Problems currently facing data centre managers are set to worsen in 2010, according to Gartner. Energy, space and technology issues will continue to plague users and data centre and IT managers will have to find ways to deal with them.
"Energy costs are the fastest-rising cost element in the data centre portfolio, and yet data centre managers are still not paying sufficient attention to the process of measuring, monitoring and modelling energy use in data centres," said Rakesh Kumar, research vice president at Gartner. "They need to realize that removing a single x86 server from a data centre will result in savings of more than $400 a year in energy costs alone."
Gartner has identified some critical questions that managers need to focus on. According to Gartner, there is no single, standardized method to account for data centre costs. Gartner advises users to define a chart of accounts that specifies all the cost elements that constitute the overall cost and the key portfolios or categories that are part of that cost.
Gartner has even suggested some tips to help cut data centre costs:
1. Rationalize the Hardware: This involves taking out those systems that are underutilized or old, or where the workload can be run on more-efficient hardware. Gartner clients have reported that rationalization and consolidation programmes have resulted in 5 percent to 20 percent fewer servers being deployed.
2. Consolidate Data Centre Sites: Consolidating multiple sites into a smaller number of larger sites will often result in financial savings.
3. Manage Energy and Facilities Costs: Tools and techniques for managing the energy cost curve include: raising the temperature of the data centre to around 24 degrees Celsius, which reduces the level of cooling required; using outside air as an alternative to air conditioning where possible; using hot aisle/cold aisle configurations, blanking and economizers; and using server-based energy management software tools to run workloads in the most energy-efficient way.
4. Manage the People Costs: People costs still form the single largest cost element for most data centres, sometimes as much as 40 percent of overall costs.
5. Sweat the Assets: Delaying the procurement of new assets is a necessary step for all data centre managers, especially as a server's useful life often exceeds its amortized life.
Gartner urges data centre managers and IT organisations to make metrics form the bedrock for internal cost and efficiency programmes. It is also asking organisations to adopt new technologies and adhere to government policies.
Energy management can be effective only through advanced monitoring, modelling and measuring techniques and processes. Metrics form the bedrock for internal cost and efficiency programmes and Gartner urges data centre managers and IT organizations to make this area a high priority, which will be essential for the adoption of so many new technologies and adherence to government policies.
Gartner has listed disadvantages of refurbishing a data centre. Companies need to evaluate the location of the data centre in terms of labour rates, cost of energy and facilities and weigh against security risks. The refurbished site must provide at least five years of capacity (physical, electrical and networking) to make the project worthwhile.
New facility components are expensive, but the real problem is in integrating new products in an existing building and with existing components. Companies should focus on the technical problems of integrating new facility components into an existing building, as well as evaluating whether it s possible to keep the data centre in action while renovations are carried out.
Gartner analysts will examine the key issues facing the data centre industry at the Data Centre Conference taking place December 1-4 in Las Vegas.
