for your data centre, contact the Keysource team today.

Whilst these steps can help, creating a green data centre with the help of professionals can always yield better results. Consulting with Keysource on upgrading your data centre or building a sustainable data centre from scratch can allow you to maximise efficiency opportunities.

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29 August 2023

How Can Computational Fluid Dynamics Help Save Data Centre Cooling Costs?

By Blog, News, Thought Leadership

Did you know that Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations have been proven to improve cooling efficiency by up to 20% and reduce energy consumption by up to 30%?

These statistics highlight the immense potential of CFD in optimising data centre operations. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by the Society of Computational Fluid Dynamics (SCD), a staggering 70% of organizations recognize the undeniable impact of CFD simulations in gaining a competitive advantage.

Data centres are essential for all organisations, but they can also be costly to operate. One of the biggest expenses for data centres is cooling, which can account for up to 40% of the total energy usage. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful tool that can help data centre operators improve efficiency and performance by optimizing cooling systems.

What is Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)?

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a powerful simulation technique that utilizes mathematical algorithms and computer modelling to study and analyse fluid flow, heat transfer and other related issues that may impact efficiency.

For data centres in particular, CFD enables operators to visualise and understand the complex airflow patterns, temperature distribution and thermal behaviour within the facility.

By accurately modelling these factors, Keysource can help data centre operators make data-driven decisions to optimise cooling strategies, reduce energy efficiency and enhance overall operational performance.

Why should data centre operators be interested in CFD?

Enhanced Thermal Management

Effective cooling is critical for maintaining optimal operating conditions in data centres. CFD allows operators to precisely model and simulate the airflow and temperature distribution throughout the facility, identifying hotspots, areas of recirculation and potential airflow obstructions.

By gaining a comprehensive understanding of the thermal behavior, operators can optimise cooling systems, implement targeted airflow management strategies and reduce the risk of equipment overheating or failure.

Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings

Data centres consume significant amounts of energy and efficient cooling is a major contributor to operational costs. By leveraging CFD, operators can optimise airflow patterns, identify opportunities for air containment and reduce unnecessary energy consumption.

Studies have shown that implementing CFD-driven optimizations can lead to energy savings of up to 30%, resulting in substantial cost reductions and improved sustainability.

Predictive Analysis and Risk Mitigation

CFD enables data centre operators to conduct virtual “what-if” scenarios, evaluating the impact of potential changes or additions to the facility.

By simulating the effects of equipment upgrades, layout modifications, or changes in operational conditions, operators can proactively assess risks, identify potential bottlenecks and ensure optimal performance before implementing any physical changes. This predictive analysis approach minimizes costly trial-and-error processes and facilitates informed decision-making.

Optimal Equipment Placement and Capacity Planning

When expanding or designing a new data centre, CFD can play a crucial role in optimizing equipment placement and airflow management. By simulating various configurations and scenarios, operators can determine the most efficient layout, identify potential hotspots and ensure proper cooling to maximize the capacity and reliability of the infrastructure.

Contact us today

If you are interested in learning more about how our computational fluid dynamic scans can help you improve efficiency and performance, contact Keysource today. We can help you assess your needs and develop a CFD solution that is right for you and your organisation.

 

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29 June 2023

Keysource and Deep Green Win DCS Award – Edge Project of the Year

By Blog, News

Keysource and Deep Green are proud to announce that we have won the Edge Project of the Year award at the DCS Awards! This recognises our innovative approach to data centre design and construction, which uses sustainable technologies to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact.

Project Overview

An innovative start up Deep Green has seen the heat generated by a data centre used to heat a Devon public swimming pool. The computers inside the white box are surrounded by oil to capture the heat – enough to heat the pool to about 30C 60% of the time, saving Exmouth Leisure Centre thousands of pounds. The data centre is provided to the council-run centre free of charge and the leisure centre’s electricity costs for running the “digital boiler” will also be refunded.

Sean Day, who runs the leisure centre, said he had been expecting its energy bills to rise by £100,000 this year. “The partnership has really helped us reduce the costs of what has been astronomical over the last 12 months – our energy prices and gas prices have gone through the roof.”

The future of the data centre has to be at the heart of communities, contributing too, rather than detracting from local communities. We can do this as part of an integrated planning process, leveraging the heat for district heating, support local community services like swimming pools or even as part of new residential and commercial developments.

Rishi Sunak recently highlighted the £800m investment in supercomputing, and what better way to achieve this in a sustainable manner, to support NetZero 2030 than an integrated Metropolitan Edge data centre within every community. Keysource and Deep Green are working together to scale this approach across the UK.

Challenges Addressed

Energy costs are at an all-time high and swimming pools are struggling to stay open. (Last summer, BBC News revealed 65 swimming pools had closed since 2019, with rising energy costs cited as a significant reason.) This also bucks the trend of data centre projects by repurposing the heat generated to serve the local community.

The project was able to find the ‘load’ that marries up with the Direct Liquid Cooling compute approach in a footprint that can be sustainable and secure whilst ensuring the IT hardware has valid ‘warranty’ in DLC / Immersed environment.

Moving forward this approach also addresses the Grid limitations and energy requirements that are significantly limiting opportunities to develop new data-centre capacity and creating significant negative publicity for the data centre industry which is manifesting itself in moratoriums on new project development.  In essence, rapidly growing industry energy requirements and carbon footprint represent an existential threat to existing DC business models.

Innovation

This approach utilises small pockets of ‘spare’ and already allocated grid capacity to deliver edge and HPC capabilities within the fabric of society. The energy recapture model saves pools at least 63% on their energy requirements to heat the pool.  In exchange, the pools provide space, power and connectivity to support the deployment.

It utilises the energy efficiency benefits of immersion and direct liquid cooling in combination with heat re-use to deliver a PUE of 1.005 or lower and runs on 100% renewable energy.

Project Challenges

As with many projects in the sector we faced supply chain delays and had to also manage the programme with the swimming pool. The availability of skilled people was an issue as we were looking for specialist partners to work with, with strong supply chain and coverage to support the installation.

Warranty restrictions of existing components is not favourable to immersion projects so we had to work with OEM manufacturers to validate the use of their technology within immersed environments.

Benefits

A cut in gas consumption for pool heating by 91%; a current PUE of 1.005 with a projected PUE of 1.003; projected cost savings of £2500 per month: and projected reduction of carbon footprint of 3 tonnes per month.

Are you looking for a data centre partner that can help you achieve your sustainability goals?

Keysource is a leading provider of data centre design, construction, and management services. We have a proven track record of delivering sustainable data centres that meet the needs of our clients.

Our team of experts can help you every step of the way, from planning and design to construction and commissioning. We will work with you to understand your specific needs and goals, and we will develop a custom solution that meets your budget and timeline.

We are committed to sustainability, and we are always looking for new ways to reduce our environmental impact. We use the latest technologies and techniques to design and build data centres that are as efficient as possible, improving their energy efficiency, reducing their water consumption, and minimizing waste.

Contact us
18 May 2023

Teledata appoints Keysource to deliver new data centre

By Blog, News, Press Release

Teledata, a premium colocation, cloud hosting and data centre services provider based in Manchester, has appointed Keysource as the lead contractor for the design and preconstruction of its new 30,000 sq ft data centre facility (MCR2) which has been funded by UBS. In addition, the critical environment and data centre specialist will also be responsible for delivering ambitious sustainability goals following the calculation of the ‘whole life carbon’ of the facility and a stage 2 carbon assessment which has informed the design.

The project, which leverages existing planning permission, involves a combined design and planning application to ensure local regeneration goals are integrated, including design development past ‘RIBA 2’. Keysource is also harnessing the power of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to lead the design process to provide high performing, resilient and efficient solutions. This will include ensuring that the available site power capacity and available space to increase rack count capacity is maximised, delivering an annualised PUE of less than 1.15 for this.

“To support the major regeneration of the area this an opportunity to deliver a data centre which can differentiate itself within a competitive market through site architecture and design which delivers a high quality and commercially competitive services, whilst delivering local, company and funder ESG goals. This forms the basis of our approach.”

Jon Healy, Operations Director at Keysource

“At Teledata we are committed to delivering the highest levels of service and support and the quality of our data centre estate is absolutely key. This new facility will be best in class in terms of resilience, security and sustainability and we know that we can rely on Keysource to deliver this.”

Matt Edgley, Director – Teledata – A Datum Group Company

Teledata was acquired by Farnborough-based data centre provider Datum Datacentres in September 2022. This marked the first regional bolt-on acquisition for Datum as part of its regional expansion strategy. Datum was acquired by Funds managed by the UBS Asset Management Real Estate & Private Markets business (REPM) in September 2021 with the intention to expand into key regional markets.

Read our Press Release

 

Are you looking for a data centre partner that can help you achieve your sustainability goals?

Keysource is a leading provider of data centre design, construction, and management services. We have a proven track record of delivering sustainable data centres that meet the needs of our clients.

Our team of experts can help you every step of the way, from planning and design to construction and commissioning. We will work with you to understand your specific needs and goals, and we will develop a custom solution that meets your budget and timeline.

We are committed to sustainability, and we are always looking for new ways to reduce our environmental impact. We use the latest technologies and techniques to design and build data centres that are as efficient as possible, improving their energy efficiency, reducing their water consumption, and minimizing waste.

Contact us
15 May 2023
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