Schneider Electric Case Studies Bridging the digital divide

	Bridging the digital divide Schneider Electric

Bridging the digital divide

Schneider Electric

Technology Category	Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Storage Services
Applicable Industries	Telecommunications Utilities
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation Maintenance
Use Cases	Remote Asset Management Energy Management System Infrastructure Inspection
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services System Integration Testing & Certification
Challenge	Leading Edge Data Centres wanted to bring stable, reliable, cost-effective connectivity to regional Australia. The company needed a technology partner that could design and build a reliable prefabricated and certified edge data centre, which could be replicated quickly in multiple regional sites around Australia. The team was also looking for a company that could provide a network of engineers to support these sites into the future. A huge challenge for Leading Edge Data Centres is that the distance between its sites makes cost-effective, in-person monitoring almost impossible. Furthermore, most of its sites are greenfield locations, and as a result, power infrastructure is limited. For these reasons, it needed a reliable solution, backup redundancies, and remote access. Leading Edge Data Centres also required an energy monitoring system to accurately track and report in real time the usage of hundreds of customers. Read More
About Customer	Leading Edge Data Centres is an Australian company founded in 2018 with a mission to bridge the digital divide in regional Australia. The company provides businesses and communities with greater access to stable, reliable, and cost-effective connectivity. It aims to do this through a ground-breaking initiative involving a network of lights-out, highly automated data centres. Leading Edge Data Centres’s potential customers have previously suffered through connectivity outages costing them up to $160,000 a year, according to an ITWire report. Leading Edge Data Centres is committed to an uptime promise which can save its customers up to 80% of that cost. Read More
Solution	To ensure rapid deployment and ultra-reliable operation, Leading Edge Data Centres chooses to utilize Schneider Electric prefabricated data centre infrastructure. The data centres are designed, built, and tested in Australia before they are shipped to site. This removes many of the traditional construction complications and ensures each new Leading Edge Data Centres facility is designed with the same quality, durability, and reliability as the last. As well as reliability, Leading Edge Data Centres required a solution that was efficient and robust. With this in mind, Schneider Electric and Leading Edge Data Centres designed a series of edge data centres, each of a size most effective for the community they service. At the Newcastle Edge Data Centre in New South Wales, the solution includes 20 InRow DX cooling units with EcoAisle containment to keep energy usage to a minimum. The EcoAisle solution utilizes Active Flow Control to maximize the cooling systems’ efficiency by balancing airflow and eliminating pressure differences inside the aisle. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Storage Services

Applicable Industries

Telecommunications

Utilities

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Maintenance

Use Cases

Remote Asset Management

Energy Management System

Infrastructure Inspection

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

System Integration

Testing & Certification

Challenge

Leading Edge Data Centres wanted to bring stable, reliable, cost-effective connectivity to regional Australia. The company needed a technology partner that could design and build a reliable prefabricated and certified edge data centre, which could be replicated quickly in multiple regional sites around Australia. The team was also looking for a company that could provide a network of engineers to support these sites into the future. A huge challenge for Leading Edge Data Centres is that the distance between its sites makes cost-effective, in-person monitoring almost impossible. Furthermore, most of its sites are greenfield locations, and as a result, power infrastructure is limited. For these reasons, it needed a reliable solution, backup redundancies, and remote access. Leading Edge Data Centres also required an energy monitoring system to accurately track and report in real time the usage of hundreds of customers.

About Customer

Leading Edge Data Centres is an Australian company founded in 2018 with a mission to bridge the digital divide in regional Australia. The company provides businesses and communities with greater access to stable, reliable, and cost-effective connectivity. It aims to do this through a ground-breaking initiative involving a network of lights-out, highly automated data centres. Leading Edge Data Centres’s potential customers have previously suffered through connectivity outages costing them up to $160,000 a year, according to an ITWire report. Leading Edge Data Centres is committed to an uptime promise which can save its customers up to 80% of that cost.

Solution

To ensure rapid deployment and ultra-reliable operation, Leading Edge Data Centres chooses to utilize Schneider Electric prefabricated data centre infrastructure. The data centres are designed, built, and tested in Australia before they are shipped to site. This removes many of the traditional construction complications and ensures each new Leading Edge Data Centres facility is designed with the same quality, durability, and reliability as the last. As well as reliability, Leading Edge Data Centres required a solution that was efficient and robust. With this in mind, Schneider Electric and Leading Edge Data Centres designed a series of edge data centres, each of a size most effective for the community they service. At the Newcastle Edge Data Centre in New South Wales, the solution includes 20 InRow DX cooling units with EcoAisle containment to keep energy usage to a minimum. The EcoAisle solution utilizes Active Flow Control to maximize the cooling systems’ efficiency by balancing airflow and eliminating pressure differences inside the aisle.

Impact #1	Improved connectivity and reliability for Leading Edge Data Centres customers
Impact #2	Cost-effective network rollout of prefabricated certified edge
Impact #3	Accessibility and choice – by providing greater choice of direct cloud access, customers can enjoy faster connectivity through the network of edge data centres across regional Australia.

Impact #1

Improved connectivity and reliability for Leading Edge Data Centres customers

Impact #2

Cost-effective network rollout of prefabricated certified edge

Impact #3

Accessibility and choice – by providing greater choice of direct cloud access, customers can enjoy faster connectivity through the network of edge data centres across regional Australia.

Benefit #1	The Leading Edge Data Centres facility has been designed to operate at an efficient PUE of 1.3. However, it is expected that once the site is optimized it will operate at a PUE of 1.2.
Benefit #2	Leading Edge Data Centres is also undertaking a Carbon Offset Program to achieve net zero carbon emissions, and is working towards NABERS energy efficiency certification for its company headquarters.

Benefit #1

The Leading Edge Data Centres facility has been designed to operate at an efficient PUE of 1.3. However, it is expected that once the site is optimized it will operate at a PUE of 1.2.

Benefit #2

Leading Edge Data Centres is also undertaking a Carbon Offset Program to achieve net zero carbon emissions, and is working towards NABERS energy efficiency certification for its company headquarters.

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Overview

Bridging the digital divide

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit