EfficiencyIT secure power upgrade contract at Wellcome Sanger Institute

New contract will see the deployment of over 300 custom-designed APC by Schneider Electric Rack Power Distribution Unit (PDU) metering systems.

  • Tuesday, 16th February 2021 Posted 3 years ago in by Phil Alsop

EfficiencyIT, a specialist consultancy in data centre design and build, edge computing and IT services, has secured a new contract with the Wellcome Sanger Institute, a world-leader in genomic research and bio-informatics. The project will see EfficiencyIT deploy more than 300 custom-designed APC by Schneider Electric™ Rack Power Distribution Unit (PDU) metering systems at the on-premise data centre near Cambridge, delivering key insight into energy consumption, stranded capacity and help to lower operating expenses (OpEx).


The upgrade continues the long-term partnership between the two organisations, and will offer IT and C-level decision makers greater visibility into energy usage at Europe's largest genomic data centre, while reducing power consumption to provide savings, which will be used as additional funds for genomic research. The project will also benefit other key Wellcome Genome Campus partners, forming part of a wider digital transformation initiative that began in 2019. Under the guidance of EfficiencyIT the Institute selected Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure™ IT data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) platform, using artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to help to increase visibility across its IT estate and improve energy efficiency.

“The research we undertake is sensitive, complex and imperative to life science progress,” said Simon Binley, Data Centre Manager, Wellcome Sanger Institute. “The data centre plays a fundamental role in ensuring continuity for mission-critical applications, and by optimizing its performance we can reduce costs and become more sustainable, while identifying energy savings that will create more funding for life-saving science.”

A world-leader in life sciences and genomics

Based at the Wellcome Genome Campus in the UK Innovation Corridor, the Wellcome Sanger Institute conducts key research into life sciences, human disease and genomic sequencing. The sheer volume of data produced by the Institute’s fleet of sequencing machines, and the speed at which it is generated requires use of an on-premise data centre with vast storage, power and high performance computing (HPC) processing capabilities. Such infrastructure systems are imperative to the science.

“Our focus has always been to consult, advise and support the Institute in achieving its digital transformation objectives,” said Nick Ewing, Managing Director, EfficiencyIT. “This second phase will see the deployment of new custom-designed APC power distribution systems, enabling the Wellcome Sanger Institute to identify stranded capacity, improve energy usage and lower its carbon footprint; all while ensuring uptime, data security and protecting the organisations on site.”

“Data centre and engineering professionals continue to play a crucial role in providing mission-critical digital infrastructure that underpins businesses on a global scale,” said Marc Garner, VP Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric UK&I. “We’re proud to be working with our partners at EfficiencyIT to support such an incredible organisation who has, and continues to be instrumental in protecting the world against mankind’s most destructive diseases.”