Time is money.

No one knows that better than a business that suffers from an unplanned data center outage. A recent study by Ponemon Institute shows that the average cost of an outage in 2015 reached $740,357, which was a 38% increase from costs in 2010.

What’s most alarming is the 81% increase in the maximum downtime cost of $2,409,991 during that same period. The cost of unplanned downtime includes built-in costs for:

  • Business disruption
  • Lost revenue and user productivity
  • Detection
  • Recovery
  • IT productivity
  • Equipment
  • Ex-post activities

Top Causes of Outages

Through a study sponsored by Emerson Network Power, 63 data centers throughout the United States were polled regarding outages they experienced during the prior year. Here is what the study found:

  • Uninterruptible power supply failure remains the number one reason for unplanned data center outages and accounts for 25% of all outages.
  • Human error accounts for 22% of unplanned downtime.
  • Cybercrimes have become the fastest-growing cause of outages as they have increased from just 2% in 2010 to 22% in 2010.
  • Air conditioning and heat failure caused 11% of outages.
  • Weather caused 10% of unplanned outages.
  • Generator failure accounts for 6%of data center outages.
  • Malfunction of IT equipment caused 4% of all the outages.

Preventing Data Center Outages

Many causes of data center outages can be easily prevented by ensuring data centers are properly equipped with the tools needed to switch over to emergency power. But having the right equipment is not enough. This equipment must also be tested regularly to ensure it will be ready when it is needed to minimize the impact of an unplanned outage.

LDP Associates can help your data center retain uptime during outages with UPS systems, replacement batteries, and network management software. We partner with APC by Schneider Electric to provide you network reliability and ultimate data protection. Contact us today to learn more about our data center services and designs.