{"id":10991,"date":"2019-11-15T10:27:54","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T02:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nxtmag.tech\/?p=10991"},"modified":"2019-11-15T10:27:54","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T02:27:54","slug":"digital-transformation-and-the-demand-for-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nxtmag.tech\/my\/2019\/11\/15\/digital-transformation-and-the-demand-for-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Transformation and the Demand for Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our world is in a constant state of disruption, as new digital technologies and innovations offer new and better ways of doing things. Indeed, digital transformation is frequently identified as the top priority of practically every C-suite survey, and organisations are turning to digitalisation in droves as they seek to gain an edge over their competitors.<\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/p>\n

Our Digital, Always-on World<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The breakneck growth of the digital economy is powered by IT across all sectors, enabled by a plethora of compute and storage devices residing within server rooms, data centres or on the public cloud. And the use of IT is pervasive on a scale that was never experienced: At homes, in schools, within offices, as well as at highly automated industrial plants.<\/p>\n

As the world turns to cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning or autonomous vehicles, the demand for additional IT infrastructure in the form of powerful computers for number crunching and road-side units to support self-driving vehicles will only soar.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the energy footprint of these systems is nothing short of dramatic \u2013 straining existing power systems with higher power demands than ever. And as IT systems grow and consume more energy than before, the limitations of traditional energy systems might well be the greatest barrier to successful digital transformation.<\/p>\n

To be clear, energy has always been a vital topic for IT infrastructure. Indeed, the reliability of power for IT has always been significantly higher than for other applications, evidenced by the widespread use of Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS) to data centres with their redundant diesel generators to keep running should the power grid crash.<\/p>\n

\"urban<\/p>\n

Demand for Power<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Based on forecasts, IT represents roughly 10% of worldwide power consumption today. This share is growing and predicted to double by 2030. That adds up to a growth of around 10% CAGR, which is an astounding increase by any measure.<\/p>\n

But even this estimate might be too conservative when one considers the exponential rise of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), the sheer amount of data generated and the rapid growth of communication networks.<\/p>\n