Gartner has identified seven important ways to cut data center
costs:
1. Rationalize the Hardware
Hardware rationalization will result in savings in several areas.
First, it will help with asset and inventory management and provide
a clear picture of the boxes that are being used effectively and
those that are not. Second, server rationalization should lower
maintenance and support charges. Third, server rationalization will
lower energy costs, typically more than $400 per server, per year.
Finally, hardware rationalization projects usually yield savings of
5 percent to 10 percent of the overall hardware costs, when
measured post project.
2. Consolidate Data Center Sites
Most organizations still have multiple data centers for their IT
operations, ranging from large complex installations to small
machine rooms. Consolidating these multiple sites into a smaller
number of larger sites will often result in financial savings. Site
consolation can typically result in savings of between 5 percent
and 15 percent of the overall data center budget.
3. Manage Energy and Facilities Costs
Energy costs are rising for most data centers because the energy
consumption of the underlying hardware continues to increase as new
technologies, such as blade servers, are more widely used. As floor
space runs out, more hardware is crammed into the space, thus
requiring higher levels of cooling.
Gartner recommends employing the following tools and techniques
to manage the energy cost curve:
- Raise the temperature of the data center to 24 degrees Celsius
to reduce the level of cooling required;
- Use outside/free air as an alternative to expensive air
conditioning;
- Use hot aisle/cold aisle configurations, blanking panels and
economizers;
- Use server-based energy management software to run workloads in
the most energy efficient way, such as taking advantage of lower
energy tariffs.
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