EvoSwitch partners with Green IT at 'Amsterdam Duurzaam' event

Amsterdam-based data centers are working hard to curtail their energy usage

EvoSwitch, one of the most energy-efficient data centers in the Netherlands, will join several other ICT companies from the region at the Amsterdam Duurzaam (Sustainable Amsterdam) event which will be held between 1 and 3 July at the Westergasfabriek. Amsterdam Duurzaam aims to show the importance of sustainable development and the many current initiatives in this field in the Netherlands' capital. EvoSwitch is one of a group of ICT companies who are taking part in the event in partnership with Green IT Amsterdam. EvoSwitch is keen to show which measures the data center industry is taking to curtail its energy usage.

Amsterdam is the main ICT region in the Netherlands. The capital is base to a range of ICT companies, many of whom have chosen to locate their European headquarters there. As an economic, scientific and financial center, the region's demand for ICT services is very high, and the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) is one of the main Internet hubs in Europe. Moreover, the region is also home to over a hundred data centers, which consume vast amounts of energy. In the period between 2006 and 2009 alone, the total surface area of data centers quadrupled and energy usage increased by 50%. Amsterdam Green IT was officially founded in June 2010 with the signing of a declaration of cooperation by the Municipality of Amsterdam and 25 knowledge institutes, regional authorities, ICT and power companies. The Municipality of Amsterdam has the ambition to reduce total CO2 emissions by 40% by 2025. The ICT industry can make a contribution to this ambition by increasing its energy efficiency, particularly in the data centers. Collecting knowledge about energy usage, the development of new technology, reliable measuring methods, best practices and tools will play an important in this regard.

“We apply the methodology of The Green Grid“, says Jan Wiersma, technical manager of EvoSwitch and a member of the Technical Committee of The Green Grid EMEA. “The Green Grid has defined the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), a metric that provides an insight into the effective power usage of data centers and which is calculated and reported on the basis of clear rules. Broadly speaking, it provides for the energy costs for IT equipment to be separated from the energy costs for the building. Ideally, the PUE is 1, which would mean that all the power is used for the IT applications. A traditional data center has a PUE of 2.0 or more, but EvoSwitch has managed to reduce its PUE to 1.4. Thanks to the deployment of new technology, we have reduced this figure even further to 1.2 in the new hall.

By focusing on energy usage, the leading category of data centers has thereby successfully managed to effectively utilize 95% of power consumed. And the methodology of The Green Grid goes a step further: the PUE is joined by the WUE and the CUE, which are metrics to indicate the Water Usage Effectiveness and the CO? Usage Effectiveness. All these areas can be awarded ratings which indicate how green a data center actually is and which additional steps it can take in order to optimize performance.” Sustainability has the highest priority at EvoSwitch. At its opening in 2006, the data center was already one of most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly data centers in the Netherlands. The concept for the new data center was developed in cooperation with TNO, an independent research organization. The new hall that was opened last April incorporates a new technology for cooling that has enhanced energy efficiency even further.

This focus on sustainability stems from a healthy pursuit of self-interest, incidentally. Says Managing Director Eric Boonstra: “Our motto is ‘green equals cost leadership’. Energy costs constitute a significant part of the bill we send to our customers. Rising energy prices will push these costs up further in the coming years. By achieving structural energy savings, we can quite simply offer our services more cheaply, and that gives us a significant competitive edge.” But Boonstra is also mindful of the social importance of EvoSwitch's business goals. “ICT usage, the volume of data traffic and the number of data centers are set to increase dramatically”, he says, “and with them energy usage and CO? emissions. The great advantage of professional data centers is their scale, which makes it possible to continually make the necessary investments in new technologies and energy savings. This is also why we are actively engaged in ‘green‘ initiatives, such as The Green Grid, the Climate Neutral Group, the Long-Term Agreement on energy efficiency in data centers with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Green IT Amsterdam Region and the 'Groene Mug' (Green Mosquito) initiative of the Municipality of Haarlem.”