Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson, recently examined the growth and growing importance of the data center and released its 2011 State of the Data Center infographic reflecting those observations.
“Over the last several years, advances in technology, an increased reliance on the Internet and social media as well as an increased focus on energy management initiatives have had a significant impact on the data center world,” said Scott Barbour, business leader of Emerson Network Power. “Data centers are the unsung heroes. This infographic illustrates how our reliance on them has grown exponentially.”
Some of the facts explored in the infographic:
- Fueling the Internet: When internet users perform search engine queries, make purchases on their favorite retailer’s website or connect with friends via social media, data centers are making it all happen. For example: $53 Billion in cyber weekend sales is larger than the entire economy of Bulgaria. With so much activity and reliance on the internet, having a reliable data center infrastructure is more important than ever.
- How big is it?: This year, mankind will create 1.2 trillion gigabytes (GB) of data, equivalent to 75 billion 16 GB iPods. That’s more than enough for every person on earth to own 10 iPods.
- Too big to fail: The growing dependence on the data center means growing consequences of downtime. If all 509,147 data centers went out 2.5 times (based on an average) for a duration of 134 minutes, that would equal 2,842,737 hours of downtime, at a total loss of $426 billion a year. That’s enough to buy every person in Munich, Germany, a yacht. BD+C
Related Stories
| Feb 23, 2011
The library is dead, long live the library
The Society for College and University Planning asked its members to voice their thoughts on the possible death of academic libraries. And many did. The good news? It's not all bad news. A summary of their members' comments appears on the SCUP blog.
| Feb 23, 2011
Data center trends: green design, technology upgrades
While green data centers will continue to be a trend within the industry, technology is also driving infrastructure upgrades that have never been seen before, according to the 2011 Data Center Technical Market Report from Environmental Systems Design. The report also includes an overview of the national data center market, construction costs, blackouts and disaster prevention, and site selection.
| Feb 23, 2011
“School of Tomorrow” student design competition winners selected
The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and Kawneer Company, Inc. announced the winners of the “Schools of Tomorrow” student design competition. The Kawneer-sponsored competition, now in its fifth year, challenged students to learn about building materials, specifically architectural aluminum building products and systems in the design of a modern and creative school for students ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade. Ball State University’s Susan Butts was awarded first place and $2,500 for “Propel Elementary School.”
| Feb 23, 2011
Barbie's newest career: Architect
Mattel is introducing Architect Barbie this fall, following a campaign that started in 2002 to give the iconic blond a design job. The doll comes in a signature pink outfit, but if she's truly hoping to pass an an architect, shouldn't she be wearing all black?
| Feb 23, 2011
Green building on the chopping block in House spending measure
Bryan Howard, Legislative Director of the U.S. Green Building Council, blogs about proposed GOP budget cuts that could impact green building in the commercial sector.
| Feb 23, 2011
Architecture Billings hold steady after two months of improving conditions
After showing positive momentum during the fourth quarter of 2010, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) slipped almost four points in January. The January ABI score was 50.0, which is down from a reading of 53.9 the previous month, but still reflects stable demand for design services. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Feb 22, 2011
LEED Volume Program celebrates its 500th certified Pilot Project
More than 500 building projects have certified through the LEED Volume Program since the pilot launched in 2006, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED Volume Program streamlines the certification process for high-volume property owners and managers, from commercial real estate firms, national retailers and hospitality providers, to local, state and federal governments.
| Feb 22, 2011
HDR Architecture names four healthcare directors
Four senior professionals in HDR Architecture’s healthcare program have been named Healthcare directors.