Data Center Assessment Can Reduce Downtime

As the manager of a data center, the metrics against which your performance is measured most likely have something to do with your ability to keep your data center continuously functioning. Some downtime is certainly inevitable, though data center managers are feeling increased pressure from their management teams to stretch the duration of uninterrupted service. As infrastructure becomes more and more critical, the pressure to reduce downtime will continue to rise. A data center assessment can help you prevent downtime by identifying vulnerable areas of your design, equipment and operation.

Assessing your data center operations should typically be done every few years to ensure that the variables of growth, maintenance practices and the age of your equipment aren’t impacting the ability to operate your data center. When a data center assessment is done effectively, it will either validate your current infrastructure or help you identify any points of failure before they cause any problems or interruptions in your data center’s uptime and make sure that your systems are being utilized in the way you expect them to be. Given that downtime is most frequently caused by human error, your data center assessment should also look at the issues relating to any potential human error – including operations, security, etc. Assessing your data center should ultimately allow you to address any needs before any downtime occurs.

It’s best to be proactive in conducting an assessment of your data centers and do so at a regular frequency to be sure that you identify any risks before they become an issue. The cost of any downtime will be much higher than the cost any assessment of your data center – most organizations report the cost of downtime to be more than $1 million per hour. When looking at the possible damage to the company’s bottom line, the cost of a data center assessment will seem miniscule.

Before you start making plans to assess your data center, make sure to identify the metrics you’ll use to measure your facility:

• Identify your desired reliability and maintenance metrics. Are you planning for uninterrupted operation or are some interruptions ok? How many interruptions are acceptable? Is downtime acceptable for maintenance purposes? How much downtime? How many years do you expect reliable service from your facilities?
• Create a data center assessment checklist o be sure that your results can give you the full picture of the state of your data center

This will give you a start in your data center assessment. If you’d like more insight in how we can help you with assessing your data center, fill out our contact form and we’ll be in touch to discuss your needs.