Although we cannot thank all the frontline workers around the world for their tireless effort fighting Covid-19, there is another group behind the scene working away silently. These are the men and women of the I.T. industry. We are thinking of you.
Unless you have been living under the proverbial rock, we all know the world as we knew it had been changed in a matter of weeks because of Covid-19. As of this writing, the virus has reached 187 out of 195 countries in the world with a total death toll of 239,448.
It was never a question of if we were going to survive this but what actions we were going to take. If we, humankind proved anything over the centuries through ups and downs of civilizations, is that we are a highly resilient species. We adapt no matter the circumstances, some might argue we even thrive during calamities on a global scale.
In a time like this, we forget our differences, our races, our beliefs. We come together with lending hands because we are all suffering the same.
We cannot thank enough the frontline workers who are relentlessly helping the sick without giving a second thought. Doctors, Nurses, Law Enforcers, City officials, all are few exemplary positions who are working day and night to ensure the rest of us stays at peace. They do not desire any thank you, nor do they crave praises. They are going the extra mile because that’s what heroes do.
There is another group of heroes who are working tirelessly, all from behind the scene to ensure we are digitally connected in this time of extreme social distancing. They are working day and night to ensure we can still go to work in our pyjamas from the comfort of our homes. They are watching over us, so we can connect to our loved ones over Zoom or alike. It takes a dedicated team to keep the global information technology infrastructure going without a hitch.
When we wake up in the morning and check our Facebook status or attend a video meeting, we do not give a second thought on how much effort is going on behind this minuscule activity. Data centres around the world are facing challenges that we probably never thought of facing in our lifetime. Never before in human history, have we faced a pandemic of this magnitude. Governments around the world have implemented social distancing to combat the spread, which means most non-essential businesses are closed, flights are grounded and large events halted.
Thanks to the Internet we are able to keep ourselves connected to the world and our friends and families right from our homes. But this also means lots of YouTube, Netflix, browsing, Audio/Video Conferencing and working from home through a virtual workplace. All these are adding quite a load on our IT infrastructures in all countries.
Data centres had to adopt a new schedule, a new way of doing things because of social distancing, all the while ensuring the infrastructure handles the increased load. Thankfully, global digital infrastructure has passed this test. We now know all the financial and time resources, that have been invested over the last decade have certainly paid off. A lot of recent data centres and a few older ones adopted efficiency-focused operations several years ago and some are in progress of transformation.
Besides the Energy efficiency of this type of data centre operation, one of the primary focuses is to reduce the number of human bodies on the main data centre floor. By streamlining provisioning, implementing a full remote capability and using energy reducing components, we can now have very minimal on-site staff per data centre. At a time like this, having minimal staff on site is extremely crucial while ensuring the data centre operates at peak efficiency.
Teams of IT technicians work on shifts while taking every precaution to ensure our digital needs are uninterrupted. Although we are starting to feel the pressure of isolation, we can at least stay in touch with each other, comfort and support each other digitally. I personally cannot imagine the current world without digital reach.
As long as everything is running smoothly and as expected, it can be easy to forget those who make this possible. However, although they may be keeping us well-connected digitally, they are very much human. They are the invisible heroes, and I cannot help but pause and be grateful for all their work and dedication. They are the men and women who keep the coal burning in the engine room while the rest of us enjoy the journey.
