Why clean data is as important as clean energy

Why clean data is as important as clean energy

Zahl Limbuwala, Co-Founder & Executive Director

Renewable energy initiatives have been on the news agenda the last couple of weeks.

According to Bloomberg, a large proportion of the Fortune 500 has set clean energy goals in response to the savings generated by renewable power. As companies amass huge amounts of data, a significant part of their strategy for reaching their ambitious goals will involve data centers, no matter if a business owns, builds or uses them in the Cloud.

Apple is leading the way in this area. The company recently released its Annual Environmental Responsibility Report which provides a detailed outline of the steps it is taking to ensure its data centers are environmentally friendly.

Of course, in order to assess progress and success these companies will also need to track and report against sustainability and energy efficiency metrics too.

Accurate, reliable data is critical

But metrics are only as good as the accuracy of the data feeding into them. If companies put sustainability at the core of their business strategies, the metrics they set will be heavily scrutinized.

So, what happens if raw data from data centers is not properly cleaned and validated, leading to weeks and even months of incorrect and misleading information?

The result will be an embarrassing anomaly in the resulting operational report and a lot of awkward explaining to managers, stakeholders and potentially customers and shareholders.

Accurate, reliable data is central to a serious sustainability initiative; collecting raw data and presenting it is simply not enough. After all, important decisions about a facility’s environmental profile are made on the basis of that data, so it needs to be spot-on.

The key to meeting environmental goals with confidence is to collect, clean, validate and then analyze the data relating to energy efficiency, carbon emissions and water consumption, in order for the business to have confidence in it. In this way, data center managers can quickly understand what areas need adjustments and remove the risk of making poorly informed decisions due to bad data when planning changes or improvements for each facility.

Another crucial point for organizations with clean energy objectives is in the planning of data centers. A report containing incorrect data could lead to a design that struggles to meet the business requirements, or to large budgets being spent without a verifiable return on investment . Analysis of available data can help to ascertain the most economic, sustainable and cost effective design options and locations before a spade even hits the ground.

It is reassuring to see so many renewable and environmentally-minded projects being initiated by world leading organizations. Let’s hope they pay as much attention to clean data as they do to clean energy.

CBRE | Romonet Launches Validated by ROMONET

CBRE | Romonet Launches Validated by ROMONET

CBRE | Romonet, award winning data center analytics company, has launched a new certification program - Validated by ROMONET.

Validated_Romonet_Vertical_GreyThe certification proves an organization has been through the rigorous process of data cleansing and validation, calibration, analysis and corrective action (if required). Validated by ROMONET also demonstrates a company’s commitment to financial, energy and environmental efficiency through the use of the latest analytical technologies.

“This is an exciting program. The ability to predict financial, operational and environmental impact data throughout the lifecycle of a facility is critical to the success of the data center industry. 2017 will see an unprecedented number of new facilities built, consolidated and improved on every continent. CBRE | Romonet's validation process ensures decisions with long-term economic and social impact are made with accurate data,” said Zahl Limbuwala, CBRE | Romonet's Co-founder and CEO.

CBRE | Romonet's holistic approach to data center lifecycle analytics is unlike other certification programs that focus on power, process or the building. CBRE | Romonet analyzes and predicts data from site selection and investment to ensure financial control, climate responsibility and the most efficient operating environment.

CBRE | Romonet's patented processes and the latest artificial intelligence algorithms independently ensure that facilities management services, vendor equipment and ongoing maintenance plans are optimized to improve the delivery of IT services.

With Validated by ROMONET organizations can:

  • Prove the accuracy of data by which major capital investment decisions are made
  • Show shareholders and customers commitment to improving data center efficiency
  • Track the ROI on critical infrastructure investment and improvements made in operational performance
  • Become more transparent when reporting and reducing environmental impact
  • Position ahead of the competition in terms of quality of service and commitment to continual improvement

More information about the certification can be found here.