Johannesburg, 12 Jun 2017
CIOs and CTOs have a lot on their plates. Not only do they have to stay abreast of new technology and the legislation and compliance around IT, they also have to be able to predict the future - and plan for it. Jacques Klopper, General Manager: Sales at Rittal South Africa, says, "When it comes to the data centre, regardless of whether you're building from scratch or upgrading an existing one, CXOs need a five- to ten-year-plan."
While there's no one-size-fits all solution, and each business has its own requirements of a data centre, there are certain common elements that need to be considered.
It all comes down to cost-efficiencies, explains Klopper. "If you consider that a newly built data centre can cost anything between R100 million and R300-million, depending on size and functionality, imagine having to get that kind of budget approved every couple of years. However, if you plan today for a R250-million data centre that'll last ten years, that makes better business sense."
In order to plan ahead, CXOs need to consider an array of elements, including best practice, global standards and also what their peers are doing to future proof their data centres and ensure they run efficiently and optimally. "Obviously," continues Klopper, "security is a huge issue, and it's not just the biometrics at the door, it's the physical security of the data centre itself. If you think back a few months to the floods on the highway in the vicinity of Edenvale, water streamed into the almost every business and other buildings in the area. You need to protect your data centre against environmental conditions too."
Then there's how you're going to cool the data centre, with costs split between capex and opex - the cost of building the data centre versus the cost of operating and running it. Klopper says, "The operating costs largely come down to energy, and the price of electricity is only going to go up, and it's not a limitless resource. CXOs are well advised to consider implementing a green IT infrastructure that'll use less energy without compromising on cooling capacity, while also being scalable (ie modular) to accommodate future demands on the data centre."
The data centre enclosure is often regarded as little more than a metal box. However, it's more complex than it appears, as it needs to be able to accommodate the cooling burden placed on it by allowing air to move in and out, and its weight-bearing capacity needs to be as high as possible. This is so that, as the data centre evolves over time, the enclosure can accommodate the increased cooling and weight requirements.
Another item to consider, says Klopper, is the management and monitoring of the data centre, which can be outsourced as a service or done in-house. He advises, "If you choose to handle this in-house, you'll need a network operations centre, either operated by the customer or outsourced to a system integrator. Whichever route you choose, it's important to select a management system that can cater for different protocols, so the customer isn't locked into any one product range or set and can choose best-of-breed solutions going forward."
It's also important to ensure that power availability within the data centre is planned so that if you want to upgrade or add equipment, you know how many amps you have available and how much additional equipment you can install, otherwise you'll need to install a new rack or decommission some of the equipment before you can enable the new kit.
"The overall message," according to Klopper, "is that you should always use the best quality solutions available, don't be penny wise and pound foolish, and partner with a provider that can supply and support a solution that's been quality tested and certified by respected, independent bodies."
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