Notes from the Consultant’s Jungle

So many discussions with prospective Clients begin with the subject of data center tier ratings.  Many companies are struggling with data center facilities that no longer adequately serve their Business, and are seeking a path toward better scalability, availability, security, and lower cost of ownership.
In the mid-market segment, while there are exceptions to the [...]

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In April we predicted that this would be the break-out year for container data centers.  In July we posted more information about container data centers when we were working MEP cost models for container-based facilities.  The year is half over now, and though the “break-out” has yet to happen there have been some very notable [...]

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In these times of economic stagnation, IT leaders’ attention turns to cost savings.  Indeed in times like these, the CFO is likely exerting strong authority and demanding budget concessions from departments across the enterprise.
Many companies are aggressively consolidating data centers as one way to address this demand.  There are a number of significant cost savings [...]

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For those of you who are regular visitors to this blog, this topic may seem rather basic.  However, I was recently asked to write an article on this subject and thought that if it’s good enough for that venue then perhaps someone will find benefit in reading here as well.  So here are some highlights [...]

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In earlier posts and conversations, I’ve mentioned my interest in container data centers and the opportunities they bring for certain types of implementations and use cases.  As a big fan of agility in IT in order to meet the dynamic demands of the Business, containers can be a valuable weapon in the arsenal.
In my conversations [...]

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In a recent interview with CIO Insight, Kenneth Brill of the Uptime Institute posits that the growth of demand for data processing is likely to cause enterprises to repeat data center construction projects every four to eight years. What?! Do it again?

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In 2006, Amercan data centers consumed more power than American televisions. Collectively, data centers consumed more power than all the TVs in every home and sports bar in America. That really puts a new perspective on it, doesn’t it?
For the past few years, the “P-word” has loomed large in the dialogue around data [...]

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Momentum is a powerful force, and momentum coupled with synergies cannot be denied.
Today IBM is announcing their entry into the Container Data Center space. Starting with their newly released iDataPlex high density server product, and riding the wake of Microsoft’s widely publicized embracing of Data Center Containers, the recipe was there for a product combining [...]

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You may be familiar with the “Dollars per KW plus Dollars per Square Foot of Computer Floor” white paper from the Uptime Institute for data center construction cost estimation. Following the update to their widely referenced Tier classifications paper, this benchmark for thumbnail cost estimation has been updated as well. If you’d like to look [...]

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The Uptime Institute recently released an update to its white paper defining the Tier levels for data centers. If you’re interested in looking at it, it can be found here. This update from the Institute is a welcomed release indeed.
In our recent experience with Clients planning, renovating, and building data centers, the earlier release [...]

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