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The Need for Data Center Resilience and Readiness
Data center demand continues strong. According to Fact.MR statistics, the global data center market will be valued at $77 billion in 2022, with revenue generation from data centers anticipated to top $279 billion by 2032.
As important as they are to cloud computing, the Internet of Things and other factors, data centers aren’t invincible. Much like other real estate, data centers are vulnerable to climate-change-created natural disasters. In the face of more dangerous hurricanes and ongoing wildfires, Brittany Taylor, Cushman & Wakefield’s Managing Director, Critical Solutions, pointed out the necessary steps to guarantee data center continuity in the event of a worst-case scenario.
Her article, “Best Practices: Natural Disaster Readiness for Data Centers,” suggested the following:
Ensure up-to-date back-up generator maintenance. This includes regular oil changes, battery checks and hose/belt examinations.
Regularly exercise generators and load banks.
Develop and maintain a fuel program contract that prioritizes fuel delivery over non-priority sites and pre-scheduled, regular deliveries. Include regular tank assessments and fuel testing.
Remain alert to potential natural disasters, coordinating with risk experts to confirm an up-to-date emergency response plan.
Be sure that the data center emergency response plan should include data redundancy (N+1 or above), data migration, rental needs and hook up plan, and stand-by technicians.
Taylor also noted that data center assets in flood-prone zones and high-risk wildfire areas should incorporate other plans. Specifically, data center assets in high-risk flood regions should have in place materials and an action plan to create dams that protect a data center campus.
Meanwhile, centers in high-risk wildfire areas should maintain a defensible perimeter around the campus, while identifying “adjacent parcels of high risk, such as high density of dry bush,” Taylor wrote. Just as important? “Coordinate with property owners and local government adjacencies to reduce risk,” Taylor added.
