ENGIE launches first digital outcome-focused service for data centre operations in Singapore

• Avril Digital Outcome-focused Services can reduce data centre operational complexities, drive efficiency and adapt to business growth 

• Intelligent, data-driven services promote faster and better-informed decision-making for predictable outcomes 

• Smart and energy-efficient data centres crucial to Singapore’s Smart Nation initiatives

Longue (left) and Cheyron (right). 

ENGIE has launched Avril Digital Outcome-focused Services (Avril Digital) in Singapore. The solution is designed to reduce data centre operational complexities and enable a more energy-efficient, sustainable, agile and reliable data centre. 

Part of the ENGIE Infrastructure Technology Solutions (EITS) portfolio to designing, building, managing and operating data centres in Singapore, the new service is aligned with Singapore’s Smart Nation initiatives to support better living through technology and a 2030 climate pledge to reduce its carbon emission intensity. 

Singapore, an Asian data centre hub, is the first country to launch Avril Digital, with the expectation that other countries will eventually take advantage of the service in future. 

Pierre Cheyron, CEO, ENGIE Services Asia-Pacific said, “Singapore continues to be Asia Pacific’s top location for data centre operations. It is estimated that Asia Pacific’s data centre services’ market size will exceed the European market size by 2021. However, most data centres in Singapore, many in the middle of their lifespan, were designed and constructed without sustainability and energy conservation in mind. Thus, this represents a tremendous opportunity for data centres here to step up and play their part in helping the environment.” 

Source: ENGIE. Causes of inefficiency and complexity in data centres.

Using advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms, Avril Digital allow ENGIE data centre experts to detect anomalies, identify performance shortfalls and predict operational threats that need attention for the electrical and mechanical infrastructure of a data centre. More data is typically captured and analysed than with a data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) solution.

“With the rising complexities in data centre operation and operational costs, traditional data centre solutions and reactive approaches are no longer enough. Companies can leverage Avril Digital Outcome-focused Services to gain control of energy use and achieve high rates of return in the form of energy savings. Companies that utilise this approach are ultimately paying for performance resulting in benefits of up to 50% reduction in operation costs and optimise their energy efficiency by up to 30%,” said Joycelyn Longue, Director, Business Development, Smart Digital Solutions, ENGIE ITS.

Avril Digital also provides a tailored service solution with accurate fact-based actionable insights that resolve data centre issues swiftly and prioritise continuous improvement. "We work with our customers to remove the guesswork, to deliver fact-based recommendations," said Longue.

Avril Digital takes on a proactive approach to:

• Effective fault management 

• Early operational threats 

• Maximise asset performance 

• Improve and sustain the data centre environment 

• Compliance to data centre standards, including the BCA-IMDA Green Mark for Data Centres and Singapore Standard for Green Data Centres SS 564: 2013 

Source: ENGIE. Avril Digital can look at the what, why, and what next to streamline data centre operations.

Results from early pilot deployments of Avril Digital in Singapore have shown an improvement to data centre lifecycles by providing actionable insights and plans, especially in managing energy efficiency. Energy is a significant part of the cost of running data centres in Singapore due to the need to cool the infrastructure in a relatively warm climate, and energy needs of older infrastructure. 

According to Longue, one six-month pilot in Singapore with a global IT service provider for a 400 sq m data centre with 80 racks led to a: 

• Fifty percent reduction in monitoring and analysis time
• Thirty percent reduction in the amount of energy needed for cooling across its facilities as the operating temperature was increased safely
• Sixty percent increase in the accurate detection of anomalies across the data centre infrastructure

The pilots have shown that the infrastructure is more interconnected than expected, Longue said. For example, uninterruptible power supplies (UPSes) can affect cooling. 

The news follows ENGIE's March 2018 announcement that it will invest S$80 million over the next five years in Singapore to develop its Centre of Expertise for District Cooling and to drive digital initiatives and technical competencies in energy efficiency for the region. At the time, ENGIE said it would increase its workforce to 1,770 highly-skilled employees.

Avril Digital was announced in March, together with Digital IoT (Internet of Things) and remote monitoring platforms, ENGIE iBMS, an integrated building management system, and the digitalisation of ENGIE's facility management processes. 

Details:

Avril Digital is targeted at companies running data centres to support their business but whose IT team may not have a mechanical or electrical background. The solution supports both legacy data centres as well as green field sites.

The cost of a cloud subscription depends on the size of the data centre, the number of data points involved, and the scope of work required to achieve desired outcomes.