Why Data Center Protection is Crucial For Catalyzing Tech-Driven Growth of the Country

Deepak Pahwa, Chairman of Pahwa Group and Managing Director of Bry-Air (Asia), has around 60 years of industry experience. He has been instrumental in leading the Pahwa Group, a rapidly growing Adsorption Technology Group, with an interdisciplinary approach to drive growth. Under his guidance, the group has filed 114 active patent applications for 15 new technologies at national and international levels, with 74 of them already being allowed or granted.

Deepak Pahwa, Chairman, Pahwa Group & Managing Director, Bry-Air comes together with siliconndia magazine team to talk about ‘Why Data Center Protection is Crucial For Catalyzing Tech-Driven Growth of the Country’. Let’s read through the thought leadership piece!

The data center industry has been experiencing explosive growth in recent years. Looking at the huge amount of data being generated, accompanied by extensive internet penetration, data centers are sought across industries. It comes with the ability to efficiently manage, store, process, and transfer data, along with various applications.

With digital transformation shaping up the country, a surge in binge-watching on OTT platforms, virtual classes, telemedicine, online shopping, etc, have been fueling the demand for the centers. This is further amplified by organizations making a paradigm shift towards cloud-based services for ensuring the seamless functioning of various business processes. Owing to this uptick in digital services, India leads the league in data center capacity with 950 MW as compared to the major APAC countries, as per the CBRE report, outpacing Australia, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore, and Korea.

As per an ANI report, it is primarily the BFSI firms, entertainment, telecommunications, retail, healthcare, and other sectors that are likely giving the desired boost to the demand for large data centers, categorizing them under the ‘mission-critical’ category. With India expected to add 791 MW of capacity by 2026, there is an incessant need to improve the data center infrastructure of the country to protect the integrity of the facilities for optimal output. Being crucial to driving the tech-driven growth of the country, it becomes imperative to avoid any form of loss due to the unplanned downtime of the facility.

Data centers continuously run the risk of Airborne Molecular Contamination (AMC) which is generally present in the air in the form of smoke or dust. Vapour gases such as sulphur, oxides of nitrogen, chlorine, ammonia, etc. can be considered the major factors responsible for triggering the chemical contamination culminating in AMC. The contamination has a damaging effect on the data center facilities, where it gives rise to corrosion of the systems. The probability of corrosion is further magnified in facilities located near high-density traffic, landfill sites, process industries, sewerage/drains, etc., which are likely to release highly corrosive gases such as SOx, H2S, NOx, etc. Contaminating the environment within the premises, it causes the micro-corrosion or e-corrosion of the miniaturized electronics.

Leading to the breakdown of machines, corrosion can incur unwanted and costly repairs to the systems. Compromising the longevity of the sensitive processes, it is accountable for a wide range of faulty operations accompanied by reliability issues. Contributing to minor glitches, the corrosion is responsible for the unplanned downtime of the data centers, ultimately ruining the overall consumer experience. Looking at the destructive nature of the AMCs, industry players should proactively work towards addressing the impending problem with quality air solutions. The comprehensive solution comes in handy for bolstering the uptime prospects of the facility while driving the optimal performance of the center.

Installing Gas Phase Filtration systems (GPF) helps in achieving air of the highest quality for the data centers. Coming with the ability to curtail contamination, it filters out the corrosive gases to protect the microcircuitry of PCBs along with longevity of data center equipment. Deploying DataCenter Air Purifier (DAP) in the process makes it possible to remove the airborne molecular contamination from the centers. The systems are well-equipped with honeycomb matrix filter made up of revolutionary macro-porous desiccant that exhibits high bulk density, structural strength, and adsorption capacity for resisting the entry of contaminants into the room.

Data Centers are also vulnerable to presence of excess humidity. Accounting for condensation, it can have a damaging effect on equipment and lead to electrical short circuits. Therefore, to further fortify the protection of facilities, Compact Dehumidifiers can go a long way in monitoring the humidity and keeping it within the optimal range for impeding the condensation on equipment. Eliminating the excess moisture in the process, it provides a comfortable working condition to the occupants of the space.

Industry players can seek Customised Pressurisation Units to keep hazardous substances at bay. Maintaining a positive pressure across the room, it protects the facility by preventing influx of contaminated air within the facility. It conducts the treatment of outdoor air for humidity and contaminants before entering the data center at a slightly elevated positive pressure. This ensures a clean, stable environment inside the facility, that significantly reduces the risk of contamination and humidity related problems.

All the systems mentioned above work in tandem to optimize the airborne contamination and humidity to provide efficient data center environment. These solutions lead to increased uptime, higher reliability which are crucial for today’s business landscape. Where the demand for large data centers has been on a rise, even mid-size data centers and small server rooms are mushrooming across the country for facilitating businesses of all range. Therefore, in order to curb the instances of contamination in the mid and small sized spaces, BryShield from the house of Bry-Air comes with the proficiency to achieve the optimal environment within the room.

Conclusion

Therefore, understanding the crucial role of data centers in reinforcing the tech-driven aspirations of the country, it underscores the importance of protecting the facilities aimed at maximizing the output of the industry. Moreover, with the OEMs discontinuing the year-long maintenance cost of the expensive cards, safeguarding data centers and server rooms become even more important than ever before.