The square has to go round
As a Paderborner, Volker Wester knows the advantages of his homeland. The windy area is ideal for wind farms. A lot of wind generates a lot of green energy. This is a challenge for the existing power grids. If overcapacity threatens, e.g. B. due to too much wind, the wind turbines are curtailed by the grid operator. In order to make better use of its systems, the regional wind energy company WestfalenWIND has come up with an idea: It combines the power-intensive consumer with a sustainable generator. This idea resulted in a data center certified according to availability class III in the tower of an Enercon E-115 wind turbine – the windCORES. The concept was awarded the German Data Center Prize in 2019. The windCORES are directly connected to the large internet nodes in Frankfurt via dedicated Darkfiber. A capacity of up to 6 Tbit/s not only enables almost any bandwidth in the data connection, but also with extremely short latency times. Reliability is guaranteed by the independent media fiber optics and directional radio. “In addition to the unbelievable performance, two things in particular convinced us: the security concept and the fact that we can offer our services at an unbelievably low rate. After all, we save the network fees for the electricity tariff. Of course, we are happy to pass this on to our customers,” says Volker Wester, who of course also appreciates the sustainability of the almost CO2-free data center in the wind turbine.
Cloud-Backup und Disaster Recovery made in Germany
By using the windCORES data center, Cristie offers his clients a wide variety of options. Large organizations can use the new locations for their archives. It doesn’t matter whether the data is to be stored on tape or disk.
However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will probably have the greatest advantage. Cristie has partnered with Rubrik to add ransomware damage protection and instant recovery capabilities to its managed cloud services. The service based on the CLOUDBRIK product line is now available as a cloud or hybrid cloud.
Volker Wester helps companies to concentrate on their core business. “Our customers have the certainty that they can access their data at any time – no matter what. CLOUDBRIK and the intelligence of Rubrik protect organizations from the consequences of ransomware attacks. We ensure minimal downtime of critical services and pay attention to efficiency, especially when it comes to total costs. And we’re also saving the climate with our approach,” he adds proudly with a wink.
About WestfalenWIND IT:
WestfalenWIND IT currently operates wind turbines (WEA) with a total output of approx. 350 MW in its group of companies. It deals with the development and extension of the use of wind turbines for IT settlement concepts along sustainable energy generation infrastructures. A symbiosis of conventional data centers (DC) and wind turbines was developed for future IT requirements and energy price developments. The innovative windCORES concept shows new economic ways for the sustainable, efficient and cost-effective operation of various IT applications and systems through a unique use of synergies.
