Data Centers Brownfield Reconfiguration, Recommissioning, and the Value of Continuous Commissioning

Data centers are the backbone of our networked data-driven society. They host the critical IT infrastructure that makes everything from online banking and social media to cloud computing and business operations. Building a data center alone is not sufficient to ensure that it runs smoothly and efficiently. This is where important processes of commissioning and continual commissioning occur. This essay focuses on great detail about the complexities and advantages of reconfiguring and recommissioning existing “brownfield” data centers, comparing them to new “greenfield” developments. It also shows how much value can be gained from continuous commissioning throughout a data center’s operational life cycle. Greenfield projects allow you to use the newest technology and start from fresh, but brownfield projects always need you to add new solutions to the existing, sometimes old, infrastructure. Although brownfield projects are difficult because they have to deal with old and inaccurate data, they are becoming more important because there is less land available and a greater need for digital infrastructure. The commissioning process, especially its ongoing use, is the most important step to ensure that these increasingly complex technical settings work at their best, are always reliable, and are very resilient.