The impact of 5G, the evolution of the Edge and rising energy costs were among the major topics for discussion at Data Centre World this year. In fact, the latest analysis, by Vertiv, predicts that the move to 5G will increase total network energy consumption by up to 170% by 2026, with the largest increases in macro, node and network data centre areas.
Vertiv has been conducting extensive research to define four main edge computing archetypes and recently released the paper, “Turning on 5G: Using Edge Archetypes to Identify the Most Mature Cases,” to quantify the potential impact of 5G implementations. The study looks at the potential obstacles to 5G adoption and the measures operators can take to mitigate them, such as Energy Savings as a Service (ESaaS). According to the survey, more than 90% of respondents said they are either extremely or moderately interested in ESaaS.
Speaking to Mission Critical Power at Data Centre World, Simon Brady, from Vertiv, observed that: “It is always a challenge when it comes to energy efficiency and balancing this with resiliency.” He believes that there are significant opportunities to make energy savings but data centre operators need to tackle the basics first; many are missing out on the low hanging fruit and failing to implement best practice.
Also high on the agenda was the rapid growth in the data centre sector and the need for effective strategies to speed up deployment of infrastructure through modular solutions. We asked Simon Brady for his views on how data centres can improve efficiency, the impact of 5G on energy consumption and why modular data centres are an efficient way of building out capacity. Click on the video link above to find out more…
