The need for anytime, anywhere computing on today’s college and university campuses is more critical than ever before. As more and more colleges offer virtual classes and remote learning, 24/7 reliability has never been more important. Plus, many facilities are outdated, and there is a growing need for cleaner, more energy efficient data centers.

1. Striking a Balance in Higher Education Computing
The need for anytime, anywhere computing on today’s college and university campuses
is more critical than ever before. As more and more colleges offer virtual classes and
remote learning, 24/7 reliability has never been more important. Plus, many facilities
are outdated, and there is a growing need for cleaner, more energy efficient data
centers. Take into consideration the shrinking or stagnant budgets, and the challenges
become evident. Colleges and universities are at the forefront of the sustainability
movement, so it’s becoming vitally important to balance high-density computing
requirements with energy efficiency.
“There is a real demand facing academic institutions to not only meet the computing
requirements of today, but also prepare facilities for the needs of tomorrow,” said Larry
Bacher, vice president and leader of Gilbane’s higher education division. “Project
teams have to plan for future construction needs during initial construction, including
planning for rich bandwidth and intensive power to meet technology needs in new and
renovated facilities.”
Today’s higher education data center needs run the full spectrum from supporting aging
technology, to handling the latest supercomputing mainframes. Other factors that drive
data center expansions are the expectation that all students work on computers
throughout the campus; the undertaking by most campus libraries to digitize books and
rely on digitized journals to support research needs; the intensive adoption of new
audio-visual technologies, such as smart boards, document cameras and digital
projectors, throughout academic facilities; and the expansion of cloud computing,
which pushes processing and file management off laptops and through the university’s
bandwidth to reach cloud computing facilities all over the world.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to data centers for universities,” said Kevin
O’Brien, vice president and leader of Gilbane’s mission critical division. “Most are
looking to contain costs while being energy efficient and meeting the needs of the
students and faculty. But ultimately it depends on who’s driving the upgrade or
construction project.”
About the Author:
Gilbane Inc. comprises two operating companies: Gilbane Building Company and
Gilbane Development Company. These two often work jointly as one company to
provide integrated expertise in finance, property development, planning and
commercial construction. For more information please call 1-800-GILBANE or visit
http://www.gilbaneco.com.
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