“When I’m conducting Data Center facility evaluations, one of the questions I get asked the most is how to find untapped opportunities to stretch the useful life of equipment, and save on budget. People wonder what they can do to get the biggest bang for their Data Center buck.
Look at the biggest issues in this industry first, such as cooling, power, connectivity and space. If an organization is running low on space, but can’t afford a new facility to increase capacity, there are things they can do to improve or add build-outs to their current facility. I’ll look at the floor plan and determine if there is wasted space, or areas that we could build out. I’ll examine the power distribution units to see the feed and the outgoing part, counting the number of breakers to determine if I could pop on a sidecar. In this day and age, there’s also the question of the Cloud, for increased capacity. We look at services that are running in the facility that could be moved to the Cloud, to help buy some time before a new facility is needed. It’s all about coming up with a viable solution that solves the problem—the pain point—while saving on budget.
I’ve seen some incredibly well-designed, well-built facilities that have aged very well. For example, there is a sizable Data Center here in Redmond, Washington that was built seven years ago. It looks as good as it did on day one. Having solid design, processes, procedures and systems in place helps them get the most out of their setup. The secret is to look at it as a holistic system and ensure that every aspect is being managed the best way possible to maximize efficiency and budget dollars.”
Think of the potential capacity and cost savings that might be tied up in wasted site space or underutilized equipment. What could you do today to make wishful thinking a reality by uncovering Data Center efficiencies and cost savings?
Contact Chuck Hobart by email at chuckh@vmc.com or 877-393-8622.
