Local Chapters Fuel AFCOM Growth

In a week filled with chatter about an economic downturn and cost-cutting, last week’s Data Center World in Orlando, Fla. had the largest turnout ever for the fall version of the trade show, with more than 700 attendees. While smaller than the spring version of DCW conference - which had 1,300 attendees for the 2008 version in Las Vegas – this year’s Data Center World Fall event benefited from the rising profile of the data center industry.

“The data center industry is so pertinent today,” said Jill Eckhaus, the CEO of AFCOM. “For the first time in history, the data center has been recognized as an integral part of every business. That’s really why AFCOM was founded: to help recognize how important the data center has become.”

AFCOM is a leading association for data center professionals, founded in 1980 to support the management of data centers around the world. Originally, AFCOM was an acronym for the “Association for Computer Operations Management,” but has since expanded its focus to the entire data center and become known simply as AFCOM. In the past five years, AFCOM has been transformed along with the industry it represents, growing from 1,700 members to more than 4,200. The biggest growth has been local.

“Five years ago we had seven local chapters and today we have 35,” said Eckhaus, who noted that AFCOM is also seeing strong growth among overseas members, both in attendance at the conference and the launch of local data center user groups.

Few Data Center Managers Report Budget Cuts

Forty three percent of data center managers say they expect their 2009 budget to increase, according a survey of members of AFCOM, the industry group for data center professionals. The survey was released Monday during the keynote session for AFCOM’s Data Center World Fall conference in Orlando, Fla.

The good news: the findings suggest that investment in data center services is positioned to remain strong, as companies are either continuing to invest in data center services, maintaining their budgets or targeting their cuts in other areas.

The bad news: the survey of more than 300 data center managers was conducted in May. Although the credit crunch was already affecting the economy at that time, budgets have almost certainly come under additional scrutiny in recent weeks due to the global financial crisis.

AFCOM Launches: Liebert, Vette, GDCM, PDI

There were a number of product launches tied to the AFCOM Data Center World conference in Las Vegas. Here’s a quick summary and links to new products and services introduced by Emerson Network power (Liebert), GDCM, Vette Corp. and PDI Inc.

• Emerson Network Power (EMR) unveiled the first models of its new Liebert NXL UPS platform designed for medium and large data centers. Initial models of this on-line double conversion UPS are available in 250 kVA, 300 kVA and 400 kVA ratings. Peter Panfil, VP of Power Engineering for Liebert, said the NX models include SoftScale technology, which allows Liebert to unlock additional capacity in the NX unit upon customer request. SoftScale gives the customers the flexibility to easily increase UPS capacity by 20 or 40 kVA, without purchasing additional equipment. A site visit by a Liebert rep is required to unlock the additional capacity.
• UK data center specialist GDCM, which has expanded into the US market in recent months, announced the release of nlyte Express software. The new product is designed for data centers managed by a small team that needs the ability to centrally manage and model equipment changes. nlyte Express provides full data center visualization, physical infrastructure capacity management, space and cooling availability, power circuit supply and redundancy analysis.

Scenes From Data Center World

This week’s crowd of more than 800 attendees at Data Center World at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Dallas was the largest yet for the fall version of the AFCOM conference and expo. I was short on time and battery power, but here are a few scenes from the show.

One of the most eye-catching booths was this one for The Bick Group,
the St. Louis based data center design company.

Belady: Metrics Key to ‘Crisis’ Response

Christian Belady is an optimist, even about tough computing challenges like the huge increases in power and cooling in high-density “hot spots” in data centers.

“It’s not a crisis, it’s an opportunity,” said Belady, a Distinguished Technologist at HP and the keynote speaker Tuesday at AFCOM’s Data Center World conference in Las Vegas. “Are we ready to jump on this problem and tackle it with the right resources? People talk about this as a crossroads for the data center, and that’s what it is.”

To properly tackle the power and heat challenges, data center managers must first equip themselves with the right tools. Belady believes new metrics and standards will be the key weapons in the effort to gain control of data center management, and that the operating environment will continue to be challenging.

“The real driver behind this is the fact that the cost of computation is going down,” said Belady. “The problem is going to get worse. As the price goes down, demand goes up. I think what you’re going to see is the commoditization of the data center. Standardization will create a plug-n-play environment.”

Five Predictions: Virtualization and Grids

Continuing our recap of the Five Bold Predictions session from AFCOM’s recent Data Center World conference:

4. By 2010, nearly 70% of all data centers will utilize some form of grid computing or other virtual processing. Twenty seven percent of AFCOM members surveyed in January 2006 say they are already using grid computing or other types of virtualization, with another 39 percent saying they expect to implement these strategies in the next five years. Grid computing allows better optimization of an IT infrastructure, improved redundancy, and offers the ability to more easily share resources among mobile users.

Five Predictions: 9 of 10 Companies Face Failures

We continue with our recap of the Five Bold Predictions session from AFCOM’s recent Data Center World conference:

3. Over the next five years, power failures and limits on power availability will halt data center operations at more than 90% of all companies. It’s a fact of life: Outages happen. If you’ve dodged the bullet thus far, you’re part of a fortunate minority. A recent AFCOM survey found that 81 percent of respondent had experienced a failure in the past five years, and 20 percent had been hit with at least five failures. Of those outages, more than 80 percent were due to either external or internal power failures.

Five Predictions: Relocations and Outsourcing

We continue with our recap of the Five Bold Predictions session from AFCOM’s recent Data Center World conference:

2. By 2010, more than half of all data centers will have to relocate to new facilities or outsource some applications. An AFCOM member survey found that 71 percent of respondents see changes to their data center capacity in the next 10 years. Fifty three percent expect to expand their data centers, 5 percent expect to outsource some applications, and 13 percent expect to both expand and outsource.

For those who plan expansions, the reason cited most often was business growth (41%), followed by an aging facility. “Many data centers just can’t handle new technologies coming out,” said presenter Tom Roberts, Director of Data Center Services for Trinity Information Services.

Five Predictions: Fewer Staffers for Data Centers

Over the next few days, I’ll be doing a series of blog items capsulizing the “Five Bold Predictions” from the recent AFCOM Data Center World Conference. Here’s the first:

1. By 2015, the talent pool of qualified senior level technical and management data center professionals will shrink by 45%. A 2002 survey found that 55 percent of data center workers with mainframe experience were at least 50 years old. A January 2006 survey of AFCOM’s membership filled out the bleak picture. Among the findings:

38 percent of respondents currently have unfilled positions in their data center.

32 percent said it takes 3 to 6 months to fill a skilled technical or management position in their data center. 12 percent said it takes six months to a year, and 3 percent said it takes a year or more.

40 percent expect it to be “somewhat more difficult” to recuit staff over the next five years, while seven percent expected it to be “significantly more difficult.”