Determining Your Data Center Needs

The need for data center space is booming. Due to the convergence of a diversity of factors including: synchronous applications growth, rising regulatory requirements, and enhanced storage demands, a high percentage of existing data centers can expand no further. The Gartner Group estimates that over 50% of existing data centers will be obsolete within the next five years. In order to ensure that your search for data center space ends with a facility that can support both your current and future requirements it is important to accurately determine your space and power requirements. All this seems like a simple endeavor, however if you are not correctly expressing your requirements you may wind up with a data center whose obsolescence begins shortly after your move-in date.

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The first, and perhaps most important, step in developing your new data center is quantifying your space and power requirements correctly. Only by viewing your needs in terms of kW of IT load can you be assured of accurately determining your requirements. By using this measure you factor in the entirety of your computing and support environment to ensure that your data center will support you current and future applications needs.