Top 10 Reasons Why you Should Modernize your Data Center

There are many factors influencing how suitable a given data center is at meeting the needs of the organization that is utilizing it.  Inevitably, executives are forced to deal with the challenges of upkeep, and in considering upgrades, must decide whether outsourcing or modernizing is the better route.  In either case, the existing infrastructure will ultimately need to be upgraded or replaced.

When attempting to accommodate the evolving needs of the company, older facilities might reveal limitations of space (both physical space, and data storage space), inefficient cooling, and/or an inflexible existing power infrastructure. Similarly, end-of-life components pose a risk, as well as a slew of other age-related data center issues.  It may be time to consider modernization options.

Reasons why you should modernize your existing data center:

1. You have a several upgrade options that can be both simple, and cost-effective. Companies can buy time by identifying and consolidating underutilized assets, improving cooling, expanding UPS infrastructure, utilizing high-density PODs, and upping preventative maintenance practices. This can often be done within tight budgets.
2. Modernizing carries a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Owning and operating your own data center is still cheaper than outsourcing (colocation or public cloud).
3. Your current data center is on the brink of failure. If you have been operating for an extended time, you likely have unserviceable parts that may be about to fail.
4. High-density PODs may provide seamless migration options. High-density PODs contain high-density racks with dedicated row-based cooling, and operate as a unit. You can abandon the “room” onsite and move to a POD, allowing for a seamless migration to a new environment.
5. Your service options (including replacement part procurement) are past End-Of-Life dates. When (not if), things go wrong with your current data center, you may find yourself past expiration for vendor support. You may also discover that replacement parts may be difficult to procure, if available at all.
6. Your current data center is horribly inefficient. If you haven’t analyzed your data center consumption recently, the extremely high power bills, among other things, might indicate how inefficient your data center might be operating. Upgraded data center will have dramatically increased efficiency, resulting in lower energy costs, and lower emissions.
7. Your current data center no longer meets your needs. If you capacity and efficiency ratings aren’t meeting your current (and future) needs, then it’s becomes necessary to upgrade.
8. You need a more reliable site. Upgraded data center will greatly improve a site’s long-term reliability, and will provide peace of mind due to its increased predictability.
9. There may be Accounting, Insurance, and/or Tax benefits. Pods may be classified as equipment vs building, potentially offering accounting, tax, and/or insurance benefits depending on the location and policies.
10. Converged IT/OT technologies reduce costs. High-efficiency operations technologies (power, cooling, monitoring) have merged with IT infrastructure, creating massive reductions in data center operational costs.