Thanks to those of you who contacted me about last month’s Question Time on the subject of the industry skills shortage and what needs to be done to address it. It’s clear that this is a cause for real concern, so we’ll keep you posted about any developments.

 

This month, we’re focusing on something quite different – namely whether there are any benefits to using white enclosures, racks and cabinets over traditional black variants in data centres. Advocates suggest that they reduce lighting costs, improve visibility and are more energy efficient. Others, however, are more dismissive and fall into two camps. There are those that disagree with the belief that they can save money full stop, while others acknowledge that even if they do save money, the amount is negligible compared to other measures that could be carried out. You can read what our panel of experts had to say on the subject by CLICKING HERE.

 

We also take a look at light of a different kind in the shape of optical fibre cabling. There’s been a great deal happening in this area over the last few years and we have two excellent articles on the subject. In the first, Gary Bernstein of Leviton explains how and why singlemode optical fibre continues to gain market momentum. In the second Martin Ashton of Draka/Prysmian and his colleagues offer their views on what’s ahead for optical fibre.
CLICK HERE to read Gary’s article and CLICK HERE to read Martin’s.

 

We also have a special feature dedicated to cooling and climate management. David Craig of Iceotope explains how to cool things down at the edge, while Chris Wellfair of Secure IT Environments talks about how remote monitoring systems play a key role in micro-modular and edge data centres throughout the summer months and beyond. You can CLICK HERE to read David’s article and CLICK HERE to read Chris’s.

 

Rob Shepherd Editor