Data Centres: A Resilient Economic Lifeline through COVID-19

•  16 Dec 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down most activities in the world even as pharmaceutical companies race to create a vaccine against the virus. Governments and healthcare workers are toiling hard to contain the outbreak but what is remarkable is that the internet has been resilient in handling the huge increase in traffic.

Importance of Data Centres

The economic impact of the pandemic is still being analyzed, but the internet’s ability to manage extreme pressure without any major disruptions stands out amidst the gloom. The internet is supported by efficient data centre management which enables people to socialize, learn, and conduct business remotely. We firmly believe that data centres will increase in importance in people’s daily lives as social behavior undergoes permanent changes.

The importance of data centres is indicated in the financial markets. Nareit reports that data centres were the top performing sector in real estate this year through June end. Apart from the industrial and infrastructure industries, other sectors like healthcare, resorts/lodging and retail met with great losses.

In the infrastructure industry, some types have become less essential compared to others. For instance, water treatment facilities have remained crucial, while airports and toll roads have become empty. The slowdown and pause in manufacturing have reduced the demand of power plants.

Increase in Internet Traffic

Internet and data centre infrastructure has seen considerable demand growth during the crisis. Societal activity has gone online shifting from hotels, offices, theme parks, and malls. The pandemic increased web traffic across the world by 30% in just a few days. Network operators were expecting this rate of growth for all of 2020.

In essence, for efficient data centre management, a safe place is required with uninterrupted internet connectivity and power, so it can remain functional all the time. The operational performance of data centres during the crisis is noteworthy as there have been minimal internet disruptions across the world. The internet is resilient because of its decentralized design and the operational performance and planning of the entities that run it.

Inbuilt Resilient Practices

Data centre management, operation and design have built-in resilient practices. Leading data centre firms strive to limit downtime to only a few minutes throughout an entire year. They were well prepared for the coronavirus pandemic. Data centre companies have plans for business continuity to deal with different kinds of disruptions. They implemented these plans during the pandemic crisis.

Data centers have now restricted the number of on-site staff, begun screening employees for symptoms, and upgrading cleaning processes. Now, they operate at a response level that includes the above procedures, plus other health protocols for on-site staff and postponing unimportant maintenance.

Remote Data Centre Management

The resilience of data centres is because they can be operated remotely or by only a few on-site people despite the need for round the clock monitoring. Typically, data centre management involves the presence of security personnel and the tenant’s and operator’s technicians 24/7. But the systems can be operated automatically which means they can be run even without any staff for a limited period of time.

The increasing use of advanced technology like AI (Artificial Intelligence) will make data centres more robust as they can be run with limited staff for longer time periods.

As the dangers of the pandemic seem more manageable over time, we think it is likely that most of the working and social norms practiced during the crisis will continue to remain in place at some degree. Many employees will continue to work from home and may not be willing to give up the benefits. Universities and college students may also understand that online learning is a great way to save costs and get good education in a convenient manner.

Ready to Meet Increase in Demand

These two activities will increase video usage which already constitutes the biggest source of web traffic. In addition, people like using video calls to connect with their friends and family members. These behaviors are likely to result in increased internet traffic and data centre firms like us, at STT GDC India, are prepared to expand and improve to meet these demands.