In Depth
In Depth
Datacentre capacity planning
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Lean, mean and green: The datacentres of the future
Working out how to develop more efficient datacentres in an increasingly resource-hungry world is not easy, but it is possible Continue Reading
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Cache vs tier: What’s the difference between cache and storage?
We look at the key distinctions between cache and tiers of storage, and where the line has become blurred with fast flash, 3D Xpoint and storage class memory technologies Continue Reading
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How AI and data analytics are driving composable infrastructure adoption in datacentres
As enterprises continue to grapple with how to make sense of their big data stores, organisations are having to rethink how they kit out their datacentres, with composable infrastructure leading the way Continue Reading
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Alibaba versus Amazon, Microsoft and Google: Does the Chinese cloud challenger have what it takes?
Chinese public cloud challenger Alibaba is undoubtedly making waves in the west, but does it have what it takes to seriously trouble the likes of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft in the infrastructure-as-a-service market? Continue Reading
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Driving adoption: Are high costs putting public cloud out of reach to non-profits?
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s insights into the sky-high cloud bills faced by some non-profit organisations prompts questions about whether the public cloud giants should do more to make their services more accessible to the third sector Continue Reading
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Mixing it up: Cloud and datacentre in the new world of IT
Cloud computing has long been tipped as the technology that will displace enterprise datacentres in CIOs’ affections, but that is not quite how the story is playing out Continue Reading
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Processors re-imagined: Will cloud and AI lead mean all change in the datacentre?
We look at the changes cloud-native platforms and artificial intelligence could bring about in the datacentre. Continue Reading
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Overcoming the infrastructure and connectivity challenges of cloud gaming
The cloud gaming market has a number of infrastructure challenges to overcome to reach its potential, and the supplier community is intent on helping it address them Continue Reading
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From consumer to prosumer: Reducing the datacentre industry’s reliance on the national grid
With the government ramping up plans to go net zero on carbon emissions by 2050, where does the datacentre industry stand – and how can it become more sustainable over the coming years? Continue Reading
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Do non-compete clauses risk stifling cloud innovation?
Non-compete clauses in tech employment contracts are commonplace – and understandably so – but could they be limiting innovation in the public cloud? Continue Reading
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Data storage: The top five storage deployment pitfalls
Key pitfalls in data storage include silos, under-utilisation, backup and disaster recovery, plus neglect of skills and application requirements. We ask analysts how to avoid them Continue Reading
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Locking down the datacentre: A security checklist for IT administrators
As datacentres become increasingy decentralised and the security threats they face increase in number and complexity, IT admins are at risk of becoming overwhelmed as they strive to keep on top of their server farm estates Continue Reading
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EBA outsourcing guidelines: What banks, fintechs and cloud providers need to know
The regulatory landscape for financial services and outsourcing will undergo a refresh this month with new guidance from the European Banking Authority. We look at what banks, fintechs and cloud firms need to do Continue Reading
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Cutting the cord: Negotiating cloud contracts with problematic customers
How accountable should cloud firms be for the actions of the customers that use their platforms, and how much thought should they give to aligning themselves with problematic brands before hosting them? Continue Reading
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Finding a fix for the IT industry's recruitment woes: A datacentre perspective
The datacentre industry is in the midst of a well-documented skills crisis, caused by a mix of sector-specific challenges and some more generalised ones Continue Reading
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Financial services and cloud: Delivering digital transformation in a highly regulated industry
The financial services community has gone from being one of the least likely sectors to adopt cloud to becoming one of its keenest users, as regulator attitudes to using the technology have become more accommodating Continue Reading
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Unpicking the datacentre industry’s complicated relationship with climate change
The energy usage habits of datacentres often see the sector labelled as a contributor to climate change, but the situation is far more nuanced than that, it seems Continue Reading
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Log management: Helping IT admins to achieve infrastructure-wide visibility
When properly configured and deployed, log management tools can unearth a veritable treasure trove of data that IT administrators can use to triage and diagnose problems in enterprise IT infrastructures Continue Reading
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Evolution in action: How datacentre hardware is moving to meet tomorrow’s tech challenges
The datacentre industry is in a state of flux, as new and emerging tech trends highlight hardware and performance shortcomings in legacy sites, prompting operators to rethink how they kit out their facilities Continue Reading
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Evolution in action: The changing face of the datacentre
The role datacentres play in the wider enterprise IT landscape is changing, fuelling the demand for a mix of different types of facilities that are capable of meeting the growing variety of enterprise data-processing requirements Continue Reading
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Employee activism: How staff revolts are shaking up the IT recruitment landscape
As staff at tech giants Microsoft, Google and Amazon continue to speak out about pressing social issues, pressure is growing on firms to better align themselves with their employees on ethics Continue Reading
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Making multicloud work: Is it really worth it?
Enterprise interest in multicloud deployments is on the rise, but with so many moving parts to take care of, will the benefits end up being too hard-fought to make it viable for most enterprises? Continue Reading
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Don’t let datacentres be a waste of space
Storage costs can be saved by improving the utilisation of existing storage infrastructures Continue Reading
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Competitive threats: What the growth in new public sector cloud frameworks means for G-Cloud
Public sector IT buyers may soon find themselves spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding where to procure their cloud services, thanks to the emergence of several new frameworks, but where does that leave G-Cloud? Continue Reading
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Blackout after Brexit: UK datacentres brace for post-EU power supply and cost changes
As the uncertainty over how the UK intends to extricate itself from the European Union rumbles on, datacentre operators are weighing up how Brexit might affect the availability and cost of the power they need to run their facilities in future Continue Reading
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Keeping cloud costs in check: What enterprises need to know
Organisations should not be rushed into moving to the cloud, because doing so could result in mistakes that are costly to put right Continue Reading
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EMIS Group CIO: Breaking down NHS patient data silos by going all-in on AWS
EMIS Group CIO Pete Malcolm is in the throes of a sizeable revamp of the healthcare provider's flagship software system for GPs that will see it go all-in on AWS, while addressing the government's push to make NHS data systems more open and ... Continue Reading
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Room to spare: Could space constraints slow London's record-breaking datacentre growth spree?
The London colocation market enjoyed another record year of growth in 2018, thanks to the hyperscale cloud community's insatiable demand for datacentre capacity. But is the capital running out of space? Continue Reading
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How Europe’s largest datacentre is helping to expand broadband access
NGD, the operator of the largest datacentre in Europe, is playing an unlikely role in helping expand access to full-fibre broadband in south Wales. We find out how, and why Continue Reading
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Interview: OVH CEO on offering a European alternative to the US public cloud giants
Six months into his tenure as OVH’s CEO, Michel Paulin sets out the work the firm is doing to stand out from the public cloud crowd through its local knowledge of the European data protection landscape and its open source credentials Continue Reading
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Docker management at scale: What enterprises need to know
Docker adoption within enterprises often starts at grass roots level, with developers leading the way, but as deployments scale and become larger in size, problems can occur Continue Reading
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Intel Cascade Lake vs AMD Rome: Who will rule the datacentre roost in 2019?
Intel and AMD are both making a renewed push into the enterprise datacentre market in 2019, with both set to release new processors. We take a look at what they have to offer Continue Reading
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GlaxoSmithKline R&D CDO on combining Hadoop and Docker to boost drug discovery efforts
Mark Ramsey, chief digital officer of research and development at GSK, describes how banking on big data, containers and on-premise technologies is speeding up the company’s efforts to uncover new drugs and improve the hit rate of its clinical trials Continue Reading
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Executive interview: Sebastian Krause, general manager, IBM Cloud Europe
IBM Cloud Europe general manager Sebastian Krause opens up about Big Blue's big bets on hybrid cloud, enterprise IT and why the public cloud market is not one it is interested in playing in Continue Reading
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Colocation and the hyperscalers: What the cloud giants want in a datacentre partner
The colocation market is booming on the back of the growing demand from the hyperscale cloud giants for readily available datacentre capacity, but why are some operators more successful than others when it comes to landing their business? Continue Reading
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Assessing the hyperscale squeeze on G-Cloud's SMEs
The latest government spend data suggests public sector IT buyers are increasingly using G-Cloud to procure services from the hyperscale cloud community, prompting concerns about the impact this might have on the SME-friendly framework Continue Reading
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Enterprise accessibility: How Cray is using HPC to open up AI use cases from the datacentre
Enterprises interest in HPC is reportedly being fuelled by the rising demand for artificial intelligence-based applications and services, and Cray is one of a number of providers looking to cash in Continue Reading
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Keeping cloud costs in check: Why good governance is key
Without proper checks and controls in place, it is all too easy for the cost of using cloud to spiral out of control in enterprises, but it doesn't have to be Continue Reading
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The bitcoin boom: How colocation datacentres are cashing in on cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency miners are turning to colocation providers to help scale up their operations, drive profits and boost their resiliency, but the benefits could be relatively short-lived for all concerned, it seems Continue Reading
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Serverless computing: What it is and why it matters
Enterprises might be forgiven for thinking serverless computing is just the latest in a long line of hyped technology concepts, but there is serious substance to it Continue Reading
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Intel vs AMD: Server rivals battling it out for edge datacentre supremacy
Chipmakers Intel and AMD are targeting edge computing environments with their latest embedded chips. What do each firm's propositions have to offer? Continue Reading
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Are gas-powered datacentres all hype and hot air?
As concerns about how the proliferation of datacentres will affect electricity supplies continue to be raised, some are experimenting with natural gas as an alternative energy source. But is it a viable, long-term solution? Continue Reading
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Cloud management platforms: Getting started and making it work
Choosing the right cloud management platform for your organisation is one thing, but embarking on a deployment brings its own challenges Continue Reading
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The EURECA moment: Counting the cost of running the UK’s public sector datacentres
The EU-backed EURECA project has spent the past 36 months assessing the state of public sector datacentres across Europe, and is revealing what it found Continue Reading
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Cloud management platforms: What you need to know to make multi-cloud happen
Deploying a cloud management platform can make adopting a multi-cloud approach to consuming IT resources easier, but choosing one that is the right fit for your enterprise can be a challenge for CIOs Continue Reading
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The multi-cloud myth: Why workload portability is still a pipe dream
While IT providers are fond of suggesting moving workloads between clouds is as easy as dragging and dropping apps between environments, the reality can be far more complex Continue Reading
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CIO interview: How River Island is using cloud to fend off its fast fashion competitors
River Island's CIO, Doug Gardner, discusses how embracing cloud, online and mobile devices is driving sales in its high street stores Continue Reading
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Upset in Athenry: Examining the impact of Apple's delayed Irish datacentre build
Apple is set to hear at the end of this month whether its much-delayed Irish datacentre build can go ahead. Computer Weekly examines the ins and outs of this complex case Continue Reading
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Nando's technology director explains using cloud to digitally disrupt its own business
Nando’s technology director, Richard Atkinson, describes how the restaurant chain is using cloud to get closer to its customers and build stronger ties with its 14,000-strong workforce Continue Reading
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How cloud, IoT and mobile devices are driving demand for edge datacentres
The demand for edge datacentres and computing resources is steadily rising, but what's driving the trend? Continue Reading
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Looking beyond PUE to assess the true environmental impacts of datacentre growth
Sustainability experts want operators to look beyond the accepted datacentre metrics to assess the impact the industry's growth is having on the environment Continue Reading
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Isle of Man: From seaside getaway to tech startup hub
The Isle of Man government is stepping up efforts to position itself as the low-tax jurisdiction of choice for the startup community. But what's it like to do business there? Continue Reading
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CW@50: The changing face of the datacentre over the past 50 years
As Computer Weekly prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary, we take a look back at how the design and role of the datacentre has changed over the past five decades Continue Reading
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Datacentre heat reuse: Why aren’t more operators doing it?
With the datacentre industry’s sustainability habits coming under increasingly close scrutiny, we find out why operators are not rushing to reuse their waste heat Continue Reading
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Microsoft’s underwater datacentre: The pros and cons of running subsea facilities
Underwater datacentres can help providers save on land costs and cooling, but at what cost to the environment? Continue Reading
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Interview: James Bamford on surveillance, Snowden and technology companies
Investigative journalist and documentary maker James Bamford was among the first to uncover the secrets of the US National Security Agency and its global surveillance Continue Reading
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EU Data Protection Regulation: What the EC legislation means for cloud providers
With the European Commission's data protection rules set to drop before 2016, take a look at what the changes mean for the cloud and datacentre community Continue Reading
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Case study: Open University uses Microsoft Azure to create course content clearance hub
The Open University recently scooped the award for Best Cloud Project at the CW European User Awards, and here's why Continue Reading
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Marseille: Europe’s networking gateway to Africa
The city of Marseille in southern France is fast becoming a hub for datacentre and network operators who want low latency connections to Africa. Continue Reading
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Datacentre PUE: Who's keeping score?
With datacentre operators under increased competitive pressure to cut their PUE scores, are their ratings really all they seem? Continue Reading
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What’s slowing down your network and how to fix it
When using the network feels like wading through molasses, finding the cause can be a difficult process Continue Reading
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Cloud, frozen pizza model and the immutable infrastructure
The architecture pattern for immutable infrastructure is based on the made-to-order pizza model Continue Reading
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Demystifying Kubernetes: the tool to manage Google-scale workloads in the cloud
We are witnessing a new technology wave in the form of immutable infrastructure and micro-services Continue Reading
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Micro-datacentre: What IT problems it solves and what workload systems suit it
A micro-datacentre is a smaller containerised datacentre system designed to solve different problems or to handle different workloads Continue Reading
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Will silicon photonics replace copper cabling in mainstream datacentres?
Silicon photonics can increase bandwidth in servers, improve data transfer speeds and reduce complexity. But are datacentres ready for it? Continue Reading
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Future of in-house datacentres in the cloud era
It is predicted that companies will spend three times more on the cloud by 2017. But as cloud goes mainstream, are in-house datacentres really dying? Continue Reading
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Understanding the real value of IT and proving it to the business
At a time when costs are being continually squeezed, there is more pressure than ever to demonstrate the business value of technology Continue Reading
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A guide to APM for the network manager
Has application performance management become a much needed discipline for the network manager? We examine the issues for IT departments Continue Reading
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The UK’s problem with power
Datacentre power buyers say Britain’s deregulated energy market is as complex as trading in derivatives Continue Reading
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Troubleshooting datacentre management issues
Gaining better control of the datacentre has to be a high priority to ensure high levels of performance and availability Continue Reading
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Make a high-performance computing and high-availability datacentre
High performance computing and high availability systems are no longer limited to engineers and scientists. But is your datacentre ready? Continue Reading
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How Capgemini keeps its Merlin datacentre green and energy-efficient
Capgemini's Swindon-based Merlin datacentre is one of the most energy-efficient in the world. But what makes it green? Continue Reading
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How to plan and manage datacentre redundancy
Provisioning of a datacentre to survive a range of failure scenarios has become critical for many businesses. Here's a datacentre redundancy plan Continue Reading
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How to monitor and improve the health of your datacentre
Any datacentre manager looking to support the business should take an end-to-end systems management approach to keep the datacentre in shape Continue Reading
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Best practices in software asset management for a flexible, resilient IT
Managing software assets is vital in order to maintain a highly flexible and up-to-date IT platform and more importantly remain compliant Continue Reading
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Sweating your datacentre’s IT assets - is it a good idea?
Amid economic uncertainties, businesses want to get more from existing IT assets. But does it make sense from an IT point of view? Continue Reading
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100Gbps Ethernet – is it time to move?
Do you need 100Gbps Ethernet in your datacentre, or is the technology just going through a hype cycle? Computer Weekly investigates. Continue Reading
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Top technologies that can make your datacentre green
Energy-efficient technologies that can reduce running costs in the datacentre and across the business Continue Reading
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How to effectively manage datacentre temperature and humidity
A datacentre is a complex facility with different cooling equipment and power systems. Here's how to monitor its temperature and humidity Continue Reading
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Tune Raid performance to get the most from your HDDs
Tune Raid performance at the storage controller to match application I/O demands to optimal hard drive (HDD) performance Continue Reading
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How Capex vs. Opex affects data centre outsourcing decisions
Capex vs.Opex comparison reveals that although cloud services help avoid capital expenses on building own data centres, its Opex model can turn costly if IT pros aren’t cautious. Continue Reading