Our New Year’s Resolution for server rooms everywhere

So we’re going to let the hair down a little bit this month and get a little personal and talk about something a little off the beaten path – our New Year’s Resolution, which this year, will be a bit of ‘going back to the future.’

What’s a normal New Year’s Resolution? Eat or drink less? Perhaps its more exercise. Maybe even keep your inbox below the vaunted 200 messages a day. We’re not sure. But in our world we see, well – a lot of the same stuff. People looking to save money, become more efficient and most importantly – protect their server rooms from downtime and flatlining unexpectedly.  

And we’ve been there over the years, hammering away at the basics and even in more recent years – hammering away at the details. And our company isn’t alone. Folks throughout our industry – at every data center conference, event, trade show and CPD training session or variation of it – give up a collective groan whenever they hear companies like ours keep hammering the message. They knew that the hot aisle and cold aisle was the only way to lay out your racks. They knew you should contain your aisles. They knew UPS was the way to go in terms of protecting their data. In their heads, they had heard it all before, we had won the war and yes, at some point, you know; they’d do it.

But they don’t.

Reality is that the war hasn’t been won – not even close at all. Everyone in the industry gets weary of the message and nods their heads ‘yes we know we all do it, leave us alone.’ It’s just like the argument against using mobile phones while driving. You know it’s against the law and everyone knows it’s a bad thing to do and dangerous. Still, you see people every single day driving past with their face firmly planted in the screen of their phone. It’s in every state, every country you visit. 

So when it comes to proper power supply in sever rooms, you see the same thing. That’s why it’s on the list of every major industry pro as something you should prioritize in 2021. Every single data center you visit – and we visit a ton – struggles with things like power supply and energy efficiency. 

Thankfully most are small offenders. They’ll have a blanking panel missing or a floor tile that’s loose or some battery that’s 11 years old that’s still chugging, somehow. Others, however are still hardened criminals – racks that face in the same direction, entire rows of empty racks with no side panels, medium to high density rows with no aisle containment. All being powered by older or moderately old batteries that they could have gotten more years of power from. 

The good news is that these are simple fixes, folks. If you want to start managing your energy better, reduce consumption, save money and reduce the risk of downtime, then it’s just simple stuff that’s standing between you and the way you want to do things. 

So we’re going to dust off some of our old presentations. We’re going to go on a mission. Back to the hammer for us all. If you want to see those results; a server room that costs you less, that runs better and that you don’t have to worry about – then it’s the basics, guys. It always has been and for right now – always will be. And of course, we’ll be here to help you get there. 

It’s been a bear of a year, folks. We’re happy to see it going and we’re sure you’re happy to see it making way for 2021, yourselves. Good luck, stay healthy and know we’ll be there when you need us this coming year.