I guessed that the Uptime Institute’s Symposium, held
earlier this week in New York, would be the ideal time to catch up with
McCarthy and see if the two companies had captured the synergy McCarthy
predicted.
First, I learned that Martin is always rushing. Even on the
last day of the event, his words flowed in torrents, sometimes mixing together.
He blamed coffee; adrenaline seemed more likely.
I also learned that the Uptime Institute would be holding
its symposium again next year. And why not? Julian Kudtrizki, vice president of
the Uptime Institute, called it the organization’s largest event ever. And no
less than Mike Manos, vp of Nokia, said the event was great. You can read
Mike’s thoughts in his Loosebolts
blog. So did 451’s acquistion of the Uptime Institute change the
event in any substantial way? In many ways, this event was like other events
presented by the Uptime Institute. The number of presentations and quality of
speakers place all their events very high on my must-attend list. This year was
no exception, and 25 analysts from the 451 Group provided a fresh perspective
to many panel discussions and sessions.
Their contributions would have been
even more noticeable except that sessions at this event ran only 30-minutes.
For instance, one panel comprised five remarkable speakers,
including 451 Group’s Andy Lawrence and a moderator, but time ran out on this
session long before the commentary. This scenario repeated far too often. Limiting
the more sales- or project- oriented sessions to 30-minutes made sense,
however.
During the session, the Institute also announced that it
has developed a new standard that defines and classifies the risk factors to a
data center’s sustained uptime. The new standard, “Tier Standard:
Operational Sustainability”, will be
released July 1, 2010.
The Operational Sustainability standard will work in
tandem with the international Tier Classification System. The established Tier
Classification System ensures a data center’s infrastructure is designed for
uninterruptible uptime in line with its business requirements; Operational
Sustainability will address the rigorous operations required to maintain a data
center’s availability over the long term.
In a press release, the Uptime Institute said, “The
Operational Sustainability Standard is based on three elements that are most
influential in a data center’s ongoing performance: Management &
Operations, Building Characteristics, and Site Location. These prioritized elements are based on analysis of
Uptime Institute’s ‘abnormal incident’ reporting database, which is the world’s
largest. The risk factors to be detailed in ‘Tier Standard:
Operational Sustainability’ capture
thousands of ‘lessons learned’…”
This news represented incremental change, as the Tier
system is critical for understanding reliability, but not revolutionary as when
Ken Brill challenged an audience in a keynote entitled “The Economic Meltdown
of Moore’s Law.”
Key to the success of the program is the abnormal incident
reporting that Uptime derives from its Site Uptime Network. Therefore it was
especially significant when McCarthy said that the 451 Group would be
establishing Site Uptime Networks in new markets in Asia and South America,
which will add intellectual rigor to efforts to make data centers in these
markets more reliable and energy efficient. It also means that more data will
be available for analysis.
McCarthy pointed to this development as a sign that the
451 Group and Uptime were achieving synergy. Besides incorporating wider
perspective into Uptime events and greater international presence, McCarthy
also suggested services offered and cash flow as metrics into the success of
the combined operation. Citing developments like the Accredited Tier Designer
program, he said, “All are positive indications, and we are ahead of where we
expected to be in some ways.”
The Symposium also benefited from the availability of the
451 Group’s organizational resources. The 451 Group’s financial, operations, and
events experience contributed to making the whole event seem more organized and
the educational and tradeshow segments better integrated.
The Green
Enterprise IT (GEIT) Awards were presented in a ceremony on Monday
evening. The GEIT Awards showcase organizations that are pioneering
energy-efficiency improvements in their IT and data center operations, or that
provide technology that can significantly reduce energy consumption.
The winners were:
• Audacious
Idea – Microsoft Containerization: An Evolution in Data Center
Efficiency
• Beyond the Data
Center - Helsingin Energia. The World's Most Eco-Efficient Computer Hall from Helsingin
Energia.
• Data Center Design –
HP A Cool Low Energy Approach to Sustainable Data Center Design
• Facilities
Innovation – Savvis Savvis NJ2 HVAC Upgrade Project
• Joint IT and Facilities
Innovation – Itaú. An Integration Tool between IT and Facilities
Departments in a Large Bank
• IT Innovation -
Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, US House of Representatives
Going Green at the US House of Representatives
• Outstanding
Facilities Product - Verizon Wireless Orangeburg Data Center:
Data Center Intelligent Cooling Controls
• Outstanding IT
Product – Raritan Data Center Energy Efficiency Improvement