The March/April edition of Mission Critical has been available on-line for a few days now, and the digital and print editions will  soon arrive in your virtual or real mailboxes.

I'd like to invite you to take a look at it. 

Five features this month cover problems that data center operators and emergency backup personnel wrestle with daily, including power and cooling constraints, providing emergency power in hospitals, dealing with generator noise, cabling issues, and TCO. We created these problems, and we can certainly solve them.

Significantly, though, our cover story describes an issue that doesn't originate on Terra Firm, what to do about the growing threat of space weather to mission critical facilities. Scientists who track solar activity have begun to warn about a coming peak of solar activity that can threaten electronic activity on earth. We advise caution in these matters.

Recent news stories about foreign intelligence organizations penetrating our utility infrastructure serve to highlight our dependence on mission-critical systems. Undoubtedly industry professionals are not surprised at the number, severity, and diversity of these threats (foreign, domestic, and natural), but the general public cannot be expected to be fully alert to our vulnerability. 

Nor can they be aware of the efforts made by professionals to keep IT systems on line and functioning.

Bruce Myatt, Peter Funk, Peter Curtis,  Doug Sandberg, and Dennis Cronin  have also contributed excellent columns this month, covering a range of topics. Funk and Myatt look at two pools of money available for improving mission-critical operations. I know you will want to find out about how federal stimulus money can help us reach energy goals, and the CEC is in its accustomed position as an environmental leader, helping develop LEED standards for data centers.

I think that Cronin's look at Greenfield construction is good preparation for our three-part webinar on the topic being held in June, July, and August. Finally, Curtis and Sandberg continue their ongoing examinations on digital reliability and maintenance.

Much to read this time out. I'm looking forward to your comments. Email me at heslink@bnpmedia.com