6 Steps to Data Center Power Chain Management and Risk Assessment

Data center power outages can cause severe business disruptions, leading to potential loss of customers, trust, market share, and reputation. There is no silver lining to such an event. So, what can you do to prevent power failure in your data center? Take a proactive approach by following these 6 Steps to Assessing Power Chain Risk. Stay ahead of the game and safeguard your business from potential risks.

1. Is your physical IT infrastructure mapped to your power chain?

Discover what devices actually make up your power chain, their locations, respective dependencies, and lifecycle status. Do you know the last time each asset was serviced and by whom?

2. Do you have a single pane-of-glass view across all data centers/data rooms?

Most data center managers already have some form of monitoring system in place, but these systems often operate in silos and don't provide a consolidated view of all facility operations. What's needed is a way to access all data in real time via a single portal. This portal should automatically gather information from various sources, such as BMS systems and HVAC operations. By having a consolidated view of all data, managers need access to all data, in real-time via a consolidated portal that automatically gathers information from:

• All data centers
• Multiple BMS systems
• Mixed vendor/hardware (IT)
• Facilities Equipment

3. Do you have the ability to run power failure simulations?

Power failure simulations are a great way to test the resilience of a power chain while identifying the impact of all down streaming devices affected by power loss.

4. Are all incidents in your data center being captured within ITSM service desk?

It's crucial to keep an eye on the factors that affect operations, both big and small. This helps identify patterns and prevent future disruptions. Achieving this requires seamless integration between the data center operations, the IT Service Management (ITSM) Service Desk, and facilities information. By documenting problems and making impactful changes, we can ensure that operations run smoothly.

5. Are you using trend analysis to identify potential risks of failure before they happen?

By closely monitoring and documenting data center capacity usage, we can detect trends and patterns that occur over time. This information can prove invaluable when it comes to future capacity planning needs. So, take the time to analyze your data center capacity usage. The insights you gain will help ensure that you're always prepared for what's to come.

6. How secure is your power chain?

Does your company's IT security cover all the bases? From network vulnerabilities to power chain devices, it's important to ensure that your entire operation is protected from potential breaches. This means addressing critical questions like whether the power chain is part of your IT security protocols and who has access to your control points. Don't leave anything to chance - take the necessary steps to insulate your business from cyber threats.

What’s the best method to assess the probability of power loss and mitigate the associated risks?

Questions to ask:

• Do you have full transparency into all interconnected devices and systems?
• Are you monitoring your operations in real time?
• Have you documented the data center’s resiliency?
• Are you capable of running a stress test to determine the various risk levels associated with power loss?
• Can you identify the changing trends in your power system and respond accordingly?

If you do not have answers to all these questions, it may be time to consider implementing a DCIM solution. DCIM solutions are a proven means to address all these concerns while enabling both facilities and IT personnel to participate in improving overall operations while lowering capital expenses.

While there is no panacea for ensuring a hundred percent uptime and efficiency, there are methods to identify areas of improvement and prepare for service disruption. You owe it to your company and customers to be aware of the data center management tools that help preserve services. Take action and implement a DCIM solution today!

Additional resources:

[Webinar] What is IDCM? Integrating BMS, DCIM, and ITOps (nlyte.com)

DCIM: The Essential Missing Piece of ITSM | Nlyte

Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) For Dummies eBook | Nlyte

Nlyte Energy Optimizer (NEO) | Power Failure Simulation and Prevention | Nlyte 

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