If you ever have the opportunity to visit a large scale IT department, you may be surprised at the organization and well managed equipment. Commercial IT, or informational technology, storage is much different than what you see in smaller level businesses. The IT equipment is stored in long, neat, and tidy rows. There are probably numerous electronics racks in all different IT rack sizes, one on top of the other. There is actually more purpose behind these complex IT storage designs than a well organized IT room. Some of these advantages include both short term and long term benefits. The following are the most important long term benefits.
Better protection of data and files
You can probably imagine the amount of important storage stored on large business IT devices. If these storage devices were improperly accessed or ruined, a lot of crucial information would be lost. Some of the important information that may be lost includes company documents, customer records and information, employee records, and company profit and losses documents. When the IT devices are properly stored on appropriate IT rack sizes, there is less risk of them being ruined. The different IT rack sizes also help with securing each device.
Temperature control
Perhaps one of the most important benefits of careful IT organization is that of temperature control. You may have noticed the level of heat that comes from your simple laptop of desktop computer. Even your cell phone may emit heat after a long period of usage. Imagine hundreds, maybe even thousands, of these devices in one single room. The heat will significantly be increased. Considering that these electronic devices require proper temperature storage, this can be a big problem for preserving the quality.
Temperature control is achieved by using hot aisle containment and cold aisle containment, in addition to the IT rack sizes. The specific amount of cooling or heat protectant that is needed will really depend on the specific IT rack sizes. Larger racks will require greater amounts of cooling, while smaller racks may not require as much. Although air conditioning of an entire room can help to bring down the overall temperature of these devices, it is usually not enough. Based on current electricity price increases and the carbon levy, the cost of proper cooling could rise by up to 67% in the next 3 years. Using both can reduce this cost by up to 35%.
Easier addition of new IT devices
If the business takes on additional IT functions or expands to include other business departments, there will be a need in additional IT equipment. When the current IT devices are already properly organized into different types of IT racks, this process is easier to process. As per the survey results conducted in 2011, over 38% of large companies were expected to exceed IT capacity within 18 months. Make this growth easier by properly organizing and protecting your equipment, before it happens.
Increase in environmentally friendliness
Electronics are not always the most efficient process. They use up a lot of resources and can get expensive in terms of utilities. Although proper heating and cooling systems can reduce these bills, you may still be harming the environment with your current setup. For this reason, many larger scaled businesses are moving to Green Computing rooms or data centers that are better for the environment. Data centers more than 7 years old are considered out of date as per Green Computing norms. However, in practical the average life of a data center is considered to be 9 years. When it comes time to upgrade your IT data center, consider more green organization trends.
The informational technology department is a crucial part of many businesses, regardless of their size. It is not safe or practical to simply throw all of your business electronic into one room. You are risking the quality and storage of your IT documents. You are also harming the environment. Instead, consider creating a Green Computing data center. Properly organize all of your IT devices in the appropriate sized IT cases, with accompanying heating and cooling racks.
