2015 TREND #6 DC´s Energy Efficiency & low oil prices

Data centres have a relationship with oil prices?  YES!  Energy spends in MCF is huge (3%+ around the globe) and most of this electricity is generated with fossil fuel (gas / gasoline / oil ...)  so if the DCs´owners get cheaper fuel they make better business. Or have you heard in the last 2-3 months that the DCs´per sqm or cabinet have set a lower price per COLO / Host / CLOUD services because the new oil pricing?

Well this will be probably for two years, those that lived the 1980´s remember that time where the oil prices were so high that a scarcity arrived to our lives.

Today (see the graph) are becoming a cycle that in some time 12-18 moths time frame, they will go up again. 

These mean that our industry must BE PREPARE (as scouts motto) to take the opportunity and invest in clean energies facilities that provide a friendly environment OPEration to our globe.

But lets talk in business sense. If today -2015- all of us (almost) are aware of GHG  and world´s climate change and our industry is growing at 5-8% yearly (up to 18% in 2018 http://www.enterprisetech.com/2014/04/17/datacenter-construction-expected-boom/) that mean that DCs will consume more energy. So the demand is raising and offer will take advantage sooner or later about this situation. So it will be wise to shift the main energy source and at least have a mix of them.

 We should think that BIG DATA, Data analysis, IoT, new mega DC´s deployments, will increase the need for energy in MCF, so investing in renewable energies -just for balancing the source- is worth to evaluate as a 15 -20 years strategy for this industry / market.

However it is our responsibility to NOT keep deteriorating our world we only have borrow it for our time life and then our descendants will have the privilege of live on it.

Or what do you think?

roberto Sanchez, RCDD, ACx

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