Public bodies advised to share datacentres

Public sector bodies should pool datacentre resources to reduce costs, says Future-Tech

Public sector bodies should share datacentres to reduce costs, according to leading server room design company Future-Tech.

Paul Elliott, managing director of London-based Future-Tech, told IT Week that rather than worrying about overheating and power costs – two of the most significant issues reported by many firms – organisations should consider swapping and pooling resources to create a “web of protection” through failover and replication, and to offer other shared services.

“We think a university could use another university for failover, or a council could use another council,” Elliott said. “There’s no reason why public-sector groups can’t reciprocate. We need a series of 20 or 30 datacentres spread around the UK with a spread of public sector bodies participating and a government-backed management structure.”

Elliott also argued that new approaches to datacentre design, including the repurposing of existing buildings and spaces, are needed to tackle issues of power consumption and heat.

The London Borough of Newham has just gone live with a £400,000 datacentre built by Future-Tech inside a tin shed on the site of a former cow shed, for example. Bracknell Forest Council has used a former car park while Hyde Housing Association had utilised a basement, Elliott added.

Another council is considering building a datacentre next to a swimming pool so that the pool would act as a heat sink with the datacentre warming the water.

“The best approach is to use the heat rather than get rid of it,” Elliott commented.