| Kippreport.com

Brocade service could help reduce billions in data centre operations costs

April 6, 2009 12:00 by Aarti Nagraj

Energy efficiency of IT equipment is beginning to drive purchasing decisions in the data centre; for example, $29 billion is spent annually just on server power and cooling according to industry research firm IDC*.

Similarly, in a study conducted in late 2008, Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) found that 44 per cent of European IT directors** believed that their companies devoted up to a quarter of their total operational expenditure, or OpEx, on energy-related costs.  To help alleviate the pressure on corporate budgets and contribute to global energy efficiency, Brocade today introduced the Brocade Energy Efficiency Review, a new service that will help organisations optimise their data centre environments and minimise costs.

The Brocade Energy Efficiency Review is designed to provide a clear picture of the data centre environment, starting with a holistic evaluation of an organisation’s data centre energy use, cooling capacity, air distribution and ancillary environmental factors that can impact both operational costs and reliable service.  Once complete, Brocade provides an in-depth report to the organisation’s site support team to help them build and maintain high-availability, mission critical data centre environments that are energy and cost-efficient.

“In today’s economic climate, organisations must consider every aspect of their infrastructure when looking to conserve energy and costs,” said Claus Egge, Program Director at IDC’s Storage Group. “One can no longer just assess the IT infrastructure on its own, but the performance of ancillary systems such as cooling, cabling and floor design must be critically evaluated. By conducting holistic reviews of the data centre environment, companies can dramatically optimise efficiency and maximise budgets.”

“Many of the data centres in use today were built 10 years ago, and as demand has risen have been packed to capacity with new, power-hungry equipment,” stated Peter Schwaar, senior director – Services Delivery, Brocade Global Services “Unfortunately, most of these original facilities were not designed to handle the requirements of modern, densely packed IT equipment.  In some cases, organisations have retrofitted older data centres with new power feeds and up-rated cooling systems to cope with the increased demand.  This only exacerbates the problem as it puts more pressure on already over-stretched resources – both physical and financial – which is where Brocade steps in to offer relief.”

While it will provide a useful report of conditions, the Brocade Energy Efficiency Review is designed to help identify any actual problems or potential susceptibilities that could impact operational performance.  The service is delivered as a four-part package:

• Project planning – experienced professionals liaise with the customer to set objectives and develop a strategic project plan;
• Site visit – including a detailed examination of the data centre, its environmental conditions and overall layout;
• Data analysis and report preparation – data from the site visit is analysed and prepared into a report which will include the assessment of the data centre environment (incl. temperature, humidity, air conditioning efficiency, cabling etc.) and remedial suggestions;
• Presentation – all findings are then presented to the organisation’s site team and discussed in detail.

For more information on the Brocade Energy Efficiency Review contact emea-info@brocade.com or visit http://www.brocade.com/downloads/documents/data_sheets/services_data_sheets/Brocade_Energy_Efficiency_Review_DS_00.pdf.

About Brocade

Brocade^® (Nasdaq: BRCD) develops extraordinary networking solutions that enable today’s complex, data-intensive businesses to optimize information connectivity and maximize the business value of their data. For more information, visit www.brocade.com.

References

* Source: IDC Worldwide Datacenter Network 2008-2012 Forecast, 2008

** Survey of 8,000 European IT directors across UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Benelux, Italy and Spain

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