ABB’s power infrastructure solution and critical services monitoring system is helping NEXTDC achieve the highest possible levels of reliability and resilience, with a firm focus on providing its customers 100% uptime and reducing the overall cost-per-megawatt.

With nine data centres currently and two more under development, NEXTDC’s next-generation data centres are breaking ground not only due to their size but business uptime capabilities and long-term reliability.

Constant increases in consumer, business and government uptake of big data, cloud computing, IoT and analytics, along with the ever-present rise of mobile data traffic, are all driving huge demand for colocation services in edge and hyperscale data centers across Australia.

Demand is so high that 80% of organisations will shift workloads to colocation and cloud-based models by 2025 according to Gartner.

With a focus on sustainability and renewable energy, NEXTDC’s build infrastructure platforms are based around three core components of data center excellence: power, security and connectivity.

Due to the already large footprint of existing facilities and progressive extension plans, NEXTDC requires a partner to monitor and fine-tune the critical data centre infrastructure in real-time. This would help NEXTDC make faster and better operational decisions and actions, and therefore deliver more effective operations, saving multi-million dollars for NEXTDC and its customers.

Key to ABB’s offering for NEXTDC was the complete ‘integrated power train’ including Isolated Parallel Switchboard (IPSB), medium and low-voltage switchgear, high and low capacity busduct, including intelligent tap-off boxes, along with ABB Ability Data Center Automation solution – an industrial grade CSMS providing best-in-class power, automation and monitoring integration capabilities, all in a single platform.

The Ability Data Center Automation system’s ability to integrate multiple vendor equipment with ease and adapt on-the-fly while providing continuous uptime was an advantage compared to competing solutions on the market.

The system integrates data from IT, power, cooling and building systems, eliminating the need for manual data entry when calculating utilisation metrics and other KPIs.

“Our critical services monitoring solution alerts NEXTDC and ABB to early indications of any equipment deterioration, allowing us to work together to proactively isolate and resolve potential issues before they arise,” ABB sector manager for data centres in Australia Narain Chandwani says.

“We are committed to working with NEXTDC on providing a very fast response, to ensure they maintain their 100% uptime guarantee.”

NEXTDC chief operating officer Simon Cooper says: “We are building the infrastructure platform that powers our thriving digital economy, and we know that our facilities underpin a large swathe of the country’s IT services.

“We take our responsibility seriously and we are committed to building and operating the most reliable, secure, powerful and energy efficient data centers in the country, if not the world. To achieve this, we work with only the best partners and suppliers globally to support our vision of building these incredible facilities.”