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Editor’s comment
Netherlands authorities
halt datacentre
construction and call
for a policy rethink
CWEurope SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 2019
Contrasting fortunes
for French and German
companies in India
Google increases
investments in Finland
Smart technology
with focus on data
will transform Dutch
neighbourhood
Air France Hop takes

to the air with Pure
Storage to avoid big
storage complexity
Climate change and the

datacentre industry
Building
PUGUN & PHOTO STUDIO/ADOBE

blocks
Dutch authorities call
a temporary halt to
datacentre construction
computerweekly.com cw europe September-November 2019 1
CW
EDITOR’S COMMENT
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EDITORIAL
Editor’s comment
Editor: Karl Flinders
020 7186 1423 | [email protected]
Datacentre halt is shock to the system
E
Editor in chief: Bryan Glick
halt datacentre
for a policyPRODUCTION
rethink uropean countries are currently battling it out to attract companies looking to build datacentres. Governments in Nordic countries
Production editor: Claire Cormack in particular are offering lower taxes and an abundant supply of green energy to entice the likes of Google and Microsoft.
Contrasting fortunes The Netherlands is another country that has for years attracted datacentre investment and has seen major construction pro-
Senior sub-editor:
for French and German Bob Wells
020 7186 1462in| India
companies [email protected] jects. Amsterdam alone has 33 datacentres within a radius of 20km. So when the local authorities in Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer
Senior sub-editor: Jaime Lee Daniels decided to call an immediate halt to datacentre construction, it was a shock.
Google increases The Dutch municipalities are putting all datacentre construction on hold while they put together a strategy to help them control devel-
Senior sub-editor: Ryan Priest
020 7186 1420 | [email protected] opments. Local aldermen said datacentres take up a lot of space and, because of their high energy consumption, place a large burden
SALES on the electricity grid.
Smart technology The Dutch Data Center Association was a little surprised, to say the
T
Vice-president of sales, EMEA: Jat Hayer
with focus on data
07557 433681 | [email protected]
will transform Dutch least. There is a fear that investment might start to dry up if large IT here is a fear that
neighbourhood
companies face too many hurdles when planning to build datacentres in
Published by TechTarget
the Netherlands.
investment might start to
275France
Air Grove Street,
Hop Newton,
takes MA 02466
to the airwww.techtarget.com
with Pure
But this is certainly not the case in Finland. Read in this issue how dry up if large IT companies
Storage to avoid big Google is investing €600m to build a next-generation datacentre at
© 2019 TechTarget Inc. No part of this
storage complexity
publication may be transmitted or reproduced Hamina, a coastal town 145km east of Finnish capital Helsinki and close face too many hurdles when
In any form or by any means without written
to the Russian border. Google has also partnered with the City of Helsinki
permission from the publisher. TechTarget
Climate
reprints changethrough
are available and theThe YGS Group. to establish a technology training hub that aims to deliver entry-level and planning to build datacentres
datacentre industry
About TechTarget advanced digital skills courses.
TechTarget publishes media for information Also in this issue, we look at the contrasting fortunes of French and German companies when it comes to taking advantage of IT ser-
technology professionals. More than 100
focused websites enable quick access to a vices in India. Companies in France, it seems, are way ahead of their German counterparts on this front. French enterprises, including
deep store of news, advice and analysis about
the technologies, products and processes the likes of BNP Paribas and Societe Générale, employ about 226,000 full-time employees in global delivery centres in India, whereas
crucial to your job. Our live and virtual events
give you direct access to independent expert
German companies employ a total of just 63,000. Find out why in this issue. n
commentary and advice. At IT Knowledge
Exchange, our social community, you
can get advice and share solutions Karl Flinders, editor
with peers and experts.
cw europe September-November 2019 2

DATACENTRES
Home
Editor’s comment
Netherlands authorities halt datacentre
construction and call for a policy rethink
halt datacentre
Contrasting fortunes Two local authorities in the Netherlands have put the brakes on datacentre construction to give
companies in India them time to put policies in place to gain more control over datacentre builds. Kim Loohuis reports
T
Google increases
investments in Finland he Netherlands municipalities of Amsterdam and or what requirements they have to meet,” said Marieke van
Haarlemmermeer have called an immediate stop to the Doorninck, alderman for sustainability and spatial development
Smart technology construction of datacentres in the region while a new of Amsterdam, and Mariëtte Sedee, alderman for spatial develop-
with focus on data
will transform Dutch policy is established. ment, environment and agricultural affairs at Haarlemmermeer.
neighbourhood
According to the aldermen involved, datacentres take up a lot To gain more control over the establishment of datacentres,
of space and, because of their high energy consumption, place a both municipalities took a preparatory decision on 12 July, under
large burden on the electricity grid. which the construction of datacentres will be temporarily halted
Storage to avoid big The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (MRA) is now the largest in anticipation of a new regional policy.
storage complexity
in Europe in terms of the number and size of datacentres located The Dutch Data Center Association (DDA) reacted with aston-
there. Around Amsterdam, there are at least 33 datacentres ishment to this announcement. “The Amsterdam region has
datacentre industry within a radius of 20km. played a key role in the development of the internet and has
The municipalities of Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer rec- grown to become the world’s most important internet node – the
ognise that datacentres have now become indispensable facili- largest in Europe,” it said. “Our excellent datacentre infrastructure
ties for almost all residents, companies and institutions, but have is a magnet for [international] tech companies and creates a lot
criticised the amount of space occupied by the buildings and the of jobs. Together with the cloud sector, it accounts for 20% of
pressure they put on the energy network. foreign direct investment in the Netherlands.”
“At the moment, municipalities have hardly any instruments The DDA expressed surprise that such a drastic decision has
at their disposal to control where the datacentres are located, been taken, and so suddenly, by announcing a temporary halt to

DATACENTRES
Home
Editor’s comment construction. “Our sector is strongly committed to sustainability
INTERPIXELS/ADOBE
and hardly takes up any space compared with other sectors,” it There are at least 33 datacentres within
a 20km radius of Amsterdam, putting
Netherlands authorities said in a statement.
halt datacentre pressure on the electricity network
“What is more, the datacentre industry runs entirely on elec-
for a policy rethink tricity, unlike many other industries, and more than 80% of the
datacentres now run on green electricity.
Contrasting fortunes “What is particularly surprising is that it is precisely these
companies in India authorities that do not want to enter into dialogue and they do
not want to go into more detail about what is actually happening.”
Google increases
investments in Finland Digitisation strategy
With its digitisation strategy, the Dutch government is focus-
Smart technology ing on new technological developments such as artificial intel-
with focus on data
will transform Dutch ligence and cloud computing, and the current halt in datacentre
neighbourhood
construction could undermine this. “How can we opt for 5G, for
example, without the growth of datacentres?” said DDA spokes-
man Eline Stuivenwold.
Storage to avoid big The economic importance of datacentres is certainly under-
storage complexity
stood by the aldermen, but they are of the opinion that a new
policy is needed. The aim is for datacentres to take up as little
datacentre industry space as possible and to fit their architecture properly into the
surrounding area.
The municipalities are inviting the datacentre sector to join
them in discussing a new datacentre location policy, which should
be ready by the end of this year.
The DDA grabbed this invitation with both hands and said: “This
restrictive policy is not necessary at all – the sector is benevolent
and is open to a joint search for solutions.” n
❯Shortage of power availability in Amsterdam might see datacentres go elsewhere.

OVERSEAS OPERATIONS
Home
Editor’s comment
Contrasting fortunes for French and
German companies in embracing India
halt datacentre
Contrasting fortunes France is racing ahead of Germany in making the most of service companies in India. Alex Cruickshank reports
companies in India
Google increases
Smart technology
with focus on data
C apgemini’s acquisition of Altran in June made waves in
global markets and surprised some analysts, yet it hardly
came out of the blue.
The move is representative of an ongoing trend that’s seeing
growing success for French companies such as Altran that lever-
French companies are all global businesses, all the biggest com-
panies – they operate around the world, compete around the
world and they are listed companies, hence they are measured
against other companies by the financial community.”
By contrast, a higher proportion of German companies are pri-
neighbourhood
age Indian global service companies with enthusiasm and drive, vately owned, and therefore not subject to such intense share-
helping them to stay competitive. By contrast, German organisa- holder pressure. In some circumstances, this can be advanta-
tions appear to be languishing in the doldrums when it comes to geous, but the lack of constant impetus to stay ahead of emerging
Storage to avoid big such potential, either unwilling or unable to change their business trends can be highly damaging in the long term.
storage complexity
models to take advantage of India’s move up the value curve.
The most prominent French companies – including Publicis, BNP India’s value to global companies
datacentre industry Paribas, Societe Générale, Renault-Nissan, Airbus and Capgemini But why India and why now? There are several reasons why
– employ a total of about 226,000 full-time employees in global international companies are sitting up and taking more notice,
delivery centres in India. By contrast, German companies – especially in the engineering world. A major reason is the clean-
including SAP, Bosch, Deutsche Bank and Siemens – employ just sheet approach. In India, there’s no legacy in terms of manufac-
63,000. It’s a significant disparity, but why? turing and engineering methodology, which means more open-
Public listing is a major reason for French companies’ more minded thinking about ways to solve problems.
aggressive use of Indian expertise. Peter Schumacher, CEO of Indian employees in these sectors are also substantially younger
management consultancy Value Leadership Group, said: “These on average, which tends to make them more open to new ideas

OVERSEAS OPERATIONS
Home
Editor’s comment and new collaboration technologies. “You can’t really successfully the developing world are lower than in France, so if they carried
apply the tech of 10 to 15 years ago to what’s going to happen out all their engineering work in France or Germany at a high price
Netherlands authorities in the future,” said Schumacher. “In India, there’s no such legacy. point, the end product price would also be higher and therefore
halt datacentre
Young people are eager, ambitious, incredibly driven to do well not competitive against Indian and Chinese companies. It makes
for a policy rethink and solve problems. Workers there today are making more in a more sense to design and build in India wherever possible.
month than their parents made in 10 years.” As a result, Bangalore already has more office space than
Contrasting fortunes Related to this, there are enormous efficiency gains to be Shanghai or Singapore – 150 million square feet and adding 15 mil-
companies in India achieved by establishing engineering footholds in India. For some lion square feet a year dedicated to IT and engineering services.
international companies, shifting operations to India is one of the “The French services companies have benefited enormously
Google increases largest efficiency drivers of their business. – lower cost, higher profitability, access to new markets (US),
investments in Finland faster growth, new services, new organisational capabilities,”
said Schumacher. “They have reinvented themselves. In contrast,
Smart technology
with focus on data
“You can’t really apply the tech German companies have been much more reluctant with regard
of 10 to 15 years ago to what’s
will transform Dutch to services from India.”
neighbourhood

going to happen in the future” Major competitive shift
Zooming in on IT services, and engineering in particular, a major
Peter Schumacher, Value Leadership Group competitive shift has taken place in the past 15 years or so.
storage complexity
Indian companies have made significant headway into Europe.
Also, particularly in the automotive/engineering space, there is For example, in the European IT services space, Indian giant TCS
datacentre industry a significant need for IT expertise, and currently there’s a dearth has revenues of $6bn in Europe a year and has become a $120bn
of talent in France in science, technology, engineering and maths company, equal to Accenture. It’s growing quickly, helped by
(STEM) disciplines. Engineering companies cannot get new peo- pricing some of its services well below those of its competitors.
ple quickly enough, yet they need to be able to scale up quickly to This has taken some European companies by surprise, leaving
respond to competitors. It’s not practical to gear up in five years them with a choice of remaining niche players, dying, or embrac-
– it has to happen now. ing the global delivery model.
Some French manufacturing businesses are also expanding Capgemini is one of the few European IT services companies to
their markets into India and Asia more generally. Price points in take advantage of the opportunities offered by India. By doing so,
❯Apple announces it will open a development centre in Hyderabad, India.

NOPPASINW/ADOBE
TOPIC HERE
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Editor’s comment
halt datacentre
companies in India
Google increases
Smart technology
with focus on data Bangalore has more office space than Shanghai or Singapore
neighbourhood

it has become more competitive and has also grown its platform The German economy is, on the whole, slow, sluggish, conserv-
Storage to avoid big into the US. It has acquired various Indian companies, and French ative and resistant to change, and new processes take a long time
storage complexity
companies with significant Indian presence, such as Altran. to learn how to do well. It’s a difficult challenge to manage remote
By contrast, German companies tend to be far slower to respond teams, especially across different cultures.
datacentre industry to such changes in the international landscape. Schumacher gave So even if German industry wanted to try to catch up with the
the example of T-Systems, which “dabbled with plans for India French in India, it’s not going to happen overnight. There’s a learn-
but never fully committed to them, ending up selling that part of ing process to go through and some seriously tough conversa-
the business to Cognizant”. tions to be had with unions.
T-Systems’ new CEO is well aware of the need to focus on India Meanwhile, French companies such as Capgemini are likely to
to become more competitive, but after 20 years of delay, not to keep moving forward, pulling even further ahead of their German
mention Germany’s strong unions blocking such innovation, there counterparts. Caution is understandable in business but, as
is a lot of catching up to do. Schumacher says: “Sometimes the safer bet is to take the risk.” n

TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT
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Editor’s comment
Google increases investments in Finland
halt datacentre
for a policy rethink Plans include new datacentre in Hamina and technology training hub in Helsinki, writes Gerard O’Dwyer
G
oogle is deepening its commitment to Finland through
SCANRAIL/ADOBE
companies in India
a strategy that is being supported by national and local
Google increases state industrial development agencies.
investments in Finland Firstly, the web giant is investing €600m to build a next-genera-
tion datacentre at Hamina, a coastal town 145km (90 miles) east
Smart technology of Finnish capital Helsinki and close to the border with Russia.
with focus on data
will transform Dutch In a second major capital commitment, Google has partnered
neighbourhood
with the City of Helsinki to establish a technology training hub
that will deliver entry-level and advanced digital skills courses to
job seekers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
storage complexity
Seawater for cooling
In fact, Google is no stranger to Finland or Hamina, having opened
datacentre industry a datacentre in the town in 2011. Hamina has since become one
of Google’s most advanced and cost-efficient datacentres – its
cooling system uses seawater from the Gulf of Finland.
The new datacentre at Hamina is being built on the site of a dis-
used paper factory, and will increase Google’s total capital invest-
ment in Finland since 2011 to €1.4bn. “It is government policy to Google has partnered with the City of Helsinki to
bring more international technology companies and investment establish a tech training hub in the Finnish capital
to Finland,” said Jari Gustafsson, permanent secretary at Finland’s

TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT
Home
Editor’s comment ministry of economic affairs and employment. “Google’s new 2018. Under the deals, the energy groups will build three wind
datacentre will strengthen Finland’s digital infrastructure and fits parks, producing a combined output of 190MW.
Netherlands authorities with the image Finland wants to communicate to the world.” The Hamina datacentre was the 16th of Google’s Cloud Platform
halt datacentre
Finland’s attractiveness for datacentre operators is enhanced regions, which now number 20. “Hamina’s designation as a Cloud
for a policy rethink by its low energy cost base and cool climate. Apart from Google, Region further bolsters Finland’s digital and cloud ecosystem,”
Silent Partner Group (SPG) and Equinix are also progressing with said Alpo Akujärvi, head of industry and datacentres at state-
Contrasting fortunes datacentre investment projects in Finland. SPG plans to build up industrial development agency Invest in Finland. “It also improves
companies in India to four hyper-scale datacentres in Hamina, Sotkamo and Tornio, the cloud services offered by Finnish and Nordic businesses.”
while Equinix is building an International Business Exchange (IBX)
Google increases datacentre in Helsinki powered by renewable energy. Tech Training Hub partnership
investments in Finland The deepening of Google’s relationship with Finland is also illus-
Attractive for datacentre operators trated by its Tech Training Hub (TTH) partnership with the City
Smart technology Local conditions, including improved access to competitively of Helsinki. The TTH will function as a technology education cen-
with focus on data
will transform Dutch priced renewable power, skills and a strong digital environment, tre, linking TTH graduates with job opportunities at Google and
neighbourhood
continue to make Finland an attractive hub for datacentre oper- other firms in Helsinki, said Jan Vapaavuori, mayor of Helsinki.
ations, said Antti Järvinen, Google’s country manager in Finland. “Our initial target is to train 10,000 job seekers,” said Vapaavuori.
“The investments we are making are essential for us,” said “We also want to engage with SMEs. In partnership with Google,
Storage to avoid big Järvinen. “The demand for Google’s services is growing exponen- we will use the TTH to help job seekers and entrepreneurs progress
storage complexity
tially. We are building our datacentre infrastructure to meet this their careers by improving their digital skills and employability.”
need. Our investments are also having a positive impact on the The City of Helsinki and Google are looking at sites in Helsinki to
datacentre industry Finnish economy, including the creation of jobs.” host the TTH. Google will finance all education-related activities
Google’s datacentre operation in Hamina has undergone a series in the hub, while the City will handle marketing, staff recruitment,
of capacity enlargements since 2011. It added a second server hall and organising student intake and course selection.
in 2012, and a surge in demand for online video and new cloud Google’s presence in Finland is also generating a rise in business
computing services prompted further capacity expansion in 2013. deals and interactions with the country’s indigenous tech sec-
Seeking a long-term sustainable solution to power its Hamina tor. For example, HMD Global, which produces Nokia-branded
datacentre hub, Google signed electricity purchase deals with phones and tablets under licence from Microsoft, has moved its
renewable energy developers CPC, Neoen and WPD in September Nokia user data to Google’s servers in Hamina. n
❯Google plots datacentre expansions in Germany and North America.

INTERNET OF THINGS
Home
Editor’s comment
Smart technology with focus on data
will transform Dutch neighbourhood
halt datacentre
Contrasting fortunes Smart neighbourhood project in the Netherlands is a pilot for how people could live in the future, writes Kim Loohuis
companies in India
Google increases
Smart technology
with focus on data
A residential neighbourhood in the Netherlands is being
transformed in a pilot project that aims to design the urban
environment in conjunction with new smart technologies
for transport, health and energy. The locality, in Brandenvoort,
will be a testing ground for new products, services and systems
will go hand-in-hand through step-by-step co-creative develop-
ment. We are learning on the job and will apply everything we
learn directly in the further development of the neighbourhood.”
One of the interesting aspects of BSD are its goals around data.
The basic principle is that residents will have control and freedom
neighbourhood
through the Brainport Smart District (BSD) project. of choice over their data. Clear rules are being drawn up to ensure
BSD director Peter Portheine said: “In cooperation with the compliance with data legislation and regulations. The infrastruc-
Eindhoven University of Technology, we looked at where we could ture needed to make these data flows possible, including data-
Storage to avoid big create such a district. We ended up in the Brandenvoort district in centres, will be included in the urban development plan.
storage complexity
Helmond, because it was already largely smart and has space to
build 1,500 homes and 12 hectares of business destinations. Numerous experiments
datacentre industry “We are striving for a new, smart neighbourhood that does not The BSD Foundation is currently inviting companies and knowl-
further burden, pollute or deplete our planet – a neighbourhood edge institutions to submit proposals for the project. “Numerous
that uses technology to add meaning to the lives of the people experiments have already been submitted and are now being
who use it or go to live in it.” critically examined by a selection committee,” said Portheine.
Portheine has been involved in setting up the BSD programme “The experiments that can actually be carried out must be
since the end of 2017. The aim is to create a sustainable and innovative and add something to the world, but also to our pro-
socially cohesive neighbourhood. “BSD will not be designed first gramme. The first experiments, in the field of circular housing,
and built afterwards,” he said. “Instead, design and construction should start by the end of this year.

TOPIC HERE
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Editor’s comment
halt datacentre
BRAINPORT.NL
Many experiments are planned
for the Brainport Smart District
companies in India
Google increases “Our own office, a circular building with its own energy sys- Sensors located in and around a resident’s home can collect
investments in Finland tem, will also be located there. In this way, we will be pushing the valuable information, said Portheine. “When a resident’s energy
boundaries of innovation, not only in the field of technology, but or water consumption suddenly shows big changes, it reveals
Smart technology also in the field of regulation. something about the residents’ behaviour,” he said. “This may
with focus on data
will transform Dutch “At the moment, we want more than is actually possible. That help older, vulnerable residents to live independently for longer.”
neighbourhood
is why we are working with various ministries to see how we can Organisations and governments can use this data to gain
make innovative experiments possible. After all, laws and regula- insights into the services that residents need and how individuals
tions may have to change in order to achieve this. Innovation is, by can be helped, but also where there may be risks.
Storage to avoid big definition, touching the borders of legislation and regulation. At Portheine expects residents in the smart neighbourhood to
storage complexity
the moment, this governance is a large part of our work.” organise themselves in order to exert more influence on, for
One of the organisations that wants to experiment with resi- example, how mobility and energy are organised locally.
datacentre industry dents’ data in the smart neighbourhood is UNSense. It wants to Citizen participation is an important factor in the development
launch a project to investigate what happens when data is used of the smart neighbourhood. Portheine and his team are therefore
for the benefit of the entire local community. “The residents will looking with interest at two cities where the smart city concept
remain the owners of their data at all times,” said Portheine. “They has been introduced less successfully. “In the South Korean city
will decide whether they want to cooperate with an experiment.” of Busan, a new housing estate with apartments full of sensors
To guarantee this, a trusted body is being established to oversee and technology has been built from the ground up, but without
experiments, so that residents can see whether the projects meet the participation of citizens,” he said. “It has now become a kind
the requirements on privacy, property, security and ethics. of tech ghetto where no one wants to live.”
❯A tale of two smart cities: the UK’s Manchester and Australia’s Casey.
INTERNET OF THINGS
Home
Editor’s comment Another project also serves as a lesson for the BSD Foundation important too soon and the residents’ views will be lost sight of.
– the Sidewalk Toronto initiative in Canada, which was developed We want to prevent this from happening. At the same time, we
Netherlands authorities by Google owner Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs in collaboration with want to intensify cooperation with the market in the coming year,
halt datacentre
the City of Toronto. “Google thought it would be possible to build and we now have frameworks for that cooperation.”
for a policy rethink a district and become the owner of all the data from that district,” Portheine said 250 homes of various types and for different
said Portheine. “But they were sent back to the drawing board by target groups will be built in the next three years, and the first
Contrasting fortunes the city council of Toronto to give residents more influence.” 10 experiments are under way. “Not every experiment has to be
companies in India The BSD Foundation has reflected on these projects. “That is a success, but when the system proves itself in a public-private
why we started with governments and knowledge institutions partnership, we call it a success,” he said. “And when, in six or
Google increases in the first place,” said Portheine. “If you bring in private compa- seven years, 3,000-4,000 people are enjoying life in the Brainport
investments in Finland nies too quickly, there is a risk that the market will become too Smart District, the ultimate goal will have been achieved.” n
Smart technology
with focus on data
neighbourhood
The seven programme lines that guide the Brainport Smart District projects
nC
ircular and sustainable district: It will be an attractive living nS
ocial and safe district: The ambition is for all residents to join
Storage to avoid big environment in which self-sufficiency, co-creation with users in, get by and get ahead. Social cohesion also contributes to a
storage complexity
and sustainable use of natural resources are combined with district that is safe and where people feel safe.
existing and future technologies. Circularity is crucial. nH
ealthy district: Health and welfare are being promoted by
datacentre industry nR
esident participation: Developing a new smart district offers helping each other and by creating a clean, green and attractive
great opportunities to improve people’s living environment and outdoor space that encourages people to exercise and interact.
use new technology in a meaningful way. nM
obile district: New tech such as self-driving cars and ride-
nD
igital district: Data is needed to optimally tailor the district sharing startups offer opportunities to make travelling more
to the residents’ wishes and facilitate different information comfortable and reduce its environmental impact.
streams and innovations. The starting point is that residents nD
istrict with energy: A user-focused energy system, including
have control and freedom of choice when it comes to their data. a “smarter grid”, will help to create an adaptive energy system.

FLASH STORAGE
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Editor’s comment
Air France Hop takes to the air with Pure
Storage to avoid big storage complexity
halt datacentre
Contrasting fortunes Air France’s short-haul and regional brand Hop has jumped to Pure Storage after coming up against
companies in India Dell EMC, NetApp and HPE, which all tried to sell it systems ill-suited to its needs. Yann Serra reports
A
Google increases
investments in Finland ir France Hop is in the middle of a business and IT It runs about 500 virtual machines and 35TB of storage in pro-
transformation that includes a decision to do away with duction to support these.
Smart technology datacentre specialisms. There are also new tools for as-yet unfinished projects in predic-
with focus on data
will transform Dutch This is not something Hop’s incumbent storage suppli- tive maintenance, which is a critical area in which every compo-
neighbourhood
ers wanted to hear. In the face of their stubbornness, Hop CIO nent must function with watch-like precision.
Ludovic Kervella decided to cut ties and go for new flash storage
arrays from relative newcomer Pure Storage, in a move that has Orient towards the application
Storage to avoid big seen it make gains in performance and datacentre space, but also “To maintain our operational IT systems, we need to orient
storage complexity
in terms of its ease of use. towards the application and away from the underlying layers,”
“Hop’s mission since becoming Air France Hop in February is to said Kervella. “With a small team, we can’t specialise any more,
datacentre industry make sure aircraft and crews are always available, so that flights with people in silos. If anything depends on an important skill-
are guaranteed,” said Kervella. “The commercial side of things set, we might not be able to guarantee a service if someone goes
is being handled by Air France from now on. From my point of on holiday, for example.
view, that means our 50 FTEs [full-time equivalents] must use “Our IT professionals must be generalists because we don’t
the most modern tools to make information available to our 1,600 have the resources to support all the kinds of things that might
crew and 1,000 people on the ground.” need a call to an expert at 2am.”
Air France Hop uses about 100 applications that include soft- To the end of 2017, Hop relied on Dell EMC VNX storage arrays
ware packages specific to aircraft operations and communication. in its two datacentres, linked using a VPlex virtualisation layer.

FABRIZIO BERNI/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
TOPIC HERE
Home
Editor’s comment
halt datacentre
companies in India
Google increases
Smart technology Air France Hop says its storage services are
with focus on data flying high after switching to Pure Storage
neighbourhood

Storage to avoid big Kervella vouches for the reliability of those products, but had But time was pressing. Kervella didn’t have time to carry out
storage complexity
become keenly aware of the specific skills needed to run them. So, tests on new solutions – and the suppliers knew that. What the
somewhat disenchanted, when the Dell EMC kit reached end of incumbents did not anticipate, however, was that people had
datacentre industry life, Hop’s CIO looked to the market for a simpler solution. started to hear about another airline that had enjoyed a good
“We saw Dell EMC, NetApp and HPE, which all have innovative experience with Pure Storage, and that this had also reached the
products in their ranges,” says Kervella. “But, based on the fact ears of Air France Hop.
that we had previously used complex solutions, they didn’t pro- “We acted on that experience and opted for two Pure Storage
pose these [newer, simpler-to-use products]. Dell EMC wanted M20 arrays, deployed in active-active mode, at a price that was
to sell us VPlex again, while for NetApp, nothing was possible similar to those of the other suppliers,” said Kervella.
without MetroCluster. It didn’t hear what we were saying, that all What most seduced Kervella was the easy-to-use approach of
these components needed specialised skills.” Pure Storage. In a traditional storage array, a specialist might take
❯NVMe flash offers blistering performance gains, but the big five take it slowly.
FLASH STORAGE
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Editor’s comment up to three days to configure for a new project. With Pure Storage, “The most important improvements are in database dumps,
a single member of staff at a single interface could build all the which now execute in 40 minutes where they previously took an
Netherlands authorities virtual machines (VMs) and their storage in a morning. hour and a half,” said Kervella. “However, the advantages of flash
halt datacentre
“Take the example of active-active functionality,” said Kervella. will come to the fore in business applications, which will be deci-
for a policy rethink “Previously, we would have needed to constantly go between sive in our new predictive maintenance project.”
EMC and VMware consoles to configure every project. With Pure
Storage, space created on the first array is automatically created
“With the ease of use and the
companies in India on the second. Settings are minimal and projects are deployed
more rapidly.” transparency, we have great
Google increases The two M20 arrays were installed in February 2018, with pro-
investments in Finland duction switched over a month later. “All our servers are virtual, confidence in our storage.
so the migration was easy,” said Kervella. “We used VMware
Smart technology
with focus on data
vMotion. We set the hypervisor to execute the VMs on another Now we are serene, where
neighbourhood
physical server, which allowed it to migrate very simply to the
once there was stress”
new array.”
This way of doing things allowed Kervella’s team to migrate all Ludovic Kervella, Air France Hop
Hop’s applications, from the most mundane to the most critical, in
Storage to avoid big about a week, during working hours and with no impact on users. The Air France Hop CIO has discovered that the simplicity in
storage complexity
use of the Pure Storage arrays also extends to their maintenance.
Less space, more speed “Historically, we have always been dependent on maintenance
datacentre industry The chief benefit of the new configuration is physical. Each M20 operations being carried out by the supplier,” he said. “Typically,
array has capacity up to 100TB, but in just 4U of rack space. The controller software updates required one or two people to work
60TB of the previous setup took up 39U by the end of its time. on actions specified by Dell EMC. Now the process is totally
“With drive capacity mostly being flash now, we have noticed that transparent – Pure Storage handles things remotely and we just
power consumption is about 10% of what it was,” said Kervella. get an email to say what has taken place.”
Of course, flash is also very fast. But for now, the key benefit “With the ease of use and the transparency [with Pure Storage],
here is that it allows nightly backups to run 20-30% more quickly we have great confidence in our storage. Now we are serene,
and to not impinge on the working day. where once there was stress.” n

DATACENTRES AND CLIMATE CHANGE
D atacentres are without doubt the beating heart of our

increasingly digital economy. For proof of that, you
only have to look at the havoc and disruption caused
when an outage results in a datacentre falling offline –
even if it is only for a relatively short time.
Such outages can be caused by operator error, power sup-
ply problems and defective hardware, but natural disasters and
extreme weather events can also play a part.
And for this reason, there are concerns that datacentre opera-
tors and owners are not doing enough to prepare themselves for
the havoc that climate change may cause to their facilities.
The Uptime Institute claims that many organisations are failing
to take preventive steps to protect their datacentre facilities from
being disrupted by heatwaves, water shortages, wildfires and
floods – all of which are on the rise because of global warming.
Ignoring the risk

In a global poll of 900 datacentre operators and IT profession-
Climate change and als, the datacentre think-tank found that 90% of respondents do
not think their organisation needs a flood-related disaster recov-
the datacentre industry

ery plan and 71% are not preparing for severe weather events.
Overall, the poll shows that 45% of respondents are “ignoring
the risk” of climate change and, in turn, global warming.
This is despite statistics from Conservation International show-
The energy usage habits of datacentres often see the sector ing that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmos-
labelled as a contributor to climate change, but the situation phere is the highest it has been for three million years, while
LAXMICO/ADOBE
appears far more nuanced than that, writes Nicholas Fearn an estimated 800 million people globally are vulnerable to the
effects of climate change.
HOME

Home
Editor’s comment “Datacentres will continue to be at the centre of climate change But as well as being at risk of the effects of climate change, there
discussions, not just because of the threats extreme weather poses is no shying away from the fact that the resource consumption
Netherlands authorities to mission-critical facilities, but also because datacentres depend habits of datacentres could be contributing to its onset, too.
halt datacentre
a great deal on utilities such as power, water and telecoms,” says Research shows that datacentres use 200TWh (terawatt hours)
for a policy rethink Andy Lawrence, executive director of Uptime Institute. of data a year, making up 1% of the world’s electricity demand. As
Lawrence believes the effects of climate change on datacentres the connected ecosystem rapidly expands, power consumption
Contrasting fortunes are “significant”, but too few operators are taking protective steps will grow exponentially. In fact, a study by Swedish researcher
companies in India to mitigate them, which could have dire consequences for them Anders Andrae predicts datacentres will be responsible for 33%
in the long run. “As little as a 1°F rise of global ICT electricity use by 2025.
in ambient temperatures can increase John Hammond, a meteorologist at
Google increases
investments in Finland cooling loads and significantly reduce “A s little as a 1°F rise in digital weather service weathertrend-
energy savings from free cooling,” he ambient temperatures can ing.com, says the underlying technology
Smart technology says. “Larger temperature increases can used by datacentres could be causing
with focus on data
will transform Dutch even reduce computing capacity. increase cooling loads and many of these challenges. “Despite the
neighbourhood
“Recent reports say that 3,600 miles advances in watercooling, many data-
of fibre in the coastal [areas of the] US significantly reduce energy centres still rely heavily on energy-hun-
”
will be underwater in less than 15 years, gry air-conditioning units, which have
to the air with Pure savings from free cooling
Storage to avoid big and changes in climate make previous the dubious honour of being both a way
storage complexity
assumptions about flooding suspect.” Andy Lawrence, Uptime Institute to mitigate the impact of global warming,
Lawrence adds: “Models project that and a major contributor to it,” he says.
datacentre industry the high-water marks of 100-year storms are now typical of Siting datacentres in very cold regions of the world is one way
30-year storms. Increased flooding can affect fuel deliveries and to reduce the need for air conditioning, Hammond concedes, but
staffing, and even reach IT equipment in some cases.” it is far from a total solution. “That ‘free’ cooling from the ambient
Because of the variety and severity of potential threats, air is often anything but,” he says. “Quite apart from the energy
Lawrence advises datacentre owners and operators to “conduct and cost spent building the infrastructure to supply these remote
regular resiliency reviews” and to “confer with public and utility locations, putting large buildings on areas that were once covered
authorities to understand how these agencies are preparing for by snow reduces the amount of solar energy the polar regions can
severe weather events”. reflect back into space, increasing the pace of climate change.”

JAMES THEW/ADOBE
Home
Editor’s comment
halt datacentre
companies in India
Google increases
Smart technology
with focus on data
neighbourhood

Hammond adds: “The reality is that many datacentre cooling “In certain areas of the world, what perhaps used to be a once-
Storage to avoid big systems, which will need to be used more intensively as global in-a-lifetime event – whether a flood, or a hurricane, or both –
storage complexity
temperatures rise, still work like fridges. They are heat pumps in now happens once every few years, and sometimes every year,”
reverse, consuming electricity to cool the immediate area and he says. “Based on projections from research agencies across the
datacentre industry radiating heat out into the atmosphere. So there must be no let-up globe, the situation could get significantly worse. Of course, in a
in the drive to make them less power-hungry and more efficient.” very small way, datacentres themselves are contributing to the
climate crisis, since much of the energy they currently consume
Impact of climate change comes from non-renewable sources.”
Dan Johnson, director of global business continuity and disas- That said, Johnson notes that datacentres have become far
ter recovery at managed services provider Ensono, says there is more efficient over the years. “The impact is not nearly what
mounting proof of the impact climate change is having on the it once was, and efficiency continues to improve,” he says. “As
world and its weather that operators continue to ignore. countries make the shift towards renewable [power sources],

Home
Editor’s comment datacentre operations will become even greener. In the US, most are leveraging renewable energy sources to combat the threats
datacentres have the building strength to cope with earthquakes posed by climate change, with one example being Digital Realty.
Netherlands authorities in areas where these happen, but flooding and hurricanes aren’t Aaron Binkley, director of sustainability at Digital Realty, says:
halt datacentre
always considered.” “Since 2016, we have signed 288MW of new renewable energy
for a policy rethink “Maintenance, staffing and fuel will all be affected during floods, contracts – 104 of which were signed in 2018 alone, demonstrat-
hurricanes and other freak weather incidents. Even if the datacen- ing the issue’s rising importance within the organisation. And our
Contrasting fortunes tre itself is not directly hit, employees and transport usually are.” efforts are starting to pay off. The power supply we currently use
companies in India To protect its datacentres to power our EMEA [Europe,
from weather threats, Ensono’s Middle East and Africa] and US
Google increases systems operate with multi- “E
xtreme weather events , colocation businesses is sourced
investments in Finland ple layers of redundancy, says
Johnson. “There is fuel storage
spearheaded by climate change , from 100% renewable energy.”
While Digital Realty is mak-
Smart technology
with focus on data
onsite for our backup genera- threaten two of the fundamental ing great strides to improve the
will transform Dutch tors and Ensono has additional sustainability of its datacentres,
neighbourhood
fuel deliveries in reserve to pro- components of datacentre design and Binkley says there has been an

vide continuous operation in any
public utility power cut,” he says.
operations resilience and uptime – ” industry-wide shift on the topic
of climate change. “Companies
Storage to avoid big “Multiple backup diesel genera- Aaron Binkley, Digital Realty controlling many of the larg-
storage complexity
tors are used, which are designed est datacentre portfolios in the
to endure the rain and wind accompanying severe storms.” world are also among the largest renewable energy purchasers,”
datacentre industry The company also conducts tests of its most critical applica- he says. “BNEF data shows that more than 120 corporate buyers
tions twice a year to ensure all day-to-day processes can continue signed clean energy contracts in 2018 alone, totalling 13.4GW.
if one of its datacentres is hit by disaster. “We have a rigorous “We must not shy away from climate change, with its effects
disaster recovery testing programme in place for the clients we becoming increasingly apparent. Extreme weather events, often
support to ensure they can continue operating should one of our spearheaded by climate change, threaten two of the very funda-
datacentres become impacted by a disaster,” says Johnson. mental components of datacentre design and operations – resil-
To safeguard vital IT assets now and in the future, organisations ience and uptime. And while we will always strive to provide our
must take global warming seriously. Many datacentre operators customers with outstanding service, we fully recognise and take
❯Datacentres are failing to factor climate change risks into disaster recovery plans.
Home
Editor’s comment responsibility for the role we must play in supporting solutions improvement,” says Anderson. “There is a wide range of green
that reduce the impact datacentres have on the environment.” initiatives that industry players can look at, including aquifer sys-
Netherlands authorities As well as ensuring that the effects of climate change are on tems to draw from naturally cold wells to cool datacentre halls,
halt datacentre
the radar of datacentre operators, Mark Anderson, senior direc- installing solar panels to generate green energy, implementing
for a policy rethink tor of global solutions enablement for EMEA at colocation giant rainwater collection tanks for further cooling aids, partnering only
Equinix, says it is important that society as a whole also takes the with green power providers.
Contrasting fortunes threat it poses seriously. “Not only are there concerns around how “Companies are aware that continuing to build robust facilities
companies in India climate change will affect companies’ infrastructure, but there is that look to tackle the challenges of today, while also preparing
also a need for businesses to reduce their impact on the environ- for the future, is critical to the long-term success of the datacen-
Google increases ment now,” he says. tre industry and needs to remain
investments in Finland “As climate change unfolds, our focus.”
the risk of rising temperatures “A s climate change unfolds it , The datacentre industry is also
Smart technology and extreme weather conditions playing a central role in support-
with focus on data
will transform Dutch heightens – so it is important for
is important for the datacentre ing the work of others tasked
neighbourhood
the datacentre industry to be
prepared at all times.”
industry to be prepared at all times ” with tackling climate change.
“From calculating GPS mapping
From a structural perspective, M ark A nderson, E quinix to encourage shorter journeys,
Storage to avoid big Anderson claims Equinix’s facili- to video communications across
storage complexity
ties are equipped to cope with natural disasters. “All of our data- countries removing the need for excessive airline travel, datacen-
centres meet or exceed local structural building requirements tres power it all,” says Anderson. “Therefore, it is important to ask
datacentre industry for withstanding movements caused by an earthquake,” he says. the question: just how much of a positive impact are datacentres
“And Equinix datacentres even survived Hurricane Sandy, while having by reducing energy usage in other sectors?”
all other local centres went down during the storm.” Global warming is one of the most serious challenges to
But as well as preparing for extreme weather events, the data- humanity today, and it is no secret that it is impacting a range of
centre industry should also be proactively implementing meas- industries, including the datacentre space. As extreme weather
ures to avoid the risks of increased climate change. “There is events continue, there will be increased pressure on organisations
still a long way to go when it comes to tackling sustainability to invest in more eco alternatives to not only protect themselves
issues – but many projects are under way to drive an accelerated from these threats, but contribute towards a greener world. n

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Air France Hop takes

Climate change and the

PUGUN & PHOTO STUDIO/ADOBE

cw europe September-November 2019 2

cw europe September-November 2019 3

Editor’s comment construction. “Our sector is strongly committed to sustainability

❯Shortage of power availability in Amsterdam might see datacentres go elsewhere.

cw europe September-November 2019 5

Air France Hop takes

❯Apple announces it will open a development centre in Hyderabad, India.

Air France Hop takes

cw europe September-November 2019 7

cw europe September-November 2019 8

❯Google plots datacentre expansions in Germany and North America.

cw europe September-November 2019 10

cw europe September-November 2019 12

cw europe September-November 2019 13

Air France Hop takes

cw europe September-November 2019 15

D atacentres are without doubt the beating heart of our

Ignoring the risk

the datacentre industry

cw europe September-November 2019 16

cw europe September-November 2019 17

Air France Hop takes

cw europe September-November 2019 18

Air France Hop takes

cw europe September-November 2019 20

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