It’s no secret that a rapidly evolving digital landscape is changing how the world does business. What’s considered trailblazing today will be standard in the future. At the same time, advances in automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence mean that more and more businesses are pushing the limits of their computational capabilities.
Fortunately, high-performance computing (HPC) solutions have evolved to fill these gaps. What was once only accessible to governments, research institutions, and large-scale engineering and manufacturing firms is now available to businesses of all shapes and sizes. Today, high performance compute, HPC, fuels innovative breakthroughs across a broad spectrum of industries, and anyone who cannot leverage it risks being left behind.
For several reasons, on-premise HPC data centers are extraordinarily cost-prohibitive. Designing, building, and maintaining these specialized systems requires a significant up-front investment of money, resources, and time. You incur the costs of building maintenance and large power bills due to the extreme energy requirements of HPC. All too often, pricey facilities end up underutilized when the cooling demands of HPC exceed expectations and grow out of the building. Outsourcing to underequipped data centers, colocation, carries its own risk. Operational costs can escalate dramatically when facilities not designed to handle HPC become overburdened and need retrofitting or a staunch appetite for risk.
That is why we have created a cost-optimized solution for businesses who need HPC resources at any scale, affordably. atNorth’s state-of-the-art data center facilities are purpose-built with the needs of HPC in mind and the focus on helping companies lower their TCO in several ways.
atNorth often get asked how we can lower TCO for our customers. Here are six key elements that drive down costs without sacrificing performance.
1. A powerfully cost-efficient location
The considerable energy requirements of HPC call for creative solutions. We chose the far north for our facility locations because they minimize energy expenditures and offer the most sustainable access to power available. Besides being better for the environment, sustainable energy resources increase efficiency and provide predictable, low-cost energy pricing – a must if you want to reduce that tremendous power bill. When power consumption accounts for around 35% of a data center’s costs, even a 10 – 20% reduction brings significant savings. In some cases, energy costs in the Nordic are up to 50% lower than running your cluster in mainland Europe.
All of our data centers operate with energy from renewable sources, and the heat we generate is recycled for use in district heating systems. These incredibly efficient infrastructures create opportunities to secure the power needed for HPC systems without breaking the bank.
2. Avoiding the pitfalls and hidden costs of DIY
One of the primary ways atNorth helps companies lower their TCO is by bypassing the costs associated with the build versus buy conundrum. When electing to build, you have a range of design problems to solve. You will need to find an adequate location/facility with access to scalable, reliable power capacity. Cooling considerations are significant; HPC systems produce high levels of heat in small spaces, so melt-down is an ever-present risk that must be eliminated
Developing your own HPC data center could amount to $200 million just for the initial deployment. The investment is made before even a single compute cycle is even performed. If your HPC is sueccesful, there imay be a need to step up capacity beyond the limits of your initial design and you will have to find ways to expand or supplement your operations. atNorth eliminates the headache of significant upfront capital expenditures and the follow-on operation and maintenance costs associated with direct solution ownership, as we create economies of scale across our customers.
3. Rapid deployment keeps you ahead of the competition
Time is money. atNorth’s colocation offerings and our HPC-as-a-service allow for plug and play style integration that cuts implementation time down from months-long process to a matter of weeks. This time-to-market advantage shortens the window between problem recognition and solution implementation, elevating our customers above their competition. First mover advantages create significant business opportunities and gains.
4. Scalability for a fast-paced market
As your business grows, adaptability is crucial to meet evolving market needs. This is especially true for enterprises that rely on HPC for their R&D. There might be times when you need a burst of capacity for a quick-turn, proof-of-concept. Other times, you may need to scale a successful demonstration to meet urgent production requirements. With atNorth, you have the operational flexibility to scale quicker no matter the circumstances.
5. A future-proof solution for a shifting world
The movement to greener business is a commercial and moral imperative. As such, atNorth prides itself on being an industry leader in data computing eco-consciousness. The bulk of our energy requirements is met by non-fossil fuel-based producers in countries committed to decarbonization and sustainability. Going green does not have to mean being more expensive. In fact, by staying ahead of the sustainability curve, you save money by future-proofing your infrastructure.
Our facilities achieve PUE ratings as low as 1.12 – well below the ambitious goals set by European data center operators in the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact. Regulatory compliance measures related to environmental standards are expected to expand in the coming years. Partnering with atNorth means never having to retire a solution left behind by advancing rules and regulations.
6. atNorth is designed explicitly for HPC
We stand on the cusp of a big data and AI performance revolution. Unfortunately, traditional data centers do not have the ability to handle the HPC necessary to leverage these emerging technologies. If your business depends on high-volume calculations to pioneer cutting-edge solutions, you need a partner who understands the demands of HPC and can provide a cost-effective system to get you where you need to go. Affordably harnessing the power of supercomputing is possible with atNorth’s innovative data center design.
Today’s super compute will be tomorrow’s standard.