The digital revolution is every bit as transformational as was the industrial revolution, it has changed

the way we work, the way we live our lives, and the way we communicate. Communication at the

speed of light has shrunk the world, globalisation is for real, and the changes have been economic,

social, and political and we are beginning to realise environmental too.

Computing has changed the world; its impact can be felt virtually everywhere, but the consequence

has been exponentially increasing data, and the requirement for more and more storage and more

powerful processors. This exponential rise in computing has led to big data, the cloud, and the

creation of data centres; massive warehouses, full of computers and storage, which consume vast

quantities of power, both to power the machines and also to cool them. Mobile phones have

become technological marvels, combining cameras, video cameras, and the functionality of desktop

PCs. The internet’s growth has been explosive, and will continue to grow on a mammoth scale.

Behind almost every technology is a data centre somewhere, these need power, and power is

becoming a problem.

In the UK data centres are thought to account for 2.4% to 3.1% of the nation’s power consumption,

and that number is set to increase, as new data centres come on stream. According to research

£2billion is being invested in new data centres in the UK in 2013 alone. In addition to this, are the

huge numbers of computer servers which are not sat in data centres, but in offices and other rooms

all around the country.

Power in very expensive, and in the UK most energy produced creates carbon emissions, which fuel

climate change, creating weather extremes of droughts and floods, which cause, famines, starvation,

death and misery, usually to innocent people including children, who had little or nothing to do with

causing the problem.

In the UK there is also a shortage of power supply, with 10% of reduction being lost in April 2013,

and more due to be lost as old coal fired power stations are closed down, before any new ones come

on stream. All this is happening at a time when demand is increasing. In March 2013 the UK gas

supplies fell to just 6 hours. There is a very real prospect of the lights going out in the future, OFGEM

the government regulator has warned of it, as has the heads of some of the UK’s biggest power

generators. If the lights go off demand for fuel for backup generators is likely to go through the roof

too and there is a possibility that fuel shortages could mean backup generators shutting down,

which is data centre Armageddon.

High cost of data centres and high carbon emissions have long been seen as a problem, and the

solution has been the design of a new generation of data centres, which are considerably more

energy efficient. Computers are also becoming more energy efficient. New energy efficient

computers and data centres, mean less power is used. Less power used, means lower power costs,

and less carbon emissions. These data centres are frequently marketed as being “low cost” and

“green / environmentally friendly”. There can be little doubt they are a huge improvement on their

predecessors. These data centres are typically located near users and organisations (at least in the

same country).

Some of the world’s biggest internet and technology companies including: Google, Yahoo, Facebook,

Ebay, Apple etc. looked at the problem and decided that “New Generation” (High Road Data

Centres) didn’t go far enough, they still cost huge amounts of money, and even though the carbon

emissions were much less than the old generation data centres, they still account for vast quantities

of carbon emissions, that they thought was unacceptable. Their solution was to change one vital

ingredient, and that is location. Take a new generation state of the art data centre design and move

it to a different location and the benefits can be nothing less than “game changing”. They decided to

move towards locating their new data centres near safe, abundant, low cost, green / 100%

renewable, zero carbon energy, which in comparison to the new generation data centres are

significantly lower cost and lower carbon. Put bluntly, the likes of Google, Facebook, Yahoo etc. are a

step ahead of everyone else.

My book The Big Data Centre Choice – High Road or Low Road explains the biggest data centre

choice that key IT decision makers will probably ever have to make.

1. The High Road is High Cost + High Pollution

2. The Low Road is Low Cost + Zero Carbon Pollution

The Following Chart Show the Three Different Typical Types of Data Centres:

Low Road Data Centres located near safe, abundant, 100% renewable, green, zero carbon energy

sources, have only been possible due to the executive level leadership and determination, and

massive scale, expertise and resources of the giant internet and technology companies. Until now it

has been for the privileged few.

1 • Old Generation Data Centres

• Very High Cost and Very High Pollution

2

• New Generation Data Centres (High Road - Data Centres)

• Lower Cost and Less Pollution than old generation data centres

3 • Low Road Data Centres (Google, Facebook, Yahoo etc.)

• Lowest Cost + Zero Carbon Emissions

Location is an extremely emotive topic when it comes to data centres, where thinking is well

entrenched, opinions are set and difficult to change. The giant Internet and Technology companies,

took a step back, looked at the big picture, and also looked in detail at entrenched mind-sets, they

separated facts from perceptions, and instigated a paradigm shift. They looked at the technical

issues of latency and connectivity, and all the considerations that any organisation might consider in

choosing where to locate their data centres, like safety and security of data, and realised that

perception and reality were often two different things. They worked through all the different issues

that addressed their own concerns, which in reality were greater than just about any other

organisation on the planet, and put together the complete solution.

There were many who said it was crazy, that it would never work, that it was fundamentally wrong,

but these giant companies made it work on a simply colossal scale. Those who predicted the sky

would fall in, were proved wrong. Today the number of organisations pursuing this “Low Road”

strategy is incredibly small, but the scale of those organisation’s data centre operations is so large,

that we are now well beyond “proof of concept stage”.

The benefits of “low road” data centres are significantly lower costs than the latest generation of

“High Road” data centres in the UK, which are being widely adopted and built right now, and not just

less carbon emissions, but zero carbon emissions.

Given the game changing benefits of “Low Road” data centres, you might expect a stampede of

every other organisation wanting to move towards them; why would any organisation choose to pay

hugely more than they have to for their data centres, and also be responsible for pumping vast

quantities of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere if they didn’t have to? It is an interesting question

isn’t it. I think the answer is that there are three reasons:

1. Ignorance. Most organisations are completely unaware of “Low Road” data centres, and the

benefits they offer.

2. Lack of Availability. Until recently “low road” data centres simply haven’t been available to

easily buy and move into, if you want one you have to go and create one. It is incredibly

difficult to get all the elements that you need to make them work. For example, you can

sometimes find a supply of renewable, zero carbon energy, but it might not be low cost, or it

might not be in abundant supply, or it might not be reliable, or safe, or it might be in such a

remote location that there is no connectivity, which is essential to data centres. The giant

internet and technology companies have the advantage of huge scale, deep pockets and

large resources and considerable expertise, and the leverage to get subsidies or other

incentives to make their projects work.

3. Resistance to Change. Entrenched mind-sets and belief systems, resistance to change,

denial of the benefits of the “low road”, fear of the unknown and the desire to stay with the

herd, is the final reason why there is not a stampede to “Low Road” data centres, and the

low costs and zero carbon benefits that they offer. Professor Rogers diffusion of innovation

model explains the situation well. Low Road data centres are a disruptive innovation, they

are a game changer, which turns existing thinking on its head, it reframes what is right and

what is wrong, what is good what it bad. It disrupts existing, plans, strategies and

commitments; it should not be underestimated how difficult those things are to deal with,

particularly if you are an IT Director with a huge number of things on your plate. The truth

becomes unacceptable to many, with £2billion being invested in new “high road”

datacentres in the UK in 2013 alone, it can be unpalatable for many to accept, that what

they think is new thinking and state of the art, has already been superseded with “low road”

data centres that are suitable for all but a relatively small number of applications. What is

interesting to note, is how many IT decision makers are suffering from Cognitive Dissonance,

which is when people find themselves doing things that don't fit with what they know, or

having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold. In data centre terms this could

be people believing that costs and carbon need to be driven down, yet choosing solutions

that when compared to alternatives are high cost and high polluting. A mechanism of self-

justification then kicks in, to support the decisions being taken e.g. inventing fictitious or

dubious risks, or creating technical justifications, that if assessed scientifically and

objectively wouldn’t stand up. Henry Ford once said: “whether you think you can or whether

you think you can’t, you’ll be right”. If you don’t think a low road data centre can work for

you, you will come up with reasons to justify it, in just the same way as if you think a low

road data centre can work for you, you will make it work, just like those who are already

benefiting from them are doing.

Disruptive Innovation Lack of availability of “Low Road” data centres, means that even if organisations want them, they

can’t have them unless they are able to go through the same long tortuous journey the big internet

and technology companies went through to get theirs. Even if they are prepared to go down that

route, lack of scale, resources and expertise could easily thwart efforts to achieve a Low Road data

centre.

When you start to get into the detail required to achieve a viable “low road” data centre, there are

so many factors to consider and issues to be resolved, you realise that it is not at all easy to have all

the pieces in place. It is like trying to bake a perfect cake, if you are missing just one ingredient; it

simply isn’t going to work. You can find green energy, but not have it low cost, or you can find green

energy and low cost, but it is not in abundant supply, or you get it in abundant supply, but it is not

safe, or there is not the right connectivity etc. I am sure you get the gist. I think it could be likened to

a scientist trying to find a cure for a disease, researching for years to find the perfect safe cure that

really works.

Advania are Iceland’s largest IT company and number one data centre provider, and also one of the

largest IT companies in Scandinavia with 1100 people in 20 offices in four countries. They have

created a disruptive innovation by squaring the many ingredients needed to create the perfect “Low

Road” data centres, and making them available to all organisations, from all sectors, from all over

the world, regardless of their size. They can meet the needs of organisations looking for dedicated

or shared data centre facilities quickly and easily, in addition to which they are able to offer a

plethora of added value products and services, to provide unrivalled range of solutions to meet the

most demanding needs of clients including: banks, airlines, governments, universities and many

more. They can be trusted to host and run mission critical applications for major organisations.

Advania might not have the scale of the large global internet and technology companies, but now

every day 230 million users from all over the world; successfully use their state of the art data

centre. You can choose to pay more than you have to for your data centres, and to pollute the

atmosphere with vast quantities of carbon emissions, contributing to climate change when you don’t

have to, but unless you are one of the very few organisations who have the need for ultra-low

latency systems like banks trading systems, don’t think you have no choice.

The Key Benefits of Advania’s Disruptive Innovation Are:

1. The costs are significantly lower than any UK data centre.

2. 100 % Renewable – Zero Carbon

3. The biggest risks of UK located data centres can be eliminated completely: skyrocketing

energy prices and the looming energy supply crisis. Not only is energy in Iceland half the

price of UK data centres, prices can be fixed for ten years or more. Energy prices in the UK

are widely expected to increase by 50% in the next 2 – 7 years.

Choosing the High Road or Low Road doesn’t have to be either-or, you can choose both

You don’t have to select either High Road or Low Road data centres, you can choose both and use

them for different purposes as follows:

You don’t have to restrict yourself to using high or low road data centres for particular quadrants

you could use a mix in each quadrant.

To find out how you might benefit from the disruptive innovation contact:

Jonathan Blain Best Selling Author and Thought Leader Business Development Director of Advania in the UK

Tel: 0118 409 1015 Mob: 0787 33 33 0 33 jonathan@advania.is

www.advania.com/datacentres

Send an email to: jonathan@jonathanblain.com to order advance copies of “The Big Data Centre

Choice – High Road or Low Road” which is expected to be available in late August 2013