INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Data Centres
Aggreko bolsters European loadbank fleet with additional US $ 5 million investment
Temporary solutions company Aggreko has recently bolstered its European loadbank fleet with an additional US $ 5 million investment , bringing the total to 500 + units , to ensure that the growing demands of Europe ’ s data centre market are met .
Europe ’ s data usage is increasing yearon-year , with the mass shift to remote working during the pandemic boosting the continent ’ s ever-growing appetite for data . Research from EAE Business School indicates that the number of European companies with staff working from home has risen to 88 %, compared to just 4 % before the pandemic .
With increased data usage , the repercussions of downtime caused by equipment failure are similarly increased , with revenue and reputation both at risk for businesses .
Billy Durie , Global Sector Head of Data centres at Aggreko , said : “ At present , data centres are expected to maintain 99.999 % uptime and so there is an extremely narrow margin for error at any point within the process . The best way to ensure that equipment is able to meet such precise requirements is to conduct extensive loadbank testing early on .
“ This way , we can determine whether equipment is able to deal with high levels of demand ahead of time and avoid failures further down the line .”
Aggreko ’ s investment brings the total to 542 loadbank units within their fleet , with access to resistive-only AC loadbanks , combined resistive and reactive loadbanks in single or multiple units and DC loadbanks .
The units are used to test electrical power supplies by simulating variable electrical load conditions in a way that can be accurately controlled , measured and recorded remotely from a handheld device .
Durie said : “ With so many people transitioning to remote working in the past year , more strain has been placed on data centres than ever . At Aggreko , we want to ensure that infrastructure is suitably equipped to deal with increased usage . For this reason , we have increased the size of our rental fleet to be more in line with the demands of the modern world .” p
To support the growing industry , Aggreko ’ s new fleet of loadbanks will allow rigorous testing across data centre projects , to ensure facilities are suitably equipped to deal with heightened levels of demand .
THE NUMBER OF EUROPEAN COMPANIES WITH STAFF WORKING FROM HOME HAS RISEN TO 88 %, COMPARED TO JUST 4 % BEFORE THE PANDEMIC .
68 INTELLIGENTCIO EUROPE www . intelligentcio . com