Remote thermal monitoring helps data centres remotely manage their facility during the Covid-19 lockdown

Data centre performance specialist EkkoSense has introduced a set of remote thermal monitoring options to help global organisations minimise the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their data centre operations.

EkkoSense Watch – the new Tactical Software and Hardware Pack can be shipped immediately and has been optimised for a sub 48-hour self-install to provide data centre operations teams with real-time remote visibility of their critical thermal performance. 

The pack combines the ASHRAE-compliant EkkoSoft Critical SaaS software and easy-to-deploy Critical Things sensor technology to enable comprehensive remote data centre thermal monitoring. EkkoSense Watch is unrivalled in the market due to the visibility it offers, the time interval required to go live, all at a sensible cost.

“With confirmed Covid-19 cases now exceeding 1.5 million worldwide, and lockdown restrictions set to remain in place for the foreseeable future, organisations are quickly having to come to terms with an isolated and remote working environment that has become the ‘new normal’. For data centre operations this means ensuring business continuity while at the same time dealing with the reality of site lockdowns – the potential absence of key staff through self-isolation, enabling social distancing as well as managing the resource implications of split rosters,” explained EkkoSense’s CEO Dean Boyle.

“Data centre teams are doing everything they can to reduce staff exposure to potential Covid-19 infection, however that can inevitably lead to a reduction in the kind of critical facility walkthroughs that are so important for ongoing risk reduction,” continued Dean. “Enabling remote monitoring with EkkoSense Watch helps to directly address this challenge, providing operations teams with an immersive 3D digital twin of their data centre that lets them monitor individual rack and cooling unit thermal performance, manage to ASHRAE KPIs and trigger alerts for key thermal and cooling metrics. 

Additionally, in the event of a Covid-19 incident being confirmed onsite, EkkoSense Remote would allow continued data centre monitoring remotely during any potential evacuation or deep clean.”

In addition to a core Tactical Software and Hardware Pack for new customers, EkkoSense Watch also offers two further enhanced remote support offerings to provide even greater levels of monitoring and risk mitigation. 

A Thermal Performance Reporting option supports intuitive, straightforward weekly reporting, with key estate-wide observations including potential issues, faults, PPM opportunities and RAG status – as well as escalation of any high impact issues that extend beyond normal operation. 

A Thermal Network Operations Centre (NOC) option is also available, providing a full remote ‘eyes on glass’ thermal NOC facility to support data centre teams. This also offers an additional level of air gapped support and protection – over and above existing BMS systems – that might not typically be available remotely.