Marburg News: Greener, safer and more efficient management: Thanks to the IT Service of the city’s administration, its "digital brain” now ticks differently

Greener, safer and more efficient management: Thanks to the IT Service of the city’s administration, its "digital brain” now ticks differently

What is the administration of the University City of Marburg today? Is it, in the digital age, a collection of data on various computers that are interlinked with each other? The address reported to the registration office and stored there in computer language? At the very least, every data management system and every "digital brain" works that way. However, the "digital brain" of the City’s administration "ticks" differently now: more ecologically, efficiently and safely.

Efficiently because in a computer tower, segments have been created, which exist only virtually. Safely, because under the "room within a room" system every computer has a separate fire alarm, a self-extinguishing system, a separate cooling system and a separate ventilation system. Ecologically, because power is saved and the waste heat is fed back into circulation.

A user can store files while doing his administrative activities, can create drawings or can analyse flood data. But s/he no longer does it on the mainframe, but rather on a segment of it, similar to the activation of part of a human brain area that has the ability to carry out a certain activity. These functional units are not visible, they exist only virtually. There are virtual computer segments in the whole mainframe hardware.

Moreover, now that the IT services specialists have set the stated goal of making data available in a low-cost and time-efficient data-management system, they have decided upon a storage system that promises stability and provides convincing vendor independence.

In the era of energy policy, environmental criteria are increasingly important. A room where a "digital brain" is present can get very warm. This waste heat is carried away and used for heating offices or water.

With these innovations, the City of Marburg is not only prepared for future requirements, but has also laid the first foundation stone for so-called "Green IT". Because of the reduced number of physical devices, the need for cooling and heat dispersion, for infrastructure (cable, networks, etc.) and for floor space is dropping - which means less energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

In the age of new media, the older generations have to face the challenge that most services operate digitally. But at least the citizens of Marburg can be reassured: Their administration is managed digitally in accordance with the requirements of our times: efficiently, safely and ecologically.