In 2014, Lenovo acquired IBM's server range and in the years that followed, Lenovo Data Center Group continued to innovate and invest in new technologies. Most recently, the unit worked on advanced IT and IoT solutions while building hardware subscription models for the business. To learn more about Lenovo's data center operations, TechRadar Pro spoke with Per Overgaard, CEO of Lenovo's Data Center Group, EMEA.
Can you tell us a bit about what your role as CEO of Lenovo's EMEA Data Center Group entails?
As CEO of Lenovo's Data Center Group (DCG) in the EMEA region, I lead a team of technical specialists, architects, and product managers who support our partners, customers, and sales teams. Our expertise spans general data center infrastructure, as well as High Performance Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Advanced Computing, Storage, Software and Networking, and Software Defined Service Providers. My role allows me to spend a lot of time with our clients to deepen my understanding of their daily problems and pain points. We use this information to learn how Lenovo can tailor its services to respond to these requests in a personalized way. To overcome your data storage challenges, we provide technology that simplifies data deployment and management, ensures the sustainability of your infrastructure, and ensures the agility and speed of business applications.Your company entered the data center market after acquiring IBM's x86 server business in 2014. What progress have you made and what challenges have you encountered in the data center market? ?
Over the past five years, we have built a complete portfolio of data centers built on a solid foundation of compute, storage and networking hardware and services. We have also developed a wide range of technical solutions designed for specific workloads, including AI, Blockchain, DevOps, and Big Data. Our work has produced an efficient supply chain that can operate globally. Some of our accomplishments have also resulted from major partnerships, including Intel, Microsoft, AMD, VMware, NetApp, Nutanix, and many others, that help provide our customers with choice. We were also global firsts, like our energy-efficient liquid cooling technology, Neptune, or our consumption-based subscription model offering, Truscale ™ Infrastructure Services. We are also breaking world records. Lenovo ranks first in x86 server performance with 155 global workload records, as well as reliability for x86 servers, which we've maintained for many years. We are also the highest ranked company in the Supercomputing Top 500 with 173 locations.
What are the main differences between the UK, EU and US data center markets?
The UK, EU and US data center markets are differentiated by their unique customers who have region-specific needs. This is characterized by the fact that certain industries are more widespread in their respective markets. For example, the oil and gas industry is the largest sector in Norway, accounting for 16% of the country's GDP. Certain other industries occupy an important place in different markets. For example, the automobile sector is a major feature of the German economy, as is the banking sector in the United Kingdom. The European data center market is growing rapidly, but the region is experiencing unique challenges that do not exist in the United States. The many different languages and currencies that span across Europe can lead to business complications when it comes to contracts and pricing for multinational products. The myriad borders that exist in Europe also create new difficulties regarding data sovereignty between countries. However, the introduction of the GDPR has allowed the EU to unify its data protection laws and clarify borders. In addition, Europe has less space than the United States. This means that data center providers need to be more creative and flexible with their data center layouts to make the most of space. However, some European countries offer natural advantages when it comes to building a data center infrastructure. Places close to the Arctic Circle, including Sweden, have seen the construction of several new data centers. In fact, its stable geography is ideal for data center infrastructure due to the extremely low risk of earthquakes. Cold weather also means saving energy when it gets cold.Earlier this year, Lenovo launched TruScale Infrastructure Services. How have your customers reacted to the possibility of purchasing infrastructure as a service and what are your plans for this business in the future?
I'm sure all customers will end up paying for the technology using a consumption-based model. In my opinion, the concept of "everything as a service" is true. In the future, customers will subscribe to the infrastructure instead of buying it. The only question is how and when it will happen. IDC research shows that 63% of IT buyers say that when selecting an IT infrastructure provider, the availability of flexible payment options or pay-per-use 39 usage is very important to them. So we tried to solve this problem with TruScale. It is a consumption-based subscription offering that allows customers to use and pay for data center equipment and services, on-site or at a customer-preferred location, without having to purchase the equipment. This means customers never capitalize on hardware or other IT assets and pay for what they use each month as part of their operating expenses, with no minimum capacity commitment required. . Furthermore, this capacity can be scaled up or down to meet business needs, thus ensuring that the IT infrastructure is flexible and scalable at all times. Our customers are eager to learn how Lenovo TruScale differs from other vendors on the market. It's a conversation we need to have with them, to help them understand how we estimate risks, how we deliver the service, and how our measures work. Then we can work together to lay the foundation for mutual success.How does Lenovo plan to integrate next-generation IT in the telecom space?
Lenovo introduced the ThinkSystem SE350 earlier this year, a compact edge server that's slightly larger than one of our ThinkPad laptops. It's a micro server designed to go anywhere, like a rack, wall, or even a shelf, and can handle 0-55oC, 30G shock, and 3G vibration. It also has contactless setup, full remote management, enhanced security features like tamper detection and encrypted data protection, and even wired, Wi-Fi, or LTE connectivity. In terms of how we market this, we have a dedicated specialist team that understands the needs and challenges of our clients. We believe that for telecom customers, and even other customers, the SE350 will help them to innovate. We are confident that with the wireless and 4/5G connectivity options, we have a platform with the SE350 where customers can run business applications in environments where IT skills are not needed; is present. This illustrates our common goal of providing smarter technology for all by providing connectivity-free organizations with connectivity. Gartner predicts that by 2022, 75% of the data generated by the enterprise will be created and processed outside of a traditional centralized data center or the cloud. This in turn will increase customer concerns about data privacy, security and regulations, associated with latency, bandwidth, connectivity and downtime challenges. So with our edge server, we meet the needs of customers and can also help them reduce implementation time, like the solution we provided with Scale Computing for Delhaize, the Dutch-based food retailer.
Can you tell us about your company's work with supercomputers and high-performance computing?
We have worked hard to become the top vendor on the Top 500 Supercomputers list. We did this by working with institutions like the Leibniz Supercomputing Center (LRZ) on their SuperMUC Phase 2 supercomputer. Their researchers can now run larger simulations and receive results faster, which, in turn, helps solve some of the biggest challenges in science. mankind, such as improving cancer treatments and predicting earthquakes. Our technology also helps them save 40% of operating costs thanks to our water cooling technology. We also worked with the Barcelona Supercomputer (BSC) on its MareNostrum4 supercomputer, which, using the latest Lenovo technology, was able to push the limits of human knowledge by analyzing thousands of human genes and isolated mutations in lymphoid leukemia. chronic down to just four genes. We know we have software and hardware platforms that deliver exceptional quality and performance, but our greatest asset is our people. Our HPC experts at Lenovo provide the hard work and dedication behind the technology.As IoT adoption continues to rise, do you think hardware manufacturers are ready to start taking the security of connected devices more seriously?
All hardware manufacturers must take the security of connected devices very seriously. Without security, manufacturers risk their devices losing connections to their data centers. If devices are locked from data centers, we miss out on the opportunities presented by IoT data. IDC estimates that there will be 41,6 billion connected IoT devices generating 79,4 GB of data by 2025. This is a massive explosion of data and devices, and security is imperative. That's why we've included physical security and cybersecurity features with the SE350, so if anyone tries to open or tamper with it, the keys Storage encryption is turned off and no one can access the data without permission.