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August 05, 2013

Colleagues Recall with Respect, Fondness Kenneth G. Brill, Founder of Uptime Institute

By Ed Silverstein, TMCnet Contributor

The founder of the Uptime Institute, Kenneth G. Brill, has passed away. His colleagues eulogized him for his vision, intellect and dedication.

"Ken Brill was a rare and special man," Martin McCarthy, CEO and chairman of the institute’s parent company, The 451 Group (News - Alert), said in a statement. "Part visionary thinker, part ruthless pragmatist, he was an iconoclast and innovator, and a man of great integrity and passion. He is legitimately known around the world as 'The Father of the Data Center Industry'…We will all deeply miss this brilliant and bristly individual."



Many data center innovations were credited to Brill. These include tiers for evaluating data centers (tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3), dual power and IT/facility energy efficiency and productivity measurement.

He was also recalled for his research into the economic meltdown of Moore’s Law, data center productivity and energy efficiency, the statement said.

"Ken Brill was inspired in his thinking, and resolute in his principles," added Julian Kudritzki, COO of Uptime Institute. "As a personality and an innovator, he left an indelible imprint on the IT and data center industry. His innovations are so fundamental to the progression of the data center industry over time that it is difficult to believe they can be traced back to the energy and passion of a single man. With Ken's passing, the industry mourns a ferocious critic and committed agent of change."

"He singled-handedly crafted an industry out of nothing," Mike Manos, the chief technology officer at AOL (News - Alert), added in a statement in Computerworld. "I don't know too many people who actually defined an industry in their career, and I think that is going to be one of Ken's lasting legacies."

Stephen Worn, CTO of Datacenter Dynamics, said, “There is no sadder note today than to hear of the passing of our industry friend and colleague Ken Brill. Ken was a special and specific type of data center Renaissance man – one who worked tirelessly and never stopped exploring how to improve and educate our community.”

“He dug deeply into the topics important to him and made all our lives richer and added much to the art and science of designing, building and operating the mission critical infrastructure that underpins this digital age,” Worn added.

It was also recalled how, during his career, Brill received lifetime achievement awards from 7x24 Exchange International and DatacenterDynamics. He graduated from the University of Redlands and the Harvard Business School. 




Edited by Alisen Downey
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