The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, virtualization, and the ongoing shift toward sustainable energy sources has emphasised the need for efficient technology asset management and resource utilisation for data centre operators. Eaton, an intelligent power management firm, has unveiled its latest digital solutions portfolio aimed at expediting the digital transformation of these operators. Designed to elevate uptime, optimise performance, and promote sustainability, these solutions are integrated within Eaton’s Brightlayer Data Centres suite. This pioneering platform represents a first-of-its-kind in the industry, seamlessly integrating asset management, IT and operational technology (OT) device monitoring, power quality metrics, and advanced electrical supervision into a single, native application.
“Point solutions are no longer sufficient to provide data centre operators the visibility they need into their increasingly complex ecosystem of IT and OT assets,” said Mike Jackson, global director of product, data centre and distributed IT software at Eaton. “This is especially the case as operations expand beyond the core data centre to hyperscale, multi-tenant and various types of edge locations. The new solutions in our Brightlayer Data Centres suite leverage a single, native application to manage, monitor and control a wide range of infrastructure assets while providing seamless integration with other software and a simplified way to expand software capabilities as an operator’s needs grow.”
Data centre operators, driven by both internal and external pressures to reduce carbon footprints, are increasingly recognising the potential for data to enhance sustainability efforts. A substantial 40% of these operators aim to use digitalisation to reduce energy costs, while over a third see opportunities for waste reduction, including heat and materials, according to The Intersection of Digital Transformation and the Energy Transition, a research report commissioned by Eaton and developed by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Furthermore, 46% of operators are already using or planning to use digital technology to monitor and report sustainability metrics in alignment with their goals.
Eaton’s Brightlayer Data Centres suite offers a unified application to manage, monitor, and control critical site power management assets, encompassing uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), power distribution units (PDUs), switchgear, generators, cooling equipment, battery storage, and solar equipment.
This comprehensive platform provides three solutions that can be used individually or in combination, based on specific customer needs. The Data Centre Performance Management software ensures maximum IT application uptime while minimising capital and operational expenses by monitoring assets, providing trend analysis, issuing alerts and reports, and efficiently managing power, space, connectivity, and cooling resources. The Electrical Power Monitoring System software delivers real-time and historical visibility into a data centre’s electrical power system, facilitating quick issue resolution, root cause identification, and resource optimisation for cost reduction and sustainability goals.
Meanwhile, the Distributed IT Performance Management software effectively manages and controls network-connected assets like PDUs and UPSs, regardless of vendor or location, proactively identifying and automating actions to prevent IT equipment downtime. Additionally, it features built-in cybersecurity protection, enabling remote firmware upgrades and configuration changes to safeguard critical data from potential cyber threats.
Customers have the flexibility to enhance functionality as their needs evolve post-initial implementation, eliminating the requirement for data migration or integration of multiple software platforms. The application can also be combined with third-party software, such as building management systems, configuration management database and IT service management applications, to gain even more improvements to efficiency, productivity, data accuracy, decision-making and cost.
