Data4 enters the liquid cooling adventure in partnership with OVHcloud
The two French companies are forging a long-term partnership by hosting the OVHcloud’s unique liquid cooling solution, for an efficient cooling of data centres.
Data4 group, French operator and investor in the data centre market, and OVHcloud, the European cloud leader, have announced 30th January 2024 their collaboration to support their respective customers throughout the cloud value chain. Following a consultation of the main players in the colocation market, OVHcloud has selected Data4 for its Marcoussis site in the Paris region, allowing the cloud leader to consolidate its leadership over this strategic area.
OVHcloud’s objective was to find a rapidly available infrastructure with excellent fibre connectivity. The data centre chosen would hence have to combine this connectivity with an ability to connect to OVHcloud’s international network points of presence in Paris. Data4’s exceptional campus in Marcoussis succeeded in meeting the fundamental infrastructure criteria set by the European cloud leader. The potential to extend OVHcloud’s platforms beyond the initial scope of the project also made a difference.
Optimizing energy efficiency and measuring environmental impact: a common commitment
OVHcloud selected Data4, a company which has always placed innovation at the heart of its development. The European data centre operator is committed to a resolutely sustainable approach right from the design stage, thanks to an in-depth life cycle analysis (LCA) of its infrastructures to assess their environmental impact.
Among other cutting-edge solutions for achieving greater efficiency, the deployment of liquid cooling technology – a technology for cooling server racks with water – appears to be one of the preferred solutions. The integration of OVHcloud’s proprietary water cooling technology, developed and operated by OVHcloud for over 20 years, gives concrete expression to this approach.
In addition, other initiatives taken by Data4 and OVHcloud aim to ensure total transparency for customers with regard to the environmental impact of digital infrastructures and services. Developed by Data4, the Green Dashboard is a management tool integrated into the customer portal, enabling customers to calculate their environmental contribution according to 5 criteria: energy, CO2, water, rare earths and freshwater eutrophication. OVHcloud, meanwhile, recently unveiled its carbon calculator for its cloud services, which provides precise and exhaustive information covering scopes 1, 2 and 3, from the manufacturing phase through to infrastructure operation.
Interconnecting the European leader in cloud computing to Data4’s cooling systems directly on the cold water loops saves around 25% on electricity consumption compared with conventional air cooling, thereby meeting the objective of reducing the carbon footprint. Lastly, Data4 has introduced responsible water use within its infrastructures, with a very high WUE at its Marcoussis campus (0.06 l/kWh IT).
“Our relationship with OVHcloud is more than just a contractual one, it’s a genuine long-term partnership with Europe’s cloud champion. Based on our customer’s specific requirements, we have developed a tailor-made solution for integrating its liquid-cooled server racks. Like OVHcloud, we are very committed to measuring and reducing our carbon footprint, and our dedicated tools are highly complementary (carbon calculator on the OVHcloud side and Green Dashboard on the Data4 side)”, explains Alexandre Delaval, Country Director France, Data4.
“In addition to the bespoke colocation solutions provided by Data4 and the great flexibility of the teams, this partnership with Data4 is directly in line with our objectives in terms of our commitment to the environment. I would also like to pay tribute to the excellent relationship between the various teams, as well as their open- mindedness and creativity throughout this project“, adds Grégory Lebourg, Global Environment Director, OVHcloud.
