Insights

The Pragmatic Approach to Robotic Automation Operations in Data Centers

Author: Sharon Loh

If you work in data center operations, you are familiar with moving dozens of heavy server racks quickly, safely, and without disrupting anything else going on in the data center. Now multiply this scenario by 10 times, and do it across multiple sites, on a tight schedule, with evolving requests that don’t quite match the plan.

Increasingly, the future of data center operations lies in embracing robotic automation to keep up with the relentless growth of AI workloads. From data storage and analytics to AI/ML model training and virtual machines, the demands are only increasing.

As demands surge, infrastructure, energy, cooling, and operations teams face mounting pressure. Robotic automation helps manage this complexity, ensuring operations run efficiently without downtime.

In this video, Salvador Robles, our Operations Deployment Manager walks through how he and his team works with vendors and site leaders to put robotic automation to work, as a physical assistant to solve real problems.

Timestamps:

00:23 Salvador’s background and current role

01:51 Challenges in implementing robotic automation in data centers

04:31 Key steps to address these challenges

06:56 Key trends in shaping robotic automation operations in data centers

07:41 Three key takeaways for customers thinking of robotic automation in data centers

What Worked for Salvador’s Team

• Create a deployment plan. Training, timelines, data capture, and escalation paths were all mapped out and agreed upon before the robots hit the floor.
• Standardized acceptance testing. The result? Faster troubleshooting and better decision-making for everyone involved.
• Better data collection. Refine how data is captured and shared to help their customer and stakeholders improve operations and future deployment strategies.  

Insights from Salvador

“We created a Site Acceptance Test template that shows all relevant data for each site making it easy for our customer to analyze and determine if any changes or improvements need to be made.  We maintain and ensure the data provided is accurate. We established a one stop shop process for our customer and their key stakeholders to be able to access data in a clear and concise manner.”

“Rack moves, server repairs, and network maintenance are traditionally labor-intensive and time-consuming. However, with robotics automation you are using a strong physical assistant to improve facility uptime, productivity, and safety while driving compliance and accurate, real-time inventory management.”

“Choosing the right partner to help you be successful is key. We have deep technical expertise and experience to support deploying such complex systems.”

Watch this video as Salvador shares more tips on robotic automation for data center operations. Ready to use robotic automation to run an efficient data center operation? Let’s connect.