Data’s Deep Dive
Source: 19th Annual Global CEO Survey, PwC (Methodology: 1,409 CEOs in 83
countries were surveyed in the third and fourth quarters of 2015.)
Top technologies for increasing stakeholder
engagement:
WHAT KEEPS CEOs UP AT NIGH T
Top threats they see right now:
79% Overregulation
74% Geopolitical uncertainty
73% Exchange rate volatility
72% Availability of key skills
71% Government response to fiscal deficit and
debt burden
TALEN T TROUBLES
Top ways CEOs look to overcome talent
management challenges:
1. Focusing on
pipeline of future
leaders (49%)
2. Changing
workplace culture
and behaviors (41%)
3. Effective
performance
management (38%)
1. Data and analytics
(68%)
2. Customer relationship management
systems (65%)
3. R&D and innovation
(53%)
The technology industry has a heat problem. Massive data centers
help deliver videos, email and social network content to billions of
people—and generate tons of heat. This leaves tech companies with
massive air conditioning bills and the constant risk of crashes from
overheated servers.
Microsoft thinks the solution lies at the bottom of the sea. Earlier
this year, the Redmond, Washington, USA-based company concluded
a 105-day trial of an underwater data center project. A team plunged a
server rack encapsulated in a watertight steel cylinder 30 feet ( 9. 1 meters) underwater off the coast
of California. The capsule was outfitted with more
than 100 sensors to measure pressure, humidity,
motion and other conditions.
The ocean water keeps the servers cool, eliminating expensive energy bills and reducing the risk
of crashes. Subsea data centers might even be able
to power themselves using tidal power or underwater turbines. The challenge is creating units that
can function without regular checkups. Microsoft
estimates that an undersea system may be able to
go up to 20 years at a time without maintenance.
To alleviate environmental concerns, the project team used acoustic sensors to determine if
noise from the servers would disrupt ocean wildlife—and found that
any sound from the system was drowned out by the clicking of nearby
shrimp. Early tests also showed that heat generated by the servers only
affected water a few inches around the vessel.
The project’s test phase was so successful that it ran 75 days longer
than planned. Researchers believe that mass-producing server capsules
can slash setup time of new data centers from two years to just 90 days.
If that’s the case, a big new wave of data center projects could be on
the way. —Kelsey O’Connor
Microsoft
estimates that
an undersea
system may be
able to go up to
20
years
at a time
without
maintenance.
A rendering of the server
rack in the ocean off the
coast of California, USA
