Schneider Electric launches customisable data centre assessment services

As part of a growing line of Energy Management Services for the data centre, Schneider Electric has introduced EnergySTEP Data Centre Assessment. It provides a detailed, customisable assessment of the power, cooling, physical infrastructure and operational efficiencies of a data centre that allows data centre managers to benchmark the performance of their facility against industry standards such as the Green Grid Data Centre Maturity Model. The assessment focuses on improvements that will help the data centre manager drive down the spiralling cost of energy, while ensuring maximum availability.

“Providing data centre managers with an assessment of the energy usage and efficiency empowers them to make informed decisions on optimising their infrastructure,” said Paul Tyrer, Vice President, Pacific, Schneider Electric IT. “The recommendations included with Schneider Electric’s EnergySTEP Data Centre Assessment will result in optimised energy usage, reduced operating costs and will enable the data centre manager to prioritise data centre improvements to better manage capital expenses.”

The service allows data centre professionals to customise an assessment service that will help them meet energy usage goals, business needs and financial targets. The extensive data collection and analysis is performed by a Schneider Electric Energy Management Services (EMS) Specialist with expertise in both data centre operations and energy management. The comprehensive report generated by the assessment provides vendor-neutral recommendations including detailed findings illustrated with various graphics and benchmarks of performance. The specific recommendations for improving efficiency and maximising availability include estimated cost savings and an ROI analysis. Additionally, these findings and recommendations can be presented in accordance with the Green Grid Data Centre Maturity Model Equaliser. This model benchmarks performance in 46 aspects of the data centre and enables mapping of the steps required to achieve greater energy efficiency and sustainability.

The complete line of assessment services, including both the EnergySTEP Data Centre Assessment and the initial EnergySTEP1 entry level assessment enable data centre performance benchmarking, which is an important step toward effective energy management. Data Centre Assessments are part of a larger portfolio of services offered by Schneider Electric to support customers throughout the data centre services life cycle, to assist in planning, design, building operation maintenance and optimisation of their facilities. Additional services include energy management software, remote monitoring and the design and build of energy efficient data centres.