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Month: November 2023

Minimising downtime.
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How to minimise downtime during a data centre move

Minimising downtime.

How to minimise downtime during a data centre move

Once the decision has been taken to perform a data centre relocation or cloud migration, there is often considerable pressure from stakeholders to complete the process as quickly as possible, but this is an operation that cannot and should not be rushed. Everyone dreads downtime, and by its nature a data centre move is going to disrupt your operations to some extent. Here are 6 key ways to minimise downtime.

 

1. Create an asset inventory

In order to perform a successful move, everyone involved has to have thorough knowledge of both your current and future data environment. This inventory should be as detailed as possible and include –

• All data architecture and infrastructure
• All software and hardware assets
• All applications
• All users and workloads
• Comprehensive network maps, including configurations and interdependencies
• All stored data. Sub-group where necessary to include unstructured, structured, sensitive and raw.
• Security environment considerations, including peripheral devices and endpoints

2. Create a migration plan

The need to formulate a cohesive data centre move strategy is paramount. Planning at this stage should be comprehensive and realistic with a solid phased timeline. A well devised project plan will keep the complexities of this move clear and under control. It should be constantly consulted, reviewed and where necessary, updated.

• The first step in creating a plan is to define your objectives: – what exactly you are migrating in terms of hardware and software? Your migration strategy must reference both your current and future environment. Everything should be cross referenced with the asset inventory you’ve just created.

• Detail the resources you’ll need;- personnel, capital, technology, third parties.• Create a timeline considering all of these factors, with every step clearly annotated and defined into phases. Above all, be realistic and factor in contingency for each phase.

• By now, you should be able to recognise and annotate your most business reliant assets, so you can start to plan which assets need to be back online first. Every hardware and software asset detailed in your inventory will need its own migration map in order to do this.

3. Teams, delegation and resource provisioning

A data centre move may be a technical process, but it always affects more than your tech team, so everyone in your organisation needs to be kept informed (and involved where relevant). You may need to perform an internal skills audit in order to assign clearly defined roles within your organisation. Create a personnel leader for each team and/or phase. This is a good point at which to make doubly sure that you and your relevant team(s) have a complete understanding of the new data environment you’re moving into.

4. Review your data migration plan and create a checklist

Listen to the feedback from your teams and review and update your migration plan. Be realistic, update contingency times and always prepare for worst case scenarios. Now is the time to formulate a master checklist:- this may seem like marking your own homework, but a good checklist will take the shape of a short form version of your plan, and should be at hand at all times.

5. Create a data backup and recovery plan

It may be surprising, but data backup and recovery is often overlooked. This is a big transition, and it always pays to the unforeseen. Everything from unexpected networking issues, communication breakage, incompatibility, new data centre problems to plain old bad weather and power outages can (and does) happen – which is why data loss is the single biggest risk involved in any migration. If possible, run a test recovery plan and as ever, keep cloud and offsite backups.

6. Consider using a third party data move specialist

Data migration specialists don’t run your company – that’s what you do best. This is what they do best, day in day out. Your creation of a migration strategy, checklist, teams are all designed to make sure that you’ve thought this through from every possible angle. A third party specialist is one more set of eyes to run your plan past, as well as bringing their experience from countless migrations to help you with a smooth and successful move.

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Future trends.
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Data centre migration –  current and future trends to consider

Future trends.

Data centre migration - current and future trends to consider

A data centre migration or relocation can be a big upheaval for any organisation, and everyone involved will want to future-proof it as much as possible. No-one wants to do this twice!

If your business is considering a data centre move, it’s advisable to take a look at where the rapidly changing data centre market appears to be heading.

The current market

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly boosted all digital sectors, dramatically increasing remote working and e-commerce, leading to an increased demand for data centres. With the growing volume of data, the indispensability of artificial intelligence and machine learning for effective data interpretation is rapidly becoming more pronounced. Notably, around 70% of data centres are leased from third-party operators, underscoring the critical role of data centre services.

Additionally, rising fuel costs and inflation are impacting various sectors, prompting a heightened focus on data centre energy efficiency. Projections indicate that by 2025, a substantial 75% of enterprise-generated data will undergo processing outside the realms of traditional cloud services or data centres.

All change

This sector is undergoing rapid transformation, fuelled by escalating data demands, advancements in technology, and an ever increasing need for sustainability. Here, we’ll examine the current trends that are shaping the future of the data centre industry, and look at the emergence of hyperscale data centres, significant advancements in secondary markets, the role of small to medium scale data centres, and the expansion of the data centre market in the UK. This industry is developing and transforming at lightning speed.

Here are the major trends to consider when planning a data centre move.

1. Hyperscale Data Centres

The data centre landscape is being reshaped by hyperscale facilities, specifically crafted to manage extensive server loads through modular components and advanced automation. Major players such as Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Alibaba etc. exert considerable influence in this domain, and projections indicate sustained growth despite economic hurdles.
There’s also a noticeable shift towards companies owning and operating their own bespoke data centres. This is driven by the desire to minimize reliance on third party vendors, tailor solutions to specific needs, and tap into renewable energy sources. The adoption of prefabricated, modular data centre design is on the rise, heralding a new era of efficiency. Colocation providers are emerging as key players, contributing to standardisation and facilitating swift deployments in this rapidly evolving landscape.

2. Secondary market growth

The exponential surge in data creation and consumption, driven by the proliferation of personal and household devices, has prompted the expansion of data centres into secondary markets. Primary regions are grappling with challenges like power shortages, limited space and high real estate prices, prompting the big hyperscale players to invest in secondary markets.

Geographical areas sited beyond the conventional data centre hubs are enticing tech giants by offering incentives at local and national levels to establish their presence, potentially fostering additional infrastructure projects.

In Europe, secondary markets, especially in the Nordic and Mediterranean regions, are witnessing notable growth. The appeal lies in factors like the abundance of renewable power, cost-effective land options, and close proximity to cable landing stations linking Europe with other markets. In response, cloud providers are broadening their availability zones and establishing fresh data centre clusters in these geographically attractive regions.

3. Low latency and small to medium data centres

The rapid growth of big data, IoT (internet of things), VR (virtual reality), and other emerging technologies underscores the significance of low latency in managing any data centre. Smaller, regional data centres, strategically located near data sources or end-users, are becoming increasingly important. In the current year, these more compact data centres have proven pivotal in advancing the development of 5G services.

4. UK data centre investment and growth

The growth of businesses, adapting to changing technology trends, is significantly propelled by IT infrastructure, encompassing servers and storage. Physical and economic real estate constraints in the South East of the UK are steering investors towards more budget-friendly regions.

Where next?

If your business is considering a data centre move, it’s also worth considering the drivers behind the likely future market trends in this industry.

1. Sustainability

Data centres are progressively steering away from fossil fuels and leaning towards renewable alternatives. Driven by energy security concerns (as well as cost), this transition is fostering self-sustainability through hybrid models and decentralized power sources such as solar, wind, nuclear, and hydropower.

2. Data volume increase

The exponential growth of data usage is fuelling the rise of multi-cloud deployments. To efficiently access and manage their data, businesses are seeking highly connected and secure geographically diverse platforms.

3. Artificial intelligence

The widespread adoption of data-intensive technologies like AI are already transforming this industry, spurring the development of innovative cooling methods. Liquid cooling and phase-change cooling are emerging as effective solutions to handle the heat generated by high-power density racks.

The data centre industry is a growing driving force in all digital economies, and will continue to shape our technological landscape for years to come. It’s in the midst of a significant transformation fuelled by heightened data demands, technological progress, and an increasing focus on sustainability. Secondary markets are gaining prominence, hyperscale data centres are taking the lead, but smaller-scale data centres are crucial for delivering low-latency services. In Europe, secondary markets are experiencing growth, and the UK data centre market continues to flourish.

As technology advances, data centres are poised to adapt and innovate while addressing sustainability challenges. The future trajectory involves a shift toward renewable energy, adoption of inventive cooling solutions, increasing development and deployment of AI

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AI Data Centre
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Data centre migration –  the impact of AI

Data Centre

Data centre migration - the impact of AI

There are many and various reasons to consider a data centre move: rescaling business, upgrading to a cloud-based or hybrid infrastructure, consolidation after a merger, geographical relocation, tax incentives…the list goes on. One thing is certain though – a data centre migration needs careful planning and execution, so will inevitably consume an organisations time and resources, as well as some level of upheaval. This is not an operation that a business wants to conduct on a regular basis. It’s therefore worth looking at where the data centre industry is heading, and arguably nothing is going to have more impact than the development and deployment of AI technology.

AI (or Artificial Intelligence if you’ve been hiding under a rock) has surged into mainstream prominence. Notably, solutions like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which swiftly amassed hundreds of millions of users, have propelled AI models to the forefront rather than operating discreetly in the background.
 
Every industry is actively seeking new AI capabilities to streamline processes, enhance operations and, of course, slash bottom lines. In this rapidly evolving digital landscape, data centres play a unique role, positioned to both offer and reap the benefits of AI applications.
 
The training and deployment of AI entails substantial computing power and data storage, and both innovative and traditional data centres are poised to serve as the backbone of a tech-centric world by providing these essential functionalities. However, meeting this heightened demand necessitates that data centres themselves embrace new technologies, such as AI systems, to deliver a more efficient, secure, and effective service.
 
Here, we’ll look into the transformative impact of AI on the future of the data centre industry, exploring how current and prospective data centre AI and automation are reshaping operations, bolstering security measures, and optimising resource management.
 

Data centre operations

Essentially, AI and machine learning algorithms excel at recognizing patterns in datasets and applying that learning to future tasks, a process known as predictive analytics. This capability automates and streamlines many day-to-day operations.

Data centre operators are increasingly adopted AI to enhance the efficiency of their daily services. According to a recent survey, 57% of data centre owners expressed trust in AI models for making operational decisions – a nearly 20% rise from the previous year.

Predictive analytics enables real-time enhancements in critical areas such as data centre cooling systems. The substantial heat generated by meeting the power and storage needs of modern computing can be efficiently managed using AI, leading to cost reductions and improved energy efficiency. Notably, Google’s implementation of AI resulted in a massive 40% reduction in cooling costs.

AI also plays an effective role in mitigating IT infrastructure inefficiencies. Predictive analytics aids providers in optimizing power allocation and rack space, contributing to lower operational costs, improved power usage effectiveness, and more data-driven decision-making.

Resource management optimisation

Modern businesses are placing substantial demands on data centre infrastructure. Bearing the  overnight take-up of ChatGPT in mind, a recent report forecasts that the training and implementation of generative AI models will reach a cool $76 billion by 2028. This surpasses twice the annual cost of Amazon Web Services, the world’s largest public cloud provider.

For data centres, this reality necessitates a heightened efficiency across various fronts to meet the power, storage, and connectivity needs of existing, evolving and future technologies. Data centre service providers are already initiating efforts in this direction.

Data centres are also deploying AI for enhanced workload management and allocation, optimizing the utilisation of hardware and network services to prevent downtime and ensure a consistently high level of service.

Predictive maintenance facilitated by AI algorithms plays a crucial role in ensuring business continuity by identifying potential issues before they occur, so significantly reduces downtime and costs associated with hardware replacement. McKinsey estimates that the integration of predictive AI models with appropriate Internet of Things (IoT) devices has enabled certain companies to slash maintenance costs by up to 25%.

Another application of AI is dynamic workload management, which contributes to an improved service by efficiently allocating computational tasks to the most suitable resources. This not only lowers costs but also ensures the best possible customer experience.

Ultimately, AI is instrumental in optimizing data centre infrastructure performance to its maximum potential, benefiting both providers and end-users.

Security enhancements

AI can play a pivotal role in strengthening data centre security, especially in the face of continually evolving cyber threats that may challenge traditional security systems by adapting swiftly or implementing effective defence measures. Employing AI empowers data centres to take a proactive security position.

In particular, data centre AI contributes to enhanced security in the following ways:

• Anomaly detection

AI systems monitoring network traffic, access logs, and system behaviour excel at identifying unusual patterns, enabling real-time detection of potential issues before they escalate. This proactive approach allows security teams to mitigate risks before any significant damage occurs.

• Predictive security measures

Unlike traditional reactive security measures, AI analysis empowers data centres to predict potential threats and vulnerabilities. This capability enables them to close gaps in defences before cyber-attacks can exploit them.

• Data protection

Utilizing AI algorithms and techniques, data centres can optimize data processing, storage, and security. This improvement safeguards the business-critical aspects of uptime, reliability, and data integrity, both during transit and storage.

The future of data centres

AI has already made a significant impact on every industry, and it’s safe to say that this will accelerate at an exponential rate in the coming years. Future data centres must and will adapt in tandem with technological advancements to deliver an efficient and effective service.

Anticipating the next generation of data centres, we might witness the influence of advanced AI, quantum computing, and other emerging technologies. These cutting-edge technologies hold the promise of providing greater efficiency and introducing advanced features.

In 2023, the term ‘AI’ entered the Oxford English Dictionary, and has been the hot topic of the year. As AI becomes integral to data centre operations, concerns related to transparency and accountability will naturally come to the forefront. Sustainability will also play a pivotal role in decisions regarding data centre AI. Data centre energy consumption is projected to increase by 12% by 2030, as workloads with high resource requirements utilise advanced CPUs and GPUs, necessitating sophisticated liquid cooling systems to prevent hardware damage. It’s no surprise, therefore, that AI is already being developed and deployed to manage and create new cooling systems.

AI will also be tasked with the data migration process itself. This is already happening with the major players in the hyperscale data centre sector (see https://www.cio.com/article/654503/salesforce-it-injects-generative-ai-to-ease-its-massive-datacenter-migration.html). It’s simply a matter of time before this trickles down to the SME sector.

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