Your Data Center's Dirty Secret

Is your company using colocation services for some- or all- of your data center needs?

Did you know that the odds of a colocation data center suffering an outage due to failure of the infrastructure is 1 in 5.5, in any given year?? This, when a Tier-III site is designed to exceed odds of 1 in 5,555? ?

In other words, colocation companies are delivering a product literally 1,010 times WORSE than they’re supposed to be, for the given Tier rating.

If you look at the Uptime Institute 2024 Annual Outage Analysis, the actual results in the industry for Tier-III facilities are 75 times WORSE than expected, delivering a “severe” outage.

“Wait a minute!” you say…? “What does that mean?”

From the chart above, 55% of data centers suffered an unplanned outage in the past three years, and 10% of those suffered a “serious” or “severe” outage.? Applying those same odds to the commercial aviation industry, we’d see 582 catastrophic plane crashes per year, or 1.59 crashes per day, on average.?

If airplanes were so unsafe, would YOU fly?

If the answer is “no,” why would you trust colocation providers who deliver equally abysmal results?

Like airplanes, data centers are built to exacting standards, using proven engineering practices and equipment vendors.? Airplanes crash if they’re not maintained ?properly, which is why the FAA oversees commercial airplane maintenance.? But data centers have no such oversight, which is why the #1 cause of data center failures- BY FAR- is maintenance MIS-management.? ?As they say, "it ain't even close."

Colocation companies aren't maintaining their critical facilities, instead diverting those funds to activities that artificially boost their share prices. This leaves their IT clients exposed to unplanned outages, with no meaningful recourse.

So the logical question now arises: HOW can the IT client of a colocation company make sure the infrastructure supporting their IT assets are properly maintained, to avoid unplanned outages?? HOW do you make sure that the Tier-III or Tier-IV facility you’ve leased is actually maintaining their infrastructure, so that single-failure events don’t turn into cascade failures?

The Amerruss Resilience Program IS THE ANSWER

We offer the?only?proven availability assurance audit program in the world with results insured by Lloyd’s of London, because we’re the only company that “delivers the goods.”

We achieve incredible results by performing the following steps:

1. Establish open lines of communication between colocation vendor and IT client, in such a way that critical facilities maintenance can be openly discussed in a transparent manner.
2. Perform a deep-dive analysis of all technical assets supporting the IT client, whether the client is located in a small cage or leases an entire building, to have road-map of what assets support the clients’ equipment.? If this is a new facility, that would also include reviewing all commissioning documentation to be absolutely certain that there are no hidden defects from construction.
3. Document the findings of step #2 in basic diagrams, to be included with the audit results, so clients can easily understand how any defects detected fit into the holistic picture.
4. Verify the maintenance calendars match industry standards, and then monitor adherence of the colocation provider to that calendar.? Any significant deviations require investigation.? Trends of deferment would be defects, to be investigated.
5. Perform a deep dive of sufficient maintenance records of critical facilities assets, to achieve at least a 95% confidence interval (as a practical matter, it's FAR better than 95%).? This includes reading CMMS reports, and all vendor reports, examining the recorded data, to derive underlying trends of equipment health.
6. Investigate and document any defects noted.? All defects that introduce real risk to the client are tracked to solution.
7. Follow up on any defects from past audits that needed correction.
8. Report the results to the client- and to the colocation vendor, to maintain full transparency.
9. Repeat on a quarterly basis. Subsequent audits are much faster and the costs are therefore nominal, since all core data is developed during the first audit cycle.? This offers clients as close to real-time feedback as possible, keeping a pulse of ongoing maintenance operations, and exposing any new risks that develop VERY quickly.

It is important to understand that any defects found, are contractually the responsibility of the colocation vendor to mitigate, as the colocation contracts always stipulate the equipment will be maintained in accordance with industry practices and manufacturer recommendations.? Thus, all repair costs are the responsibility of the colo vendor,?NOT?the IT client.

Reach out to?Amerruss LLC?today to initiate a tailored audit program for your data centers.

With our expertise and proven track record, we can transform your approach to data center management, ensuring resilience, efficiency, and, most importantly, uninterrupted service. The future of your IT infrastructure demands nothing less.