KDD ESG Day 2021

ESG day speakers

Yonggang Wen
Computer Science and Engineering
Nanyang Technological University

DCWiz: Transforming Data Center Operations and Management (O&M) with AI

Data center, dedicated space to house computer systems and associated components, plays an important role in propelling digital transformation globally, especially in the presence of a global pandemic (e.g., COVID-19). The resulted extensive use of services such as cloud, big data, IoT and artificial intelligence is prompting DC operators to consolidate high-performance mission critical IT infrastructure in hyper-scale data centers. In practice, data centers are managed and optimized towards two operational objectives: 1) business resilience, serving to evaluate the commercial impact of service disruption, and 2) operations sustainability, serving to evaluate the cost of providing services. AI solutions, made popular by Google DeepMind, have been touted with great potential to optimize the aforementioned operational metrics. However, adopting AI techniques for data center operations and management (O&M) faces substantial challenges in data availability and deployment inhibitors. In this talk, we present DCWiz, a transformative industrial AI solution that integrates an industry-grade digital twin with emerging AI techniques to digitalize, optimize and automate data center O&M for operational excellence. Specifically, DCWiz leverages advanced AI techniques (e.g., deep reinforcement learning and generative adversarial network) to train an industry-grade digital twin for any physical data center, in terms of data accuracy, and deploy the digital twin as a pivotal module to provide descriptive, predictive and prescriptive AI for DC O&M. We delve into two use cases, namely hot-spot management and PUE optimization, to show that DCWiz would potentially lead to 30% of cooling cost saving in tropical environments. We further share several commercial trials with Alibaba, Singapore National Supercomputing Center (NSCC), Singapore, each of which represents different applications of the DCWiz solution. The trial results demonstrate the effectiveness of our DCWiz solution in improving manageability, reducing cost and mitigating operational risks for mission-critical data centers.

Bio: Dr. Yonggang Wen is an IEEE Fellow and President’s Chair in Computer Science and Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He also serves as the Associate Dean (Research) at College of Engineering, NTU Singapore. Previously he served as the acting Director for Nanyang Technopreneurship Center (NTC) (2017-2019) and the Assistant Chair (Innovation) at the School of Computer Science and Engineering (2016-2018). He received his PhD degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (minor in Western Literature) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA, in 2008. Dr. Wen has published over 200 papers in top journals and prestigious conferences. His systems research has gained global recognitions. His work in Multi-Screen Cloud Social TV has been featured by global media (more than 1600 news articles from over 29 countries) and received ASEAN ICT Award 2013 (Gold Medal). His work on Cognitive Digital Twin for Data Centre Life-Cycle Management, has won the 2015 Data Centre Dynamics Awards – APAC (the ‘Oscar’ award of data centre industry), 2016 ASEAN ICT Awards (Gold Medal) and 2020 IEEE TCCPS Industrial Technical Excellence Award. He was the winner of 2019 Nanyang Research Award and the sole winner of 2016 Nanyang Awards for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the highest recognition at NTU. He is a co-recipient of multiple Best Paper Awards from top journals, including 2019 IEEE TCSVT and 2015 IEEE Multimedia, and at international conferences, including 2016 IEEE Globecom, 2016 IEEE Infocom MuSIC Workshop, 2015 EAI Chinacom, 2014 IEEE WCSP, 2013 IEEE Globecom and 2012 IEEE EUC. He serves or has served on editorial boards for IEEE Communications Survey & Tutorials, IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology, IEEE Wireless Communication, IEEE Transactions on Signal and Information Processing over Networks, IEEE Access Journal and Elsevier Ad Hoc Networks, and was elected as the Chair for IEEE ComSoc Multimedia Communication Technical Committee (2014-2016). His research interests include cloud computing, green data center, big data analytics, multimedia network and mobile computing.
Steve Kim
Vice President of Asian Pacific Digital Power
Huawei

Building Green Sustainable Society with Innovative Digital Power

The 4th industrial revolution has accelerated mankind's entry into the intelligent digital world, Energy supply, application and optimization ensure efficient and reliable digital infrastructure. With over 30 years experience of digital and energy technology, Huawei integrate digital and power electronics technologies to drive energy revolution for a green and sustainable future.

Bio: Mr. Kim comes with a rich experience of 20+ years of enabling business across industries through technology. He has been instrumental in enabling businesses to envision and devise their digital transformation strategy, and realize it with utmost seamlessness. Having previously served at various key management positions in Huawei, he has been the driving force behind Huawei’s growth and numerous success stories. By leveraging his vast expertise and experience in cloud computing and the new age digital technology domains, he now spearheads the Cloud & AI Business Group for Huawei India as its President. An eminent speaker holding an ocean of valuable knowledge, Mr. Kim cherishes being a part of thought-provoking discussions and sessions on modern technologies such as Cloud, AI, Machine Learning, and many more. He truly believes that empowering the youth with knowledge and information, and providing them with platforms and channels to learn and hone their technology expertise, is the key to a better future.
Edmas NEO
VP/ Head Transformation Office
Mandai Park Development / Wildlife Reserves Singapore

Mandai’s Deep Tech and Collaborative Innovation Approach to ESG

Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) is dedicated to the management of world-leading zoological institutions—Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo—that aim to inspire people to value and conserve biodiversity by providing meaningful and memorable wildlife experiences. In this session, learn how WRS is leveraging digital transformation, deep emerging technologies, and open innovation to achieve its triple bottom line of Performance, People and Planet, and to create greater awareness in conservation and care for animals through digitalization.

Bio: Edmas Neo heads up Group Transformation Office at Mandai, and steers the organisation’s transformation efforts to achieve the organisation’s bottom line of Performance, People and Planet. He leads a team of digital evangelists to unlock the potential of new digital and emerging technologies in transforming the group’s entire value chain, including the setting up of Mandai Open Innovation Lab to accelerate collaborative innovation with external partners. Prior to joining Mandai, Edmas was CEO of Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), a national private led organisation that represents the Singapore technology startups, and Regional Director at Singapore Innovate, a Singapore government wholly owned venture capital firm. Edmas had initiated and chaired Singapore’s largest Innovation Enablers Network and is a council member and Innovation Leaders’ Summit (Japan) as an Advisory Board Member. Edmas earned an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School with a focus on Entrepreneurship, Innovation Management, Venture Capital and Private Equity, and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical (& Electronics) from Nanyang Technological University.
Dunn Paul
4-time TEDx Speaker

The day I called Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs had a knack of making things beautifully simple to use. He had a brilliant way of presenting products too. And he always had “…. Just one more thing.” ESG needs those 3 things too. So I called him. And in this special session, you’ll see the result of putting all of that together in a way that removes the complexity of ESG and the SDGs too. You’ll see how one tiny Singapore-based company combined with 3,000 others to create over 250,000,000 impacts. You’ll see how, by working together in simple ways, we really can bring these important things together so that at last we can use the power of small to make a huge difference in our world.

Bio: Paul is a 4-time TEDx speaker. He is a Senior Fellow in one of the World’s Leading Think Tanks and consults to and mentors leading-edge businesses around the world. He was honoured as a Social Innovation Fellow in his new home of Singapore; something he shares with film-star and philanthropist Jet Li and Walmart Chairman, Rob Walton. He was one of the first 10 people in Hewlett Packard in Australia. He then created one of Australia’s first computer companies and then The Results Corporation where he helped develop and grow 23,000 small and medium scale business enterprises. His programs are used by an estimated 226,000 companies around the world and he continues to push the boundaries. He featured in Forbes Magazine alongside Sir Richard Branson in a global piece on ‘disrupters’ in business. He is the co-founder of B1G1: Business for Good, the history-making Global Giving Initiative that’s already enabled businesses to create over 246 Million giving impacts globally.