User-based billing enabled by cloud-based metre
User-based billing enabled by cloud-based metre
A cloud-based energy metre system for individual circuits within a data centre has been developed by PDI.
The data centre power management solutions firm claims that the application eliminates the need for handheld meters by automatically uploading circuit level power statistics to the cloud. This means that energy-use information for individual clients’ circuits can be stored online, allowing a number of separate devices to access the data.
The vice-president of marketing and service at PDI commented: “PowerMap streamlines the process of collecting power consumption stats from hundreds of servers while bringing power management right in line with today’s preferred method of accessing data - mobile devices.”
Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of the development is the fact that it has enabled the creation of new billing methods for cloud and collocation offerings. The new system allows for an increased accuracy, allowing cloud providers to charge customers individually based on how much energy their particular circuit used. This can be taken even further to include customers who are only using a small portion of a circuit.
Luke Norris, chief executive of one of the earliest adopters of PowerMap, a Denver-based provider of collocation and hosting services, PeakColo, explained that the company no longer has to remove individual panel-board covers from all of the circuit breakers to determine a client’s actual power usage.
“PeakColo now has more accurate billing, because PowerMap instantly uploads all the information into the cloud, where we can access and send our customers detailed power utilisation reports along with their invoices - recouping thousands of dollars in lost revenue due to inaccurate billing,” he added.
The system enables TCP/IP access into any branch circuit, as well as a graphical power consumption analysis by day, week or month. This data can then be exported through CSV, Excel, ODS, PDF, RTF and XML reports.
Businesses looking to move services into the cloud, should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.
