Microsoft's Janous to Keynote Spring Data Center World

Microsoft Utility Architect Brian Janous (left) will present the keynote address at the Data Center World Spring 2013 conference being held in in Las Vegas on April 28 to May 2. He will discuss Microsoft's pilot "Data Plant" project, pictured at right.

Highlighting the primary importance of energy in data center operations, Microsoft’s Brian Janous will deliver the keynote address at Data Center World Spring 2013 conference, which will be held in Las Vegas from April 28 to May 2.

Janous will speak about Microsoft’s recently announced Data Plant pilot project, the first phase of its ambitious plan to place data centers alongside sources of renewable energy, with no connection to the utility power grid. The Data Plant project will convert recycled waste into a data center energy

“The reduction of energy use in data centers is an enormous issue in our industry,” said Tom Roberts, president of AFCOM, the industry group for data center managers that organizes Data Center World. “Microsoft’s investment in this area will be of tremendous interest to Data Center World attendees. Brian will provide valuable insight into the process of leading cloud‐scale infrastructures toward a more profitable and sustainable future through strategic energy sourcing, innovative solutions to supply power to data centers through on‐site generation, and the issues of power availability.”

Janous is responsible for developing Microsoft’s global energy strategy for data centers that provide cloud infrastructure for more than 200 Microsoft online services. He oversees all the company's energy supply agreements, distributed generation, and strategic partnerships. He came to Microsoft last year after more than 12 years working in the energy industry, consulting with Fortune 500 companies and government agencies on energy supply and sustainability.

Dramatic Gains in Efficiency

"Cloud computing is transforming the way we live and interact with technology, and to support this, our industry is experiencing tremendous growth,” said Janous. "At Microsoft, with projects like our Data Plant, we’re envisioning new scenarios to help us drive dramatic gains in efficiency by looking well beyond traditional models of data center design."

Janous says that as the data center industry matures, it can learn from other energy-intensive industries and even the energy sector itself. "The biggest challenge is the capacity planning issue," said Janous. "How do you continue to have the right amount of capacity in the right place at the right time?"

While Microsoft is building cloud infrastructure at scale, Janous says the solutions to its energy challenges will be relevant to data center managers. "We're really focused on technologies that work, and are scalable and deployable," he said. "These are technologies that have promise for our industry. My hope is that this will enable broader adoption."

In his keynote, Janous will also discuss a new study by Global e‐Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) entitled “The Role of ICT in Driving a Sustainable Future,” which examines the potential for the IT industry to reduce annual emissions through the use of video conferencing and smart building management.

Data Center World Spring 2013 will include more than 60 educational sessions covering all aspects of the data center and facilities management field including disaster recovery, DCIM, management, data center builds and design, facilities management, power and cooling, cloud as well as pertinent and topical peer‐to‐peer user sessions and round table discussions.