Intelligent Data Centres Issue 13 | Page 47

END USER INSIGHT at a Ce nt re M ana ger at S anger THE WELLCOME SANGER INSTITUTE DEPLOYS SOLUTION TO DRIVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY As technology improves, data must be generated more quickly to accommodate demand. This ultimately requires more power availability, greater storage, faster connectivity and higher levels of local compute for the Wellcome Sanger Institute data centre. Simon Binley, Data Centre Manager at Sanger, discusses the Schneider Electric solution implementation in more depth. A s the largest genomic research data centre in Europe, the Wellcome Sanger Institute is one of the world’s leading research facilities focused on genomic discovery. Based at the Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge and established in 1993, the institute conducts key research into improving the outcomes of human health using data derived from genomic sequencing, particularly in the areas of cancer, malaria and other pathogens. It also works closely with a wide range of collaborators – both internationally and across the campus – to share the results of its research with the wider scientific community. Challenges Challenges At the core of Sanger’s technical infrastructure are its DNA sequencing www.intelligentdatacentres.com machines; a fleet of complex and advanced scientific instruments which generate vast quantities of data that must then be analysed within its on-premise data centre. The nature of genomic research, a cutting- edge and evolving area of science, means that the demand for data-processing capacity is only likely to increase over time – genomic data is soon set to become the biggest source of data on the planet. In fact, as much genomic data has been produced in the last 18 months as the previous 18 years, but as an organisation concerned primarily with science, budgets for supporting infrastructure, including IT, will always be under pressure. Simon Binley, Data Centre Manager at Sanger, said: “It’s hard to predict what level of data centre capacity we’ll need over the next five to 10 years, but all the Issue 13 47