A Journey to Smarter, Sustainable and Greener Data Centers of the Future

As data center sustainability continues to move to the forefront across the globe, BDx recently announced a partnership with Red Dot Analytics (RDA) to increase efficiencies across our Asia-Pacific facilities. With data center services on the rise throughout this digitally-focused region, this partnership will digitally transform our data centers, empowering them to become more sustainable and efficient.

This strategic partnership with RDA, a Singapore-based pioneer in the industrial artificial intelligence (AI) space, will enable us to identify inefficiencies throughout BDx’s facilities by leveraging RDA’s Data Center Solution that integrates AI-driven applications and automation. As a result, our O&M team will gain deep insight into data center lifecycle management, delivering lower energy costs, less human error and increased capacity utilization.

The first phase of this three-year project is underway. It will focus on cooling and PUE optimization, and ultimately, will enable us to reduce our carbon emissions and footprint, which is critical as the digital economy continues to rise across the Asia-Pacific.

The New Era of Intelligent and Automated Data Center Management

To get a closer look at how BDx will transform digitally to meet these critical sustainability goals, we sat down with BDx’s Chief Operations Officer, Jeremy Yew, and Professor Yonggang Wen, Chief Scientist at RDA, two of the leaders behind this advanced project.

To start things off, we asked Professor Yonggang Wen of RDA to take a deep dive into the company’s AI-powered data center solution.

Q: Professor Yonggang Wen, can you tell us a bit more about how RDA’s Data Centre Solution leverages AI-Driven Applications to manage the full data center lifecycle?

RDA’s groundbreaking innovation provides predictive and data-driven actionable insights. Our Data Center Solution, DCWiz, is an integrated platform that combines cognitive industry-grade digital twins with artificial intelligence to create an intuitive yet highly accurate analysis for mission-critical infrastructure housed in data centers to digitalize, optimize and automate.

DCWiz draws from the collective power of big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to process and analyze an unprecedented amount of real-time and historical operational data from a wide range of data center equipment and sensors. The platform is highly scalable and can be configured to monitor assets regardless of equipment type, vendor, or age in a single data center or across multiple sites. This allows data center operators to intuitively understand the system’s current state, easily detect hot spots and anomalies, and assess how changes affect performance, efficiency and availability.

RDA’s use of artificial intelligence technologies enables data center operators to identify problems and improve opportunities to make better-informed decisions proactively. As a result, they gain business continuity and energy efficiency without compromising the availability throughout the data center lifecycle.  

Q: DCWiz has the proven ability to reduce cooling expenses by up to 40%, which is game-changing! Can you give us more details?

The cognitive industry-grade digital twins enable data center halls and cooling facilities to achieve highly accurate predictions of system dynamics. This includes temperature, energy cost, and performance while also providing an accurate intuitive 3D and/or 2D visualization platform that covers the layout, thermal dynamics, airflow directions, energy efficiency and more. Its patented AI technologies provide actional predictions for dynamic cooling control and joint IT-thermal management, rendering new opportunities in reducing cooling expenses.

With its predictive capabilities, this data-driven approach captures data centers as an ecosystem and is a real game-changer from traditional data center monitoring tools.

Q: How does RDA’s solution predict the future state of the data center and provide insights for improvement?

The ability to capture large volumes of real-time data from a wide range of data center equipment and sensors at high speed unlocks valuable insights around patterns and relationships hidden behind data. These insights can help data centers anticipate change, thus optimizing performance and improved efficiency outcomes with accuracy and reliability.

RDA’s DCWiz consists of an AI core component alongside modified features that can be molded to other industries such as manufacturing, logistics, building climate control, and power generation and distribution. Using AI to improve energy efficiency is the primary function of DCWiz’s AI core, as shown in its current use in data centers. In urban environments such as Singapore, AI energy efficiency can reduce the overall carbon released in the air along with heat emissions pollution. RDA ushers in a new era of intelligent and automated data center management for a smarter, sustainable and greener data center of the future.

Digital Transformation Meets Data Center Sustainability

Next up, we turn to our very own COO, Jeremy Yew, to gain insight into this partnership and how it aligns with BDx’s mission to make our data centers more sustainable while adding significant cost savings for our clients. Keep reading to learn more!

Q: Jeremy, can you tell us more about what attracted BDx to RDA’s digital twin technology?

It is very straightforward – other options in the market require you to modify specific add-ons onto your plant, which are clunky and equipment-specific. RDA has also emerged into the market within a short period and won international awards against huge conglomerates. This is a testament to their agility, similar to BDx being the new kid on the data center block. We are a small but fast locomotive that’s flexible and adaptive with growth in our sight. The synergies between the two companies are very complementary.  

Q: When it comes to RDA’s AI-driven applications, what’s the biggest benefit?

More tangible data allows BDx’s operations team to work closely with our design and construction team to incorporate efficiencies and adjust the inefficiencies within our design.  

Sustainability is critical as we navigate our digital transformation journey, but we are also engaging RDA to test pilot our predictive maintenance capabilities. I am confident this will yield increased stability, vital for customers entrusting their mission-critical infrastructure and business with us.  

Q: How will RDA’s Data Centre Solution lead to additional savings for BDx customers?

RDA’s solution is a ‘live’ intelligent system that can pick up the seasonal demands and tweak the settings of our cooling plant into a more efficient operating unit, which, in turn, gives us a lower PUE. That saving is passed through to our customers.  

A Look Ahead

This innovative partnership gives BDx real-time data-driven insights into understanding our infrastructure in terms of efficiency, thus driving our sustainability efforts, reducing our PUE, and decreasing BDx’s carbon footprint. With real-time data, we now have a platform to monitor and drive efficiencies year over year. In addition, the BDx Operations Team is already looking into integrating additional innovations to complement the platform.  

Thanks, Jeremy and Professor Yonggang Wen, for providing valuable insight and expertise into this partnership. Indeed, the importance of this three-part project is vital to meeting BDx’s data center sustainability objectives. With phase one underway, we are already anticipating the subsequent two phases.

To learn more about this partnership, click here. Looking to house your IT infrastructure with the fastest-growing data center provider in the Asia-Pacific? Contact us today to learn more about our secure colocation and expert managed services.