Huawei’s Global Data Center Facility Summit 2024 was held in Singapore on May 17, 2024, and brought together a significant number of industry leaders, technical experts, and ecosystem partners. Over 600 attendees explored the newest opportunities and trends in the global data center industry under the theme “Power the Digital Era Forward,” which signified a turning point in the intelligent computing era.
The transformational potential of intelligent computing and artificial intelligence (AI) was highlighted at the summit. AI is bringing about immense opportunities and rapid advancements, noted Charles Yang, Senior Vice-President, Huawei and President of Global Marketing, Sales, and Services, Huawei Digital Power.
Since ChatGPT first appeared, artificial intelligence (AI) has expanded processing capacity, resulting in unparalleled growth in data center infrastructure. Over the next five years, the global data center capacity is expected to increase by 100 GW, with the market value surpassing $600 billion.
Yang also highlighted the difficulties that come with this expansion. Two important issues are energy usage and reliability. The potential impact of faults increases exponentially as data centers scale up from megawatt level to gigawatt-level, which can impact millions of users. More than ever, ensuring end-to-end reliability is essential. Furthermore, AI is consuming an exponential amount of energy; for example, training models such as GPT-4 requires 10 times more power than in previous versions.
In order to address these challenges, Huawei is building new energy infrastructure and promoting advancements in digital industries, power systems, and electric vehicles. Huawei wants to grow the industry and fully embrace the era of intelligent computing by collaborating with stakeholders and customers.
Huawei’s Data Center Facility & Critical Power Business President, Sun Xiaofeng, outlined the company’s strategy in his keynote address. He highlighted the importance of rapid deployment, flexible cooling, green energy, and maximum reliability for data centers. Huawei’s solutions, which include prefabricated and modular data centers, advanced cooling technologies, and integrated green energy systems, are crafted to meet the demands of the intelligent computing era.
In an exclusive interview with W.Media, Sun Xiaofeng also discussed the impact of intelligent computing on data centers and detailed Huawei’s approach to addressing power shortages and rising electricity costs through both supply-side and demand-side measures.
He emphasized Huawei’s commitment to enhancing power distribution system security through product reliability and proactive intelligent prevention. Additionally, Huawei offers comprehensive capabilities, including products, consultation and design services, and ecosystem development, to build next-generation intelligent computing centers.
Moreover, a notable highlight of the summit was the release of the white paper “Building Next Generation Data Center Facility in ASEAN,” co-developed by the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and Huawei. This document outlines the status, challenges, and trends in the ASEAN data center industry, emphasizing the need for efficient and energy-saving solutions to meet sustainability goals. The white paper provides policy recommendations to support the development of reliable, simplified, sustainable, and smart data centers.
Dr. Nuki Agya Utama, Executive Director of ACE, and Dr. Andy Tirta, also from ACE, spoke about the importance of renewable energy and energy efficiency in supporting the region’s digital transformation. The white paper highlights the critical role of clean energy in reducing carbon emissions and operational costs for data centers, advocating for incentives such as discounted electricity rates and tax breaks for operators utilizing renewable energy.
The summit’s exhibition area showcased Huawei’s scenario-based solutions for various data center sizes, featuring collaborations with ecosystem partners like CIMC, Weichai, CSCEC, and Huashi. One of the standout exhibits was the Huawei Power POD, which made its global debut. This innovative solution offers a plug-and-play, high-protection power system per container, significantly reducing time-to-market and enhancing reliability.
Furthermore, the Global Data Center Facility Summit 2024 highlighted the importance of collaboration in driving the industry forward. By aggregating partner ecosystems and fostering innovations, Huawei aims to help customers build reliable computing infrastructure, accelerating the adoption of AI and powering the digital era.
As AI continues to present vast opportunities, Huawei’s commitment to innovation and sustainability positions it as a leader in the intelligent computing era. Through collaborative efforts and forward-thinking solutions, Huawei and its partners are paving the way for a greener, more reliable future for data centers worldwide.