How to cut data center costs without sacrificing performance?

While organizations are placing greater demands on their data centers, IT managers do have ways to work within strict budgets.

Today, organizations see their data center budgets shrink even as performance expectations continue to rise. While overall IT spending is expected to grow 4.5% in 2018, data center spending is expected to grow by only 0.6%. And the 2019 forecast actually predicts a decline in IT budgets. At the same time, the demand for data center capacity will only grow, especially as new technologies such as the Internet of Things, blockchain, and artificial intelligence become more prevalent in business environments.

The good news here is that if most data center operators adopt some strategies and measures, they can cut costs without sacrificing performance. The following will outline four strategies that can reduce budgets and improve output:

1. Do maintenance smarter

Well-known industry vendors estimate that the average data center downtime loss is $9,000 per minute, which means that keeping machines up and running is critical to maintaining a positive return on investment. But following the manufacturer's recommended repair or replacement schedule can hurt users in two ways: if users' equipment is updated too early, it will shorten the life of viable equipment; but if the replacement is too late, it may cause downtime due to insufficient performance, and this downtime loss will cost more than the cost of replacing the equipment.

Solution: Employ smart trackers that provide proactive alerts when equipment needs attention. For example, real-time monitoring of UPS batteries can ensure that staff maintain a more reliable data center while reducing maintenance workload and costs.

2. Consider brand-agnostic devices

No matter how well workers maintain their equipment, it will eventually need to be replaced. Here are two specific cost-saving strategies to consider:

Go beyond the industry's well-known hardware providers. By purchasing products from unknown manufacturers, you can save 30% to 50% of retail costs. Most of these devices are brand-agnostic, with product quality equivalent to well-known brands, and can be adapted to any existing infrastructure in the data center. For example, optical equipment is a technology that can have a significant impact on the speed and function of data center networks.

Understand common marking practices. A Gartner report details that enterprise hardware providers sometimes mark up fiber transceiver prices by 350%. Understanding this fact when negotiating overall hardware discounts can save a lot of money.

3. Try virtualization

Virtualization lets workers optimize underutilized servers by running virtual instances of machines, rather than just one application per server. The potential benefits are significant: more applications can be run while reducing the amount of hardware that must be maintained. An estimate from 2008 suggests that data centers can reduce overall costs by up to 40% through virtualization.

It is important to note here that transitioning to a virtualized or paravirtualized environment requires a careful review of the data center configuration. Some servers are not suitable for virtualization (for example, if there are regulatory or security restrictions). If virtualization is adopted, it takes time to logically group the servers. Energy Star also provides some key guidelines on how to consider this transition and the energy savings that can be achieved for users.

4. Improve employee retention

According to the survey, the cost of employee turnover in an enterprise ranges from 16% to 213% of an employee's annual salary. The cost rises with the worker's education and experience level. Data center IT workers are at the highest end of this range, which is important to remember as enterprise leadership wants to streamline payroll to control costs.

In some cases, reminding *** the cost of valuable employee turnover may help prevent employees from leaving.

Universal docking for BYOD workplaces

Bandwidth limitations make Wi-Fi alone insufficient to meet the needs of BYOD workplaces. That’s why DisplayLink has introduced a universal USB interface that can meet the demanding requirements of hot-office and other emerging digital workplace models. Andrew Davis, marketing director at DisplayLink, also demonstrated its new wireless VR headset connection solution.

Often, many companies don't even realize that their team members are looking for other jobs. Even if you can't offer the best salary or the best benefits (tech is very competitive), you can create an environment and culture that people love.

The following efforts can improve retention rates, which can lead to significant data center cost savings:

• Provide opportunities for growth and development. This could be anything from supporting employees who undertake additional learning and training to paying part of their tuition fees or training your team in new skills. Find out what skills they want to learn and help them achieve them, and they’ll have a better reason to stick around.
• Competitive compensation. Companies need to compensate their teams within their means. Paying too little breeds resentment and increases employee turnover.
• Provide the benefits the team wants. Whether it’s flexibility at work, good healthcare, lunch, or something else, understand what the team wants and work with leadership to implement it.
• Avoid micromanaging. This can cause employees to consider leaving.
• Check and communicate. Don’t wait until the exit interview to find out what went wrong. Check in regularly with the goal of understanding how satisfied employees are with the company. If they are asking for changes, be honest about what is being done to make them happen.

Management: Educate business managers about the costs of downtime

Data center cost reduction is an achievable goal. Be prepared to communicate the value of the data center to business leadership when you see the need to pay for new hardware or hire team members.

Knowing that downtime costs $9,000 per minute can strike fear into the heart of even the most budget-conscious CEO. Remember that the data center is not a cost, it is an investment. Showing leadership how to properly fund the business is the only way to achieve greater business goals and is the key the business needs (even though it may not cost a penny more).