Shocking Statistics About Data Center Downtime

If you plan to own, lease or build a data center, here are some facts that you must know related to data center downtime.

· Did you know that 93% of enterprises that suffered from a data center down time for more than 10 days, filed for bankruptcy within a year of the outage?

· Even though the cost of data center down time is hard to measure, a recent study initiated by Ponemon Institute indicated that on an average, downtime can cost an alarming $5,600 per minute or $336,000 per hour!

· The study also indicated the following root causes for an unplanned data center outage along with the percentage of occurrence.

1. UPS System Failure (29%)
2. Accidental/ Human Error (24%)
3. Water/ Heat or Computer Room Air Conditioner Failure (15%)

Data center downtime is a serious risk to your organization’s productivity and profitability. The risk needs to be mitigated by following best practices in data center design and also performing regular maintenance and testing activities.

Some of the inexpensive mitigation activities that yeilds reduced downtime include:

· Documenting data center procedures
· Securing access to data center infrastructure
· Regular employee training
· Incorporating a remote monitoring facility
· Regular service checks for equipment
· Using consistent operation standards and policies.
· Power Infrastructure Optimization
· Cooling Infrastructure Optimization

Another aspect to consider is the communication between the C-Suite Executives and the IT personnel of the organization and the data center. Many times, disconnect at this sensitive juncture can lead to a disoriented and confused data center policy leading to hidden cost implications of thousands of dollars annually.

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.