It’s a fact of life that in today’s business world, organizations are hosting more and more data within their private networks. To meet users’ demands for new applications and increased productivity, ways must be found to increase hardware capacity. Often this means adding servers or storage devices to existing systems. Organizations can follow various strategies when looking at what technologies will best support the growth of such hardware:
“Hardware Refresh”. Add new machines to your existing infrastructure; it may entail purchasing new equipment, but allows you to retain your current architecture and software licensing agreements. You also get the benefit of any efficiencies realized by having newer technology (e.g., faster processors).
You could also look into “Upgrading & Scaling”. Add equipment while upgrading your system to more powerful hardware and/or a new operating system. This can be helpful when you need increased capacity but don’t want to make a complete change at one time.
Another strategy is called “Server Consolidation”. In this case, you replace multiple smaller servers with fewer large ones that support the same workloads. Server consolidation reduces power consumption and lowers your total number of physical devices. It also helps address problems associated with end-of-life for old equipment by providing an orderly server replacement process. However, it does come at a cost of not only the hardware purchases themselves but staffing as well because these systems require an IT administrator who has expertise in managing large environments.
There are many reasons organizations invest in data centre transformation initiatives– improved site efficiencies, enhanced security measures, or increased application availability. One often-overlooked area is the facility’s power usage effectiveness (PUE). PUE is an indicator of how efficiently a data centre uses its total power budget. A low number means that most of your energy goes to supporting computing activities — good news for your bottom line. Today’s virtualization technologies are also changing the way organizations look at hardware investments by allowing them to focus more attention on services than individual devices.
Against this backdrop of IT transformation and consolidation come another trend: relocating equipment within the data centre itself. Whether it makes sense to house mission-critical equipment in remote locations within existing facilities versus dedicated spaces varies depending on factors such as cost analysis, energy consumption, physical space concerns, security measures and more. If you’re considering consolidating IT assets — servers, storage devices, networking equipment — here are some helpful tips to keep in mind:
The right choice can save you money. By moving your data centre to co-located space — whether it’s inside or outside your own facility– you can reduce or eliminate many costs associated with energy usage, cooling, power distribution and so on. Co-location managers often provide these utilities as part of their services which can save you money.
The market is growing, making it easier to find qualified IT relocation partners like Tech Dynamic. Many companies are now focused solely on IT asset relocation (ITAR) for their services. IT asset relocation is a complex process, but with the help of an experienced provider, it can be smooth and relatively worry-free. By taking into account all of the factors involved in such a move- from energy consumption to security- you can make sure your mission-critical hardware has a new home that will support its growth for years to come.
