ALIGNED
Putting Sustainability at the Heart of Data Management
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Adaptive Data Centers
DIGITAL REPORT 2020
Adaptive Data Centers
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Putting Sustainability at the Heart of Data Management
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www.a l i gne de ne r g y . com
ALIGNED
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Aligned has completed a historic billion-dollar round of financing specifically linked to sustainability. CEO Andrew Schaap is eyeing the possibilities it opens up
I
t’s a mark of Andrew Schaap’s modesty that he says of the Covid-19 pandemic, “We’re weathering it well.” While other
companies were diving for cover in the second quarter of 2020, Aligned – where Schaap is CEO – “saw a very big uptick in February, March, April, and May”. “The pandemic has proven to be somewhat of a use case study in capacity planning for our big customers,” he explains. “All of them run analysis on what they can get out of a server, what they can get out of a CPU, what they can get out of a storage device or networking device. But the ones that are really born on web technologies are being pushed to the limit of what they can do. And so, our customers have been able to see just how effective adaptive infrastructure and our Delta3 cooling technology are when it comes to seamlessly addressing those peaks in demand.” As well as higher headroom capacity, data patterns have changed. Schaap points to a gaming
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ALIGNED
“ This is a capital-intensive business. You need capital partners that understand the business” — Andrew Schaap, CEO, Aligned
financing led predominantly by ING. This is the first U.S. data center sus-
client using Aligned’s data centres
tainability-linked financing and also
which saw its traditional 6pm to 3am
one of the largest private debt raises
peak capacity shift as schools closed
in data center history.
and the workforce headed home. For Aligned’s customers, its modu06
billion-dollar sustainability-linked
Previously, after joining Aligned in 2017, Schaap struck a deal with
lar, dynamic and highly scalable data
Macquarie Infrastructure and Real
solutions came into their own. And
Assets (MIRA) (“not your traditional
its finance partners have allowed the
private equity”) to recapitalise the
Dallas-based company to innovate its
business. “This is a capital-intensive
supply chain to meet the accelerated
business. So, you have to have capital
delivery needs of customers, specifi-
partners that are highly capable of
cally in the hyperscale space.
understanding what the business
Another sunny day in Aligned’s fair-weathered pandemic came in September, when it closed a
looks like.” Traditionally, MIRA invests in infrastructure such as roads, bridges and
CEO Andrew Schaap Discusses Aligned’s Adaptive Data Centers CLICK TO WATCH
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07 highways. Aligned was the operating
leverage that buying power to get
group’s first foray into infrastructure
the best outcome out of the suppli-
of the digital kind. The entity saw
ers. What we did, essentially, was
a clear understanding that in order
approach the supply chain differently
to compete with the buying power
by deploying capital and committing
afforded to publicly traded Fortune
to capacity.”
500 data brands, Aligned needs to be
“Not everybody can do this. The pub-
able to work the angles. Schaap and
licly traded providers have to explain
his team laser-focused the business,
every dollar they spend to Wall Street,
including flipping the traditional data
and get a return on it within a set period
center supply chain / vendor-managed
of time – or they get penalised.”
inventory (VMI) on its head. “We did it essentially to counteract
“But because of Macquarie, our other capital partners and our business
scale. Those [Fortune 500] guys have
model, we were able to essentially
buying power with scale and they
look at the supply chain and be bullish www.a l i gne de ne r g y . com
Munters brings over six decades of innovation to its partnership with Aligned Energy Munters has been developing innovative, energy efficient climate control solutions for over 60 years, and Data Center cooling is a market segment that is very active right now. DC President Michael Gantert explains why as the industry leader in energy efficient climate control solutions, Munters expertise in data center cooling helps Aligned Energy meet growth demands Munters has a long history in delivering innovative, energy efficient climate control solutions. Started in Sweden over 60 years ago, Munters has deployed its technologies in a host of industries. Munters Data Centers (DC) business, managed by President Michael Gantert, is a key partner for Aligned Energy. Munters has worked closely with Aligned Energy to manufacture and advance the development of their unique cooling solution. Munters entered the data center cooling market 12 years ago and has developed a number of cooling solutions that have been widely adopted and are critical to the efficient operation of many data centers. When Aligned Energy got in touch to discuss a partnership, it wasn’t to purchase an existing solution, but rather to further develop their own cooling solution and manufacture a product that would reduce equipment lead time and cost, while also improving reliability. “For a data center company to come to us with a pre-designed cooling solution and ask us to manufacture it, while also making it better and easier to install, that was a bit unique from what we’ve experienced over the past 12 years.”
Michael Gantert, Munters
“Aligned Energy recognized in Munters our history of innovation, engineering expertise, and flexible manufacturing capabilities. They saw those aspects of Munters as key to support their growing business. Our relationship is a true partnership. We share a lot of information including technical engineering details and manufacturing techniques for their cooling solutions.” “There has certainly been a lot of collaboration between the two companies over the past few years. They have a great cooling technology. We have embraced that, and we really feel Munters has provided value to Aligned Energy by understanding the technology and continuing to develop and enhance it for them.” “We’ve worked very closely with Aligned Energy and we’ve been provided selective visibility into their pipeline, which allows us to plan and prepare to best meet their needs. We continuously assess equipment inventory and component stock levels as well as things we can do within our manufacturing footprint to shorten lead times to support Aligned Energy’s growth.” LEARN MORE TODAY
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on where the market is going, where we think the market’s going and have manufacturers hold on to the inventory inside their warehouse or factory before shipping it on a just-in-time basis. We’ve done very well with that over the years; and it has proven effective during the pandemic. We had a handful of transactions that we were able to win on speed of delivery and our ability to get a customer moved in faster than the competition.” “We didn’t start the VMI because of the pandemic, but It worked in our favor
“ Our customers have been able to see just how effective adaptive infrastructure and our Delta3 cooling technology are when it comes to seamlessly addressing those peaks in demand” — Andrew Schaap, CEO, Aligned
in a big, big way because we already
allocate manufacturing to quieter peri-
had that gear forward committed.”
ods, keeping productivity stable, and
By ordering before equipment was
workers off furlough.
needed, Aligned was able to offer
“What we try to do is to stabi-
manufacturers flexibility over their
lize the throughput in the factory.
throughput. Rather than a lumpy
Everyone we’ve spoken to has had
work-to-order production schedule,
phenomenal feedback about what
with workers on triple overtime when
we’re doing because it solves a
demand surges, the company’s pre-
big problem for them – removing
ordering allowed manufacturers to
the lumpiness.”
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Andrew Schaap Title: CEO
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Location: United States
Industry: Information Technology & Services Andrew Schaap is CEO of Aligned, dedicated to accelerating business growth by delivering data center solutions with industry-leading technology and adaptive infrastructure. Since beginning his tenure, Schaap has exponentially grown revenues, completed several successful capital raisings, and cultivated an ecosystem of innovation that advances Aligned’s commitment to reducing the social, economic and environmental impact of the digital era. He is a data centre, IT, private equity and real estate executive with more than 20 years of complex transactional experience and multidisciplinary senior leadership. Prior to joining Aligned, he held numerous leadership positions over an 11-year period with Digital Realty Trust. www.a l i gne de ne r g y . com
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It’s just one example of Schaap’s approach to partnerships, which revolves around listening to partners,
their problem is our problem. So, we have to be mindful of their problem.” While Macquarie’s financing allows
understanding their challenges, and
Aligned to game the supply chain, its
earning their respect. “Sometimes
debt financing with ING has beefed
2013
Year founded
90
Number of employees
up its efforts to continue pursuing a strategic vision in sustainability. “On the debt side, we’re very pleased with the first sustainability-linked financing done in the United States. And ING really drove that with us and has just been a great partner.” “We can be sustainable, have great uptime and reliability, and provide great service and support to our
“ Because of Macquarie, our other capital partners and our business model, we were able to essentially look at the supply chain and be bullish on where the market is going” — Andrew Schaap, CEO, Aligned
customers. We do all three and we do them in a thoughtful, meaningful way. So, we’re delighted with it and looking forward to showcasing our sustainability even more. We’re doing it because our customers care about it and it’s part of our DNA.” Schaap gesticulates towards a 40-inch monitor on the wall where he can survey the top line performance metrics in real time. Unsurprisingly, he’s big on data, and Aligned is keen to pass on its data to help clients. “If we sell a customer a megawatt, let’s give them
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ALIGNED
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“ We had a handful of transactions that we were able to win on speed of delivery and our ability to get a customer moved in faster than the competition” — Andrew Schaap, CEO, Aligned
thing to do. No stranded capacity; that’s
the tools to figure out how to use as
ing to where the puck is going to
much of that megawatt as possible
be versus where it is now,” asking
because that’s the most sustainable
Schaap to gaze into his crystal ball is
the best thing for the environment.” For someone who is always “skat-
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to open a window to a new genera-
of dollars – or Euros or Yen – that
tion of data technology.
are being put into it is incredibly high
“Everybody is thinking about energy
because that’s the new gold rush, to
storage right now. How do you get
figure out how to store energy. And
as creative as you possibly can on
on the data side, we use a lot, so we’re
energy storage? That’s the number
really paying attention to what’s next.”
one problem with green energy: it’s cyclical. The sun, wind, hydro, all those things are somewhat cyclical.
Adaptive Data Centers
And so, you’ve got to find ways to store the energy. And so, the amount www.a l i gne de ne r g y . com
Adaptive Data Centers
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