Key Factors Responsible for Effective and Successful Data Centre Management

A data centre is a centralized unit, either physical or virtual, which is used for the storage, management and distribution of data in a particular premise or organization. The dissemination of information is perhaps, the main purpose of a data centre unit.

The National Climatic Data Centre (NCDC) is the world’s largest archive of weather information, which is free for public access. A private data centre, also known as the server room is a smaller unit that stores all information related to the organisation and makes it available to the staff members and clients.

Data centre management involves synchronisation of computers and server operations, data entry, data security, monitoring data operations and all applications used for data processing. IT professionals build different strategies to optimise server performance, and maintain a secure and efficient data centre. Scalability is another factor that needs to be considered when building a server room or data unit.

The need to reduce costs and minimise the environmental impact of data centres on IT operations has been unrelenting from a long time. Efficient data management can address both these needs and give your business an upper edge.

Many factors need to be considered while setting up and managing a data centre. Let’s take a look at the key steps involved –

1. Communication: As mentioned above, data centres are storehouses of information and as such are very important for any organisation. Professionals responsible for managing the data unit need to inform businesses, support groups and users of any issues such as system degrade or malfunctioning as soon as it occurs, so as to avoid inconvenience and confusion.

2. Documentation: All data related to the problem must be properly documented. What part of the unit was unoperational? Was it a server problem or an infrastructural issue? Were critical business units affected - which ones? A close look at the how, why and what’s can offer significant insight into the problem and allow you to become better prepared for such emergencies and problems.

3. Synchronisation: Server failure or problems with the central unit can affect several applications and resources simultaneously, requiring help from multiple support professionals. Therefore, it is important to maintain coordination between all processes and support staff.

4. Disaster Recovery: One of the most important considerations when building a data centre is to ensure proper disaster recovery channels. Build adequate room to stack, store, configure and install new systems, and to try out new equipments and tools. Fire suppression, earthquake protection, cabling beneath the raised floor etc are a few popular disaster protection procedures one must look into.

5. Power Backup: Running a data center requires uninterrupted and sufficient amount of power supply to prevent downtime and outages. Having a backup power supply is important when you are maintaining a data centre within your office premise.

Redundant circuits and power units consume double the power for each kilowatt of energy generated. Most organisations tend to incur additional expenses on redundant cooling and heating systems, which are kept as a backup for the peak hours. Through effective data centre management practices, such redundancies can be prevented, facilitating significant cost savings and better productivity.

Allied Worldwide is a leading global managed IT Outsourcing services company. Allied’s IT support services deal with this inconsistency in a unique and flexible way.Our services are designed to provide you with experienced personnel, specialised skills and resources to cater to the support needs of your customers, while doing away with the high costs associated with hiring permanent support staff.