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This year’s HPE Discover offered big surprises. These consisted of a look at the crystal ball into the future of AI as well as a look at tomorrow which is exactly when the devices needed to create this future will be ready on the shelves at HPE. Just as AI was the overall theme, the conversations about sustainability became the consistent agenda.

This is truly a factor in the way we buy, manufacture, and do business. It became clear that HPE is not just looking to create the AI ready infrastructure of the future, they also want to contribute to making sure we actually have a future, and one in which IT is a driving force for sustainability.

The waves are crashing. When two currents meet, the waves are high and the waters can seem so wild that nobody truly knows if the ocean will ever settle again. At this year’s HPE Discover, it was clear that the new winds from the AI currents will increase in speed even more so. The same holds true for the many powerful currents such as the industry’s focus on sustainability which has increased in recent years. They are all coming together right now and violently so. 

Is the AI wave the new showstopper for years’ worth of development of greener IT? 

Technology Lead at Danoffice IT and newly returned Discover attendee, Niels Vejrup Pedersen, puts words to everyone’s new joint dilemma: “AI requires such an incredible amount of computer horsepower. That expends quite a lot of energy and in so many ways which quite naturally triggers a need to stop it. We must remember to be responsible in our actions.” Therefore, there was a certain level of hopeful expectation when Niels and his Danoffice IT colleague, Michael Schultz, Sales Specialist, Datacenter at Danoffice IT, made the trip to Las Vegas to attend Discover 2024 and hopefully get some answers. 

Responsibility and IT Go Hand in Hand

At Danoffice IT, the foundation of our business, manufacturing, and global logistics is a very extensive ESG program. This is a program which is anchored in the strongest possible way in our top level management and board of directors as well as in each unique department in our organization. Not only do we work by following the UN’s Global Goals, we have also committed ourselves to the UN’s Global Compact program through which we have set ambitious goals for our sustainability efforts, among other things. This is exactly why we are very interested in how our key partners are taking responsibility and leading the way. 
Learn more about our ESG program.

Break Pedal or Gas Pedal? 

At HPE’s Discover 2024, it became clear that there are answers out there. New ways and new solutions which could pave the way for the most rapidly accelerating development of technology in recent times. The Danish company Danfoss took the stage with HPE and introduced a groundbreaking solution which is in fact one actual solution, a calming of the storm, which can be brought into the meeting between AI and our ambitions of a greener industry and future. The operative word is recycling. 

“This newly formed partnership across industries establishes the plan for the next generation of sustainable datacenters by using the technology we have available to us today.” These were the words of Jürgen Fischer, President of Danfoss Climate Solutions as he spoke on the stage.

For many years, recycling has been an important component in the efforts to make a greener IT industry and the strategic partnership between HPE and Danfoss has taken this to the extreme: Recycling existing products and solutions. Recycling existing technology. Recycling materials and the core of the solution which is recycling the driving forces and the energy. The ambition is to achieve a so-called decarbonation of our datacenters which will carry our AI solutions in the future. They call it HPE IT Sustainability Services – Data Center Heat Recovery.

HPE IT Sustainability Services

The joint solutions of Danfoss and HPE is a heat recycling module which enables companies to manage and generate business from the excess heat. The solution consists of:

  • HPE’s Scalable Modular Data Center (MDC): Compact high-density devices which incorporate DLC (Direct Liquid Cooling), which reduces the energy consumption by 20%

  • Danfoss’ heat recycling modules: Collects the excess heat from the datacenter and redirects it through a heat distribution system for on-site buildings and commercial use. 

  • Danfoss Turbocor®: An oil-free compressor which optimizes datacenter cooling up to 30%. 

Warm Welcome

Liquid Cooling has been a regular component in the HPC technology for years and it has reduced the heat in the large datacenters which have served as the backbone for data crunching for both industrial use and research.

However, to take it even further to the point where you recycle and re-think the existing technology to solve such a sensitive issue in the industry, that is exciting to Niels Vejrup Pedersen. “We are most definitely proud to have a Danish company partner with HPE on this solution,” he says.

Michael Schultz adds to this: ”They refer to it as the revolution of decarbonization of the datacenter industry and right at first glance, that appears to hold true. It is a surprisingly powerful solution which we offer a warm welcome.” 

From Waste to Value

By using waste and turning garbage into value, we demonstrate that the energy consumption of the future is efficient and intelligent, and even attainable today. That is the message from Sue Preston, Vice President and General Manager, WW Advisory & Professional Services & Managed Services, at HPE.

The technological foundation behind the solution is also well-tested. At Danfoss’ 250,000 m2 large headquarters, the heat from the HPE datacenter is recycled in the entire complex as well as to locale citizens in the town of Nordborg. HPE’s modular datacenter technology is unmatched in the market and it is the key to the benefit of the solution. The shear compact size minimizes energy loss and maximizes the collection of excess heat.  

“If we can start to see datacenter solutions that are ready to contribute to progressing the green development as direct result of their AI preparedness, then we have made it very far,” Niels Vejrup Pedersen, Technology Lead at Danoffice IT, concludes. 

Bold Statements

The biggest Discover was hosted in one of the world’s most spectacular venues, which is the Sphere in Las Vegas. The enormous sphere-shaped building seems to serve as a reminder of the magnitude of our globe and that nothing is big enough and nothing is impossible. In many ways, this was the perfect correlation with the theme this year which was AI. In his keynote speech, HPE’s CEO, Antonio Neri, stated that; Bold statements require bold locations. Having AI as the overall theme provided a complete cohesiveness. 

Wow effekt

“Looking back, we most definitely had high expectations. We already knew that they would bring Jensen, CEO of Nvidia on stage and following Antonio’s statement of bold statements, we knew that something big would be introduced and that it was likely to not just be about new servers.

Antonio’s keynote speech really had the wow effect in The Sphere. Everything you hear or see is amplified. We had already asked our customers what they wanted to see and hear, which meant we had the agenda planned out down to the smallest detail. At Danoffice IT, we take pride in making things relevant and manageable. The educational component is at the core and with the proper planning, the experience becomes highly valuable”

Niels Vejrup Pedersen, Technology Lead

“In typical HPE fashion, the lodging and all practical aspects ran like clockwork. Everyone was ready to provide us with excellent care. There were nearly 15,000 people present waiting to be inspired. They even pulled off their annual celebration, which is their large socialization event running alongside the keynote speeches and sessions, at an A+ level.

For the first time ever, the decision was made to combine Aruba Atmosphere with HPE Discover. This is a clear win for the industry and for HPE’s customers. Everything is gathered in one place and highly concentrated. This eliminates the need to spend resources on seeking knowledge anywhere else in the HPE world and the need to physically travel anywhere else.”

Michael Schultz, Sales Specialist, Datacenter

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