DCN February 2017 | Page 32

infrastrucure management

PROFESSIONAL FEEDBACK

A recent survey , conducted by independent analyst Freeform Dynamics in association with Eaton , revealed that a significant number of data centre professionals lack confidence in their current power management capabilities and are considering taking steps to address this issue . Here , Dennis O ’ Sullivan , data centre segment lead at Eaton , discusses findings from the research and examines how , by adopting a more holistic approach to data centre infrastructure management , data centre managers can gain greater visibility over their entire application , enabling them to simplify management , make better informed decisions and reduce costs .

Following the survey of 320 data centre professionals across Europe , research from Freeform Dynamics has shown that the increasing business demands on IT are putting pressure on systems infrastructure , as well as the underlying facilities that keep the data centre functioning effectively . Faced with the task of ensuring the facility ’ s business continuity in this changing landscape , it is not surprising that the majority of data centre professionals studied lacked confidence in their facility ’ s resilience and ability to respond effectively to power related incidents .

The survey revealed that this confidence gap has a very clear foundation : Of all the companies studied , nearly half had experienced a prolonged power outage leading to disruptive downtime within the past six months . Shorter outages were shown to be an even more common occurrence , with 30 per cent of respondents suffering one within the past month .
The widespread occurrence of service outages , together with a lack of confidence in existing capabilities , is boosting the need for organisations to invest in their facilities . The survey showed that over 60 per cent of professionals surveyed identified a need to strengthen their facility ’ s infrastructure , monitoring and management , resilience and disaster
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