Critical Infrastructure

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Helping companies plan, design, operate, and eventually refresh or repurpose their data centers more efficiently and effectively is a core part of Eaton Corporation’s mission. 

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system designs have taken a decided turn in recent years as drivers such as lower utility costs and greener technologies become a greater part of every design discussion. 

Information is an incredible source of value, and companies increasingly need information to run their businesses more effectively. 

Cloud computing is the newest technological wave in the data center industry. 

A webinar I did for Mission Critical on August 22 inspired me to publish some FAQs about the subject of electrical safety. I included some questions asked by our audience during and after the event and many I have been asked over the years.

With respect to disaster planning and backup power requirements, Hurricane Katrina was a real wakeup call. Prior to Katrina, most hospitals and emergency medical facilities thought their trusty backup generators would provide all the long-term power protection they needed in an emergency. 

Are the issues of tomorrow’s data centers anything like they are today? A recent study by the Uptime Institute found that many of the expected challenges in 2016 are very similar to present issues, although some will be substantially different.

Data center managers are under the gun. Companies realize that to compete in the global marketplace, they need a strong data center to back them up. This puts the role of the data center manager front and center, as he holds the key to increasing infrastructure performance, cutting operational costs, and maximizing data center and power efficiencies.

IT technology has increased in density over the past decade to the point where individual racks can now require more than 30,000 watts of energy. In 2007, an article by John Niemann, product line manager at APC-MGE, reported that new server technologies were driving power densities in excess of 30 kilowatts per cabinet.

A 2006 AFCOM membership survey revealed that one out of every four data centers will experience a business disruption serious enough to affect the company’s ability to continue business-as-usual.