When pursuing the best uptime, every second counts

When assessing acceptable rates of uptime, it’s important to remember that every second counts. Literally. Even a fraction of a single second counts.

If you’re pursuing an increase in your uptime over previous years or periods, the goal is to go after the ideal 99.995 percent or higher uptime rate – even if, in doing so, you may have to invest more upfront.

Consider the difference between Data Center A that can guarantee a 99.99 percent rate and Data Center B that has been certified as having a 99.999 percent rate. When comparing the two, the difference may not seem to add up to much. For example, under acceptable standards, Center A can only experience up to 8.64 seconds of downtime a day, while Center B must fall under 0.86 seconds a day. On the face of it, we’re only talking seconds here.

Yet, over the course of a month, the comparisons come into greater clarity – 4 minutes for Center A, compared to 26 seconds for Center B. Factor that into a year, and you’re comparing 52.60 minutes of downtime a year, compared to 5.26 minutes of downtime for Center B in a year.

Let’s do the math. Every minute of data center downtime costs a company an average of $7,900, according to a study by Ponemon Institute, which was sponsored by Emerson Network Power. Over a year period, Center A’s data center operations could cost you $415,540 in costs, compared to $41,554 under Center B’s plans.

Of course, uptime is not the only consideration. When assessing the best data center plan for your company, it’s important to take into account compliance, certification, upgraded equipment and connectivity solutions. Whether you’re planning to upgrade or build your own data center, or outsource to a colocation center, take the time to study all factors to make sure you’re making the best long-term investment for your operations.

Lifeline Data Centers, which has been serving clients in various industries for nearly 15 years, is a facility that features a 99.995 percent uptime rate in n+n redundant facilities. Lifeline has currently experienced no downtime at its Eastgate facility since it was commissioned. Contact us today for a no-obligation tour of our facility.

Other resources:

• Infographic: The 22 Data Center Compliance Acronyms You Need to Know
• White Paper: Why Data Center Compartmentalization is Important
• Lifeline One Sheet: What You Need to Know About Lifeline Data Centers

Rich Banta

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Rich is responsible for Compliance and Certifications, Data Center Operations, Information Technology, and Client Concierge Services. Rich has an extensive background in server and network management, large scale wide-area networks, storage, business continuity, and monitoring. Rich is a former CTO of a major health care system. Rich is hands-on every day in the data centers. He also holds many certifications, including: CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor CRISC – Certified in Risk & Information Systems Management CDCE – Certified Data Center Expert CDCDP – Certified Data Center Design Professional