NEWS
Keysource wins data centre upgrade project for Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council has awarded Keysource , data centre and critical environment specialists , a major cooling upgrade project for its facility in Leeds , following a competitive tender .
Under the terms of the deal , Keysource will be responsible for the full mechanical and electrical installation of a replacement data centre cooling system to increase efficiency , improve airflow and reduce operational costs . The new system will monitor the space and the cold aisle temperature and humidity to optimise the delivery of required cold aisle conditions to maximise efficiency . The space will be cooled by five new Airedale SmartCool Inverter precision cooling units operating on supply air control .
It will also benefit from a fresh air feed that will operate as the primary stage of cooling , when ambient conditions allow , to further improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact .
By monitoring the outside ambient air temperature and humidity , the ACIS system will aim to utilise the fresh air free cooling at every opportunity .
The existing AHU controls will also be upgraded and incorporated in the new control ’ s platform .
Commenting on the new project , Ted Pulfer , Enterprise and End-user Sector Consultant at Keysource , said : “ Public sector organisations and local authorities are increasingly facing scrutiny and pressure to operate at maximum efficiency and our solutions are designed to deliver this without compromising sustainability , resiliency or security .”
40 % drop in British students leaving school with an IT qualification will exacerbate future digital skills gap
Data from Ofqual shows a steep decline in GCSE and A-level students studying ICT or Computing qualifications , down by 40 % between 2015 – 2020 . Education charity , Engineering Development Trust ( EDT ), and global cybersecurity leader , RSA Security , warn that if this downward trend continues , the UK IT industry and wider economy will suffer .
Not only will it exacerbate the digital skills gap facing UK businesses , but young people will also be leaving education without the IT knowledge and skills needed to thrive in our increasingly digital society .
“ Simply put , every student that chooses a different subject instead of IT represents a missed opportunity to develop the skills that will be essential to the UK ’ s success as a digital powerhouse ,” said Julie Feest , CEO of
EDT . “ The new Computing GCSE highlights this ; while brilliant for young people who may have an interest in more technical programming and coding , it does not provide a grounding knowledge of the digital world .
“ Students receive their qualification without being taught about essential topics like cybersecurity , digital ethics , fake news or social media – all of which are becoming more prevalent in society .”
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