Springfield: Wednesday October 15: In a complicated engineering operation which will last several hours, six massive 22 tonnes diesel power generators will be lifted five floors by crane and installed into the $220 Million purpose built Polaris Data Centre in Queensland's Springfield today as the state of the art Data Center, one of the largest and costliest in Australia, moves closer to its official opening early next year. The tier 3 data centre, dubbed Polaris 1, is a joint venture between insurer Suncorp and the Springfield Land Corporation.

CONTACTS: Springfield’s ICT Master Planners, The Strategic Directions Group - Chris Goldstone - Managing Director 0408 414 940 Director Mike Andrea (0410 551 080). PR Terry Quinn 0439 710 418. Office 1300 786 566 (www.strategicdirections.com.au)

Mike Andrea is one of Australia's most respected internationally recognised Data Center design specialist ( He also designed Treasury's Data Center in Canberra and others and has recently returned from major project consultations in India and Germany). He is quite outspoken in his opinions about the dangers resulting from the current rush of Government Departments, local councils and major corporations, to jump into Data Center projects.

1.He believes Australian companies – and even government departments – are in danger of losing millions of dollars as new facilities come on stream “because many company and departmental executives totally misunderstand and underestimate the unique characteristics of data centre design and planning, and the potential traps for those who build, renovate or relocate existing centres.”

(For example the whole-of-government data centre strategy under review by the federal Government could backfire and put stress on the electricity grid, according to industry experts. British efficiency expert Peter Gershon, who has recently submitted his review of government procurement practices to Canberra, has called for a consolidated approach to data centre management. Sir Peter warned the current arrangement for the Government's 50 data centres would cost an extra $1billion over 15 years to manage. Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner has revealed that Sir Peter had recommended a "whole-of-government data centre strategy" to limit extra costs and the proposal was a "perfect illustration of the problems with ultra-decentralisation".

2. Mike's company, Strategic Directions is the overall ICT Master Planner for the City of Springfield which is the fastest growing area in the country. With major tenants of the data centre including the Queensland Government and Suncorp – this highly secure facility features state of the art security, service and “green” functionality, based on 3 years of research by Mike and his team, including visits to some of the newest and most secure data centres around the world. Keeping abreast of international data centre trends means that Mike regularly visits Europe and Asia. 3. Mike explains that the latest high density computer technologies, whilst providing very high performance – use enormous amounts of power and generate huge amounts of heat, and are extremely heavy. Catering for these needs requires far more elaborate electrical, mechanical and structural environments than are required for normal commercial buildings. This world wide problem has spawned a “multi discipline” specialist data centre design industry which bridges the gap between the Computer Suppliers and the Construction, Mechanical and Electrical Industries - to ensure that the new IT Systems are housed in an environment that can cope with the increased power, heat and weight requirements.

4. Indeed, retrofitting a data centre to an existing building is becoming less feasible by the day because of the structural limitations, the lack of infrastructure to house mechanical support requirements, and the impact on electrical facilities such as transformers, switchboards and wiring. The ratio of Mechanical Services and Electrical Costs relative to Total Data Centre Project Cost is increasing and will continue to increase.

5. In the USA, Data Centres are coming in for special attention from Federal and State Authorities because of their enormous energy consumption and the environmental challenges associated with providing the electricity and cooling required to run them. In Australia, the issues are the same – and there is additional pressure to keep the data centres as “green” as possible. The challenge is to balance “Green” initiatives with Financial viability - not an easy task when confronted with the scaleability, redundancy, maintainability and flexibility issues surrounding the design of an efficient data centre facility.

The 14,000sqm Tier3+ Polaris Data Centre at Springfield has been specifically designed as a “green initiative” from the start and uses environmentally-conscious resources and technology, including non-potable water for cooling, saving a potential 750,000 litres a day, and rotary Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs) which do away with a fleet of lead-acid batteries.

6. Mike warns that any company involved in the construction or fit out of a data centre MUST seek independent specialist help to understand the implications of what is required in the way of structural, mechanical and electrical infrastructure - to ensure that the facility can cope with the newest computer and storage technologies – and to meet the financial targets of the project. While individual computer suppliers sing the praises of their newest products – customers around the world struggle with higher floor loadings, increased power and cooling requirements per square metre, and a resulting increased risk and reliance on the facility.

For further information – visit www.strategicdirections.com.au

In more detail:

The 14,000m² Center will co-locate enterprise organisations including Suncorp, NEC and Fujitsu with Queensland government departments and councils, including its service provider CITEC. Polaris 1 uses environmentally-conscious resources and technology, including non-potable water for cooling, saving a potential 650,000 litres a day, trigeneration power feeds, and rotary Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs) which do away with a fleet of lead-acid batteries.

GENERATOR SPECIFICATIONS: a. weight 22 tonnes b. length 7 metres c. height 3 metres d. 2.53 MVA (megavolt amps) e. A V20 Diesel Engine configuration f. Takes over transfer load in 15 seconds. g. 6 installed initially – 4 online plus 2 as back up (N+2 ) translates to extremely high availability (99.9999%) h. Building is designed to take 10 such generators i. At full power this building would produce enough energy to power a large Shopping Mall.

For further information – visit www.strategicdirections.com.au