Thinking Inside…the Cereal Box?
Feb 6th 2020
One afternoon a client called on Gaw’s vice-president, Chuck Gaw, to talk about a big problem - they were on the verge of equipment failure if they couldn't find a way to control the excessive heat build-up in their data center.
They needed his ingenuity to find a solution.
They got what they were looking for because Chuck found the solution to their problem - inside a cereal box.
After getting the details of the problem and the layout of the data center, Chuck came up with an idea, but had to first get it down on paper to see if it would work. The closest materials he could get his hands on was a box of Cheerios sitting in his kitchen cabinet.
While his family wondered what on earth he was doing, Chuck methodically drew and cut his way to a prototype of an airflow plenum that solved the customer's heat problem. The cereal wasn't so lucky.
Affordable Innovative Solutions
As clients look to build centers from retrofitted rooms or centers that power the Internet of Things (IoT), it will require a new way of thinking.
Since the beginning, GAW Technology has had a knack for “thinking outside the box.” Chuck’s knowledge of HVAC systems and blueprints have been the genesis for a variety of innovative solutions for clients around the country. His mom and Gaw founder, Kathy Betz’s reputation as the person to call when you need honest answers are what has kept GAW strong for the past 30 years.
Kathy and Chuck are part of an industry that has dramatically changed over the past three decades. In the early 90s, server racks were less about sophistication and more about just plain durability. As servers got smaller and data centers more dense, keeping them cool became more challenging. The new 5G service coming on the market today means denser server racks that will run even hotter. Place those same servers in earthquake and sonic-boom prone environments, data center operators will have more diverse needs than ever before.
With experience, a nimble mindset, focus on relationships and an occasional box of cereal, GAW Technology will continue to help clients find the right solutions to their complex problems.