OPINION
communications between peer-to-peer components. Digital
platforms offer open communication protocols and robust
IEC 61850 digital communications, which means they also
offer interoperability and aren’t locked into proprietary
systems. This peer-to-peer architecture of digital network
systems provides managers and operators access to best
practice benchmarking and deeper, granular visibility of
cross-industry data.
Harnessing data
With better insight into disparate systems, these scalable
solutions, along with features such as advanced power
analytics and intelligent alarm and event handling, deliver
greater operational transparency at both device and
enterprise level.
Potential issues are identified and resolved before they
can cause significant damage or downtime. For example,
at one of America’s leading car manufacturers, the fully
automated manufacturing plant will have over 10,000
alarms per day. The adoption of digitalisation and data
centre infrastructure management platforms has enabled
data centre and network teams to prioritise and turn data
into actionable insight through peer-to-peer communication.
The system is self-regulating and can even be self-
mending, significantly reducing the number of alarms. When
there’s something the system can’t fix itself, instead of
telling the operator there’s a problem, the system tells the
operator how to fix the problem. And by using diagnostics,
alarms and event setting on the digital platform, data centre
teams can proactively report and accurately pinpoint issues,
thereby reducing the risk of exposure due to human error
and further enhancing on-site safety.
Greater protection
As dependence on data centres grows, so too does the
need for protection against cybersecurity threats within the
data centre network itself. With enterprise IoT adoption,
the ability to mitigate risk and diagnose, and get systems
back up and running when an attack happens, will become
essential, especially as a recent report suggests that by 2020
there will be roughly 200 billion connected devices and at
least 25 connected devices per 100 inhabitants in the US.
In the same report, it also detailed that companies
were slow to react and took at least six months to respond
to a data breach. As companies haemorrhage money
trying to stay one step ahead of hackers to protect assets,
approximately $6 trillion is expected to be spent globally on
cybersecurity by 2021, the adoption of smart digitalisation
can help operators proactively monitor and control the
system, to detect and deter threats across the networks.
Energy management
Smart data needs smart power. Data centres are some of
the largest consumers of energy. In the European Union
alone data centres consumed 25% more energy in 2017
than in 2014. In addition, the global rollout of 5G will
put the growth of digital data networks into overdrive,
requiring ever greater energy management and operational
efficiencies for future networks.
With data demand growing exponentially and more
operations adopting IoT platforms, providers who manage
those energy tasks must do it in a way that provides
operational efficiency and reliability for today’s businesses.
Dependence on sophisticated technology and deep-rooted
proactive technical expertise can be delivered through all-in-
one automation and digitalisation solutions. These provide
visibility and the ability to review networks and shift power
to critical business operations as and when required.
A smarter approach
With forecasts estimating that there will be around 40
trillion gigabytes of data by 2020, there’s no doubt that we
have to take a smarter approach for the future. Traditional
legacy systems will be put into overdrive with the rollout
and adoption of 5G data networks and the demand for
improved autonomy in edge computing and within mini
data centres. Digitalisation provides visibility and will break
down the parameters set within traditional systems. It
navigates and overrides the obstacles of our complex data
architecture to keep data flowing and provides elasticity to
cope with the ever-increasing demands of our data-hungry
world. n
www.networkseuropemagazine.com
15