Green Data Centre
Innovation
Call for Collaboration
Public Document
TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ... 2 1. INTRODUCTION... 3 2. IMPORTANT NOTICES ... 3 3. BACKGROUND ... 3 4. OBJECTIVES ... 4 5. SCOPE ... 4 6. OTHER REQUIREMENTS ... 5 6.1 CONSORTIUM COMPOSITION ... 5
6.2 PRE-REQUISITES FOR PARTICIPANT(S) ... 6
7. PROJECT FUNDING ... 6 8. SCHEDULE ... 6 8.1 TIMELINE OF EVENTS ... 6 8.2 PUBLIC BRIEFING ... 7 9. SELECTION PROCESS ... 7 9.1 EVALUATION PROCESS ... 7
9.2 SELECTION OF PROPOSAL(S) FOR CONSIDERATION FOR AWARD OF GRANT 7 9.3 SELECTION CRITERIA ... 8
9.4 DISCLAIMER ... 8
10. SUBMISSIONS ... 9
10.1 FORMAT OF SUBMISSIONS ... 9
10.2 PLACE AND TIME OF SUBMISSION ... 9
10.3 IDA RESERVES THE RIGHT NOT TO ACCEPT LATE SUBMISSIONS. ...10
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Green Data Centre Programme is an integrated research, development and demonstration (RD&D) programme for green data centre technologies with an open approach to participation. The programme will have an open participation model where experts in each field, regardless of their affiliation, can participate in its activities, as well as collaborate with other academic and industry partners.
1.2 The intention of the programme is to:
Spur local R&D organisations to partner with data centre operators, technology and solutions providers to conduct industry focused research, development and demonstrations; and,
Encourage local data centre operators, technology and solution providers to partner up and pilot innovative and pioneering solutions and showcases that will significantly improve energy efficiency in data centres.
1.3 The Green Data Centre Innovation CFC is a thrust under the Programme to prove and demonstrate energy efficiency technologies and innovations that are not commonly used in local data centres.
2. IMPORTANT NOTICES
2.1 For the avoidance of doubt, this Public Document for the Green Data Centre Innovation Call for Collaboration (CFC) shall be read with and shall be subject to the Important Notices as set out in Annex A.
3. BACKGROUND
3.1 In the Infocomm Media Masterplan (IMM)1 consultation document issued on 31 March 2014, data centres and their sustainability was identified as a cornerstone of Singapore’s “Digital Harbour” strategy
1
The IMM is an effort by the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and its statutory boards, to chart a vision for Singapore’s Infocomm and media sectors till 2025.
to anchor, process and distribute premium digital content and critical data. Data centres also support a wide variety of high-value activities including data analytics and cloud computing, serving diverse sectors like pharmaceutical and financial services in the increasingly data-driven economy. The ability to attract global technology and media firms to Singapore to host their content and services in turn attracts even more infrastructural investment, entrenching Singapore’s position as a telecommunications and data hub.
3.2 However, data centres are a significant and growing energy challenge, due to its high concentration in Singapore. There is room for significant improvement of energy efficiency of data centres in Singapore. With support of National Research Foundation (NRF), IDA led the development of the Green Data Centre Technology Roadmap2, where the findings estimate that Singapore has the potential to significantly increase the energy efficiency of data centres in Singapore.
3.3 IDA’s existing programmes encourage adoption of technologies which improve energy efficiency of the data centre industry. Further investments in Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) will overcome the high cost of cooling data centres in Singapore’s tropical climate and to significantly improve IT energy efficiency in a sustainable fashion.
4. OBJECTIVES
4.1 This CFC aims to achieve the following objectives:
4.1.1 Advance technology development for the long term energy sustainability of the Singapore data centre industry; and,
4.1.2 Increase growth opportunities for local enterprises in the green data centre technology space through open collaboration.
5. SCOPE
2
The Roadmap charts the development and deployment pathways of technologies in data centre energy efficiency from the present to 2030.
5.1 Some long-term sustainability issues constraining the competitiveness of the Singapore data centre industry can be organised along the following three areas:
High Temperature Data Centres (HTDC). Singapore’s tropical climate imposes a heavy energy burden on data centre cooling systems. Research aims to enable data centres to operate at temperatures far in excess of what is possible today, reducing the need for energy-intensive cooling.
Software-Defined Data Centres (SDDC). Data centre IT systems suffer from poor utilisation due to over-provisioning and resource silos. Research leverages advances in software-defined systems to re-architect the data centre for energy efficiency. A salient feature of most software-defined data centre architectures is the open nature of the technology stack, which removes many of the barriers to entry put in place by market incumbents – an unprecedented opportunity for made-in-Singapore technology to impact the global landscape.
Smart Data Centres (Smart DC). Data centres comprise a multitude of systems from the facilities to IT, each with only piece-meal optimisations. Research focuses on enabling a systems-of-systems approach to efficiency realising efficiencies across all systems.
5.2 As data centres comprised both the facilities and ICT systems, proposals surrounding how the facilities, ICT systems and design can be improved in a holistic manner are encouraged.
5.3 Proposals should demonstrate how the interactions of these areas can lead to significant improvement in energy efficiency.
6. OTHER REQUIREMENTS
6.1 Consortium Composition
6.1.1 Companies are encouraged to form a consortium with relevant partners with the necessary expertise, experience and domain knowledge to participate in this CFC.
6.1.2 Each consortium shall clearly identify a consortium lead for the purpose of managing and coordinating the activities of the consortium. The consortium leader shall be responsible for submitting a Proposal on behalf of all its partners.
6.1.3 IDA reserves the right to disqualify or reject any Proposal in the event of a withdrawal of any consortium member, or where any material representation within the Proposal is discovered to be inaccurate, misleading or false.
6.2 Pre-requisites for Participant(s)
6.2.1 The minimum pre-requisites for Participants in this CFC are as follow:
(i) For the consortium, at least the Consortium Leader shall be registered in Singapore with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA);
(ii) For the consortium, at least one member will be deploying the pilot implementation at their site, or at a designated location specified by IDA.
7. PROJECT FUNDING
7.1. The funding for selected project(s) will be determined upon assessment of the impact and scope of the project. All terms and conditions of any such approved funding shall be agreed between selected Participants and IDA.
7.2 Any funding support will be performance based to encourage the completion of the development of the proposed services as well as the achievement of committed targets.
8. SCHEDULE
8.1 Timeline of Events
Date Event
31st March 2015 Public Announcement of CFC
Registration for CFC Public Briefing 28th Apr 2015 CFC Public Briefing
(9:30pm to 5:00pm) Networking Session
26th Jun 2015 Deadline for CFC Proposal Submission Jul 2015* Presentation of Proposal by Short-Listed
Participants
Oct 2015* Announcement of Selected Proposal and Award of Grant
*Dates are indicative, exact dates will be announced later.
8.2 Public Briefing
8.2.1 A briefing sessions will be conducted in conjunction with the networking session. The first public briefing and networking session will be held at 9:30am on 28th April 2015 at a location that will be announced later.
8.2.2 All parties interested to attend the public briefing and networking session can register their interests at IDA’s website, http://www.ida.gov.sg/, under Collaboration and Initiatives, Call for Collaborations, Green Data Centre Innovation CFC.
9. SELECTION PROCESS
9.1 Evaluation Process
9.1.1 The Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by an Evaluation Committee nominated by IDA.
9.2 Selection of Proposal(s) for Consideration for Award of Grant
9.2.1 Only complete Proposals will be evaluated by IDA for consideration for the award of a grant.
9.2.2 Short-listed Participants may be required to make presentation(s) of their Proposal(s) (at their own cost and expense) and answer questions on the project in response to IDA.
9.2.3 Without prejudice to paragraph 9.4, IDA reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals submitted pursuant to this Public Document for the Green Data Centre Innovation Call for Collaboration. Where a Proposal is selected by IDA for consideration for the award of a grant, the relevant Participant will be notified by IDA. The terms of the project, project milestones, and co-funding terms will be separately negotiated and agreed to between the parties.
9.2.4 For the avoidance of doubt, the selection of any Proposal by IDA may not necessarily lead to the award of a grant.
9.3 Selection Criteria
9.3.1 Selection of the proposal for the award of grant will be based on the following area:
a. Impact of the Project: This includes the level of energy efficiency improvement, the likelihood of commercial take-up of the project, as well as the consortium’s willingness to co-invest in the project.
b. Level of Innovation: This includes the breadth of the project in covering different aspects of the data centre (IT equipment, power, cooling, systems control, etc.), whether if the innovation is well-suited for Singapore (e.g. tropical climate), the newness or new use of technology, as well as the soundness of the innovation design.
c. Likelihood of Completion: This includes the experience and profile of the project team and partners, the viability of the milestones, KPIs and implementation schedule, the appropriateness of the proposed budget and deliverables.
9.4.1 IDA shall have the absolute discretion to accept or reject any Proposal submitted to IDA without being liable to give any reason thereof. IDA reserves the right to retain the Proposals submitted by all parties without liability for the costs of such documents.
10. SUBMISSIONS
10.1 Format of Submissions
10.1.1 Submissions should be made using the Proposal template that can be downloaded from IDA’s website,
http://www.ida.gov.sg/, under Call for Collaboration,
Green Data Centre Innovation CFC.
10.1.2 All submissions should include the following information:
(i) Concept Plan, describing the product, service,
activity or concept, and explaining why this plan is innovative, and impactful to data centre operators.
(ii) Project Implementation Plan, covering the
technical and functional features to be implemented, the data centre environment and manpower and resource required;
(iii) Performance Analysis, covering the performance testing, expected energy reductions and projected full-scale deployment impact; and
(iv) Project Cost and Deliverables, including the
cost to develop, pilot and deploy the required service(s), expected deliverables and milestones.
10.2 Place and Time of Submission
10.2.1 One (1) hardcopy and one (1) softcopy (in CD-ROM) of the Proposal should reach IDA no later than 26 June
2015 at 1700hrs. All Proposals must be clearly marked
as “Green Data Centre Innovation CFC”, and addressed to:
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore 10 Pasir Panjang Road
Mapletree Business City #10-01
Singapore 117438
10.3 IDA reserves the right not to accept late submissions.
10.3.1 Proposals may also be submitted in person at the IDA reception desk on the 10th floor of Mapletree Business City.
10.4 Contact Details
10.4.1 Enquiries regarding this CFC should be addressed to:
Mr Shravan Kumar Chargonda DID: (65) 6211 0639
Email: [email protected]
Mr Choon Ong Oh DID: (65) 6211 0321
Email: [email protected]
10.4.2 No further enquiries regarding this CFC will be entertained after 24th June 2015.
