We understand from our sources within the EU and EU-JRC that discussions are underway to make the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres (Energy Efficiency) and participation to the scheme MANDATORY for all public sector organisations throughtout the EU member states from April 2017.
This will also include 3rd party data centres providing hosting or cloud services to public sector organisations, so it is possible that many private data centre companies will also be included in the legislation and will be required to review and audit their facilities and prepare EUCOC participant application forms.
Our spokesman Alfred Phool states "Whilst many organisations providing data centre services and colocation/cloud services to the public sector are already EUCOC participants, there are a great many that are not, and this includes the public sector organisations themselves, this despite the previous UK governments committment via the "Greening ICT strategy of 2012" to have all central government departments registered as "endorsers" to the scheme (and thereby requiring 3rd parties to be participants) by 2013 AND for their internal systems to be participants by April 2014 (this commitment for all NEW services).
Currently, just 5 UK Central Goverment departments are included in the EUCOC scheme.
Whilst the UK Government has a "cloud first" strategy, the current G CLOUD framework does include the requirement for cloud suppliers to be hosted in EUCOC participant data centres, unfortunately, the CCS does not "police" and verify supplier statements, this means that many public sector services being provided by Cloud operators are actually not being hosted in EUCOC registered data centres.
We have not run the numbers yet to check how many companies on the G Cloud are in breach of their contractual commitments, but this exercise is underway and we hope to report soon.
The legislation is currently being drafted by the EU Energy Directorate and it is expected that there will be a period of "grace" to allow public sector organisations to implement the EUCOC into data centre operations, especially the reporting aspects (energy reporting) and to advise some 3rd party facilities to adopt the EUCOC.
Carbon3IT Ltd believes that this legislation is long overdue as the EUCOC has been in circulation since 2008 and currently only has 115 participants representing just over 300 sites across Europe and some of the 115 are actually based in non EU countries.
Mr Phool beleives that the mandation of the EUCOC can only reap benefits for the public sector in creating reviews and auditing of current infrastructures that may allow the production of cast iron business cases for the transition to newer energy efficient data centres both internally and externally
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