GM Channels Google, Facebook and eBay
With New High-Tech Data Center

General Motors today unveiled a state-of-the-art
$130-million enterprise data center at its Technical Center in Warren, Mich.,
and said it will open a second, mirrored site at its Milford, Mich., vehicle
proving grounds — part of a sweeping overhaul of its global IT operations.

For nearly three decades, the automaker has outsourced 90
percent of its information technology management to companies like H-P, Cisco
and others at a cost of up to $3 billion. But when chief executive Daniel F. Akerson joined GM’s board after its 2009 bankruptcy, he
quickly realized that one of the reasons GM struggled to compete was that it
didn’t have a good handle on critical information, which hampered
decision-making. His goal is to reverse that, and bring 90 percent of its IT
management back in-house.

“If we are going to win, we must turn IT into a
competitive advantage and not treat it as something that is just a utility,” Akerson said Monday at a press conference marking the
opening of the new data facility.

“Having a single nerve center for our global operations
will get newer vehicle designs and technologies into our customers’ hands
quicker and improve the bottom line,” he said. “IT is back home where it should
be, and it further drives unnecessary complexity from
our businesses while improving our operational efficiency and better supporting
our business strategy.”

The reversal in strategy also presented GM with an
opportunity to benchmark the best data-handling companies in the world,
including Google GOOG -0.28%, Facebook

FB +0.52% and eBay, to ensure

that its new data centers would
employ the most modern and energy-efficient infrastructure.

The new Warren IT hub, for instance, is designed for
future expansion to handle the increasingly complex computer simulations needed
by GM teams working on vehicle design, fuel economy, safety, and quality
requirements. Mainframe computers, servers and networking equipment are stored
in four rooms, or quads, each about 10,000 square feet. Two of them have been
completed so far. The Milford data center announced Monday will be identical,
providing redundancy to minimize risk.

To cool all those computers, GM chose to blow air into
the room from cold water pipes running through the sub floor instead of relying
on traditional air conditioners. Backup power comes from unique rotating
flywheels and diesel generators to ensure uninterrupted electrical power. The
company expects a 40 percent improvement in energy efficiency and is hoping to
achieve the LEED Gold environmental standard.

The two centers will replace 23 separate IT sites
worldwide and will connect all of GM’s global operations through a secure,
private cloud. GM said between the two centers and the new equipment, it will
spend about $546 million.

Separately, GM is opening four IT innovation centers
around the country, where thousands of newly hired tech workers will develop
new software programs to help GM with its mission to “design, build and sell
the world’s best automobiles.”

“Our data center consolidation is just one of the
initiatives driving the transformation of GM’s business,” said Randy Mott, GM
vice president and CIO. “It’s part of an overarching strategy to transform not
only information technology but also allow GM’s business operations to be more responsive
to our customers, quicker to market and deliver on our objectives to
shareholders.”

The data center includes a 5,040-square-foot IT
Operations and Command Center, with 48 work stations and a 955-square-foot
video wall composed of 28 configurable screens that monitor data use across all
of GM’s worldwide operations, including product development, manufacturing,
marketing, sales and OnStar.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2013/05/13/gm-channels-google-facebook-and-ebay-with-new-high-tech-data-center/