Data Centre Efficiency Specialist Gets Funding Boost

US based data centre efficiency company SynapSense has received $7 million (£4.9m) in extra investment despite the tough economic climate.

In a recent statement, SynapSense said that the investment will help it develop and promote its wireless data centre monitoring technology and even expand the systems for applications beyond server rooms.

“SynapSense is enabling the energy efficient operation of data centres ranging from the world’s leading stock exchange and America’s largest mobile phone operator to a premier web portal and the world’s busiest social networking site,” said SynapSense chief executive Peter Van Deventer.

According to a recent US study by the Environmental Protection Agency, energy consumption of servers and data centres has doubled in the past five years and is expected to almost double again in the next five years to an annual cost in the US of around $7.4 billion (£5.1bn). According to a recent study An Inefficient Truth by environmental charity Global Action Plan, the UK is likely to mirror these US trends.

SynapSense’s wireless data centre monitoring and energy management solution includes technology known as LiveImaging which provides real-time thermal, pressure and humidity mapping from wireless sensors fitted to data centres.

“Upon deployment of the SynapSense wireless network, LiveImaging instantly enables data centre operators to see current operating conditions, identify optimisation opportunities and quantify the impact of the improvements they make to save energy,” the company stated. “Real-time data centre monitoring with measurable and continuous optimisation is quickly becoming the next data centre “best practice.”

SynapSense received its latest round of investment from Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH. Other investors in the company include Emerald Technology Ventures, Sequoia Capital, American River Ventures, Nth Power and DFJ Frontier.

Based in Folsom, California, SynapSense received an Energy Innovator Award from the US Department of Energy last in 2008.