END USER INSIGHT
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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
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