Leveraging Digital Twins for Data Center Management

In a rapidly evolving digital environment, data center operators are looking for ways to optimize their operations to increase efficiency, flexibility, and security. In large-scale data centers where a plethora of hardware and software systems operate, swift response to system failures or anomalies is crucial. Leveraging digital twins proves effective in addressing these challenges.

Digital twin technology involves digitally modeling physical systems or processes to simulate and optimize their real-world operations. It enables data center operators to monitor the center’s interior and sensor data within the platform, facilitating management tasks without on-site visits. This reduces the time and cost of deploying and traveling management personnel, and helps increase operational efficiency.

Beamo: Digital Twin Solution for Data Centers

Beamo, a digital twin solution for data centers, simplifies the process of digitizing data center environments. It utilizes a 360-degree camera, smartphones, and tripods to capture the data center’s interior and generate a 3D view swiftly. With specially lightweight tripods, even large and complex data center environments can be easily captured. The captured data can be quickly shared in a 3D view with various stakeholders for prompt and accurate decision-making.

Integration of IoT sensors into the Beamo platform further enhances data center management efficiency. Sensor data related to energy consumption, power status, equipment cooling, rack inlet and outlet temperature, humidity, leak detection, among others, can be monitored in real-time within the Beamo platform. This enables operators to detect critical issues  and respond promptly.

Moreover, Beamo provides tagging and commenting features to enhance collaboration between managers and team members. Necessary files for data management can be attached within the digital twin using tags for sharing among stakeholders, and comments can be added to address issues as they arise. These features enable remote monitoring of data center conditions and facilitate efficient data center management.

Case Study of Beamo Utilization in Data Centers

Japan's largest telecommunications company utilized Beamo to cut down on data center site survey costs. With over 1,000 data centers to manage, sending field survey teams incurred significant time and expenses. Moreover, reports submitted by inspectors lacked spatial information, leading to inaccuracies in assessing on-site conditions. To address these issues, the company adopted Beamo and implemented digital twins for approximately 70 data centers. This enabled real-time sharing of data center statuses and facilitated report generation based on spatial information.

In this way, data center management with digital twins improves operational efficiency and helps predict equipment failures to minimize downtime. With a digital twin, data center operators can monitor the status of sensors in real time and resolve issues quickly to maintain reliable operations.