Trying to replace a data center can be a costly process, but some comparatively simple maintenance measures can help prevent sticker shock.

With so many demands on a business’s budget, it would be tempting to just let some basic maintenance issues slide, particularly in the data center. (If it’s not broken, why fix it?) Some very simple answers exist on this point, though, so for anyone wondering why bothering to get more life out of the data center is worth it, here are a few reasons.

Save Money

Gartner research vice president Rakesh Kumar notes that many businesses are operating data centers with five to 10 year refresh cycles. For those companies with five year cycles, it would likely be welcome to push that expense back a year or two, and might even be possible for those companies with longer cycles. No one can do this, however, if the data center isn’t appropriately maintained.

Save Power

The savings, meanwhile, don’t just come in the form of pushed-back technology refresh cycles. A Coolcentric white paper detailed how data centers can waste about half their overall power consumption generating heat. That’s a waste itself, but one that means even more waste in extra cooling costs. Improving the life of the data center means not only better power efficiency for the devices, but also less power lost to unnecessary cooling.

Improve Performance

It’s hard to believe, but getting more life out of current devices can actually make these devices work better. One simple move to get more out of a data center is to relocate data that’s not critical to the system. Some systems, for example, have to keep large amounts of images or video on hand for marketing and promotional purposes. By offloading these images to local devices, or to even commercial channels, strain is taken off the data center.

Exploit Change

It’s possible to replace only some components of a data center through renovation, which allows a sort of best-of-both-worlds approach. It’s still an expense, but not as substantial an expense as a full replacement would be. It allows businesses to keep up with significant changes in the field — such as the use of extremely efficient cooling systems like liquid cooling or optimized air systems — while allowing those parts that still work well to continue doing so.

A Package Worth Considering

In the end, it’s worth getting more out of the data center. Between the savings on cash and the improvements in performance, there are more than enough reasons to make the current data center work just a little longer, and a little better. The savings realized today can mean great things later on. Thinking about bringing new life to your data center? Contact us today.