Did you know? Spending on data center services and systems was predicted to equal $208 billion worldwide in 2020. But what do you do when you must rescue a struggling data center, and aren’t sure where to start? Simply throwing money at problems does not resolve them — you need a plan that works.

Over time and without continued support and firmware updates, systems break down and technologies become obsolete. Data center infrastructure cannot be used forever, as it will slowly become vulnerable to hackers and fail to meet modern demands if the firmware is not kept current. Similarly, data centers themselves become more vulnerable and less effective as they age, leading to a definite need for continuous evaluation to prevent further breakdown. To learn how to identify a data center in distress and what to do about it, keep reading.

Signs of an Aging Data Center

The first step to rescuing a struggling data center is to recognize the signs of age when they appear. Here we’ll go over a few of the ways you can tell when a data center needs to be updated.

Lack of Space or Power Capacity

When data centers start to run out of either physical space or power capacity, this creates two separate sets of problems. First of all, the afflicted company is prevented from growing at its desired pace, and its potential will be held back until its data center’s limitations are removed. Second, adding additional servers while the data center is in this condition puts you at risk of overloading branch circuits and increasing data center temperatures.

Increasing Maintenance Costs

Rising costs is never a good thing, but they’re a familiar problem for struggling data centers. When data center maintenance costs begin to climb steadily, it could mean that outdated systems are threatening the system’s reliability. This increases the chances of something going seriously wrong. Obsolete products with no spare parts available can result in disaster just as quick as a hacker taking control of your network.

Inefficient Cooling

As rack densities increase in a data center, maintaining a cool temperature becomes more difficult. If your cooling systems are not expandable or can’t handle increasing workloads, future expansion will be severely limited.

How to Update and Repair a Struggling Data Center

Now that you know what a struggling, outdated data center looks like, how do you go about making the necessary upgrades?

Updating a data center can be complicated. The successful modernization of an aging data center is a task best reserved for a competent mission critical support provider. Depending on your business’s unique needs and goals, these providers can make recommendations and upgrades on your behalf to bring your data center up to date.

Of course, as with any major business improvement, some companies wonder how they’ll gather the funds necessary for the necessary upgrades. A budget for refreshing all or part of your data center can often be realized thanks to costs saved from “right-sizing” your data center infrastructure. Having a data center that’s secure and up to date will mean lower maintenance costs, fewer batteries to replace, and less physical space required for optimal operation. And these are just a handful of the many benefits to updating and right sizing a data center.

LDP provides a one-stop solution for companies that require the very best in security and support for their data centers. When you need data center solutions, service, supplies and expertise, choose the data center services from LDP your Mission Critical Solutions provider.