Review of IT Infra event: from hydrogen to cyber security

Like many other FHI events, the IT Infra event was organized this year in the form of an online knowledge week. Experts talked about the latest developments and technology in the data center market for three days. This provided the 450 spectators with a lot of useful information.

Bilal Sarfraz, ABB, discussed predictive maintenance during his lecture, a rapidly emerging method of maintenance that uses sensing and analytics to select an optimized time for maintenance activities. In short, as Sarfraz called it: maintenance management outside the box that can provide data centers with significant cost reductions.

There was also attention for the theme of sustainability. For example, Roel van de Pas (Nedstack) and Max Aerts (DENS) discussed the possibilities of clean fuel cells. Because hydrogen, in addition to other green energy sources, offers new possibilities for further greening of data centers.

Bart Nieuwenhuis & Ronald van Veen (Vertiv) talked about how prefab and modular growth scenarios can help data centers to quickly add extra capacity. But certification is also important, especially in the field of cyber security. Willy Leuvering, who we previously interviewed, spoke on behalf of ISA about securing data center infrastructure according to ISA/IEC 62443 standards.

Finally, almost inevitably in this day and age, the corona pandemic was also discussed. A panel discussion addressed the impact of COVID-19 on the data center industry. The hope is that the IT Infra Event can take place under different circumstances next year.