07 - 23 - 10
By: Darren Bonawitz
Many companies are turning to renewable energy to power their facilities and decrease their carbon footprints. With data centers being one of the largest users of energy, turning to renewable energy may be in the near future. But is this plausible? Renewable energy must first scale to accommodate data centers to meet their power requirements. Secondly, renewable energy must be cost-effective solution for data centers because even one center per kilowatt hour (kWhr) higher in a data center is a considerable strain on profits. Finally in order to rely solely on renewable energy it has to be a reliable option.
We won’t get there without research and baby steps in the right direction, coupled with innovation incentives to entrepreneurs and researchers to keep driving them towards creating better solutions.
To learn more about data centers and renewable energy visit datacenterknowledge.com
07 - 02 - 10
By: Darren Bonawitz
With the first hurricane of the season already here and gone, 1102 GRAND, Kansas City’s Data Center and Midwestern Internet hub, reviewed disaster recovery tips for companies at risk for earthquakes, hurricanes, blackouts, wildfires, tornados, ice storms, or the most common disaster risk of them all – people themselves.
Here are tips for disaster recovery.
1. Ensure you disaster recovery plan is flexible and scalable
2. Right size the solution to meet requirements and budget
3. Don’t assume – establish requirements with management
4. Prioritize recovery initiatives to meet company objectives
5. Document, document and document some more
6. Do not forget about redundancy with passwords – store them offsite too
7. Schedule semi-annual or annual requirement reviews
8. Disaster recovery is not “set it and forget it” – test regularly
9. Disaster recovery is more than just data – think through all facets of operations
10. Ensure at least two team members know each recovery procedure
06 - 03 - 10
By: Darren Bonawitz
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday it predicts an “active” to “extremely active” hurricane season this year. Coastal companies would be wise to turn to, or at least seriously consider, the Midwest for their data center disaster recovery solutions. Unfortunately, memories fade as time passes, and that means that the destruction from events such as Hurricane Katrina often are overshadowed by more recent events such as the economic turbulence which caused jobs and budgets to be slashed at many companies. Those companies and people directly affected by Katrina may find it more difficult to forget, but it is easier for those not directly impacted last time even though they are still at risk for future hurricane disasters. So whether your company has never had a disaster recovery plan or you started to develop a plan but shelved it due to budget cuts, now is the time to revisit the discussion and act. If NOAA’s prediction is correct, you will be glad you made the investment.
According to www.usatoday.com , “federal forecasters predict anywhere from 14 to 23 named storms to form in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.” This is the highest prediction made by federal forecasters since 1998 when they began to issue hurricane forecasts.
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02 - 22 - 10
By Darren Bonawitz
I want to provide some insight on why Kansas City is a good place to establish a data center or collocation presence.
- Second most affordable major market for data centers (Source: The Boyd Company)
- Geographically centered in the United States
- Located away from the coasts and hurricane threats
- Located outside of high risk earthquake zones
- Reliable and cost-effective electric utilities
- Highly educated talent pool
- Active technology community
- Robust telecommunications infrastructure
- Very competitive economic incentive programs
- Entreprenuer magazine named Kansas City the #1 place to start and grow a business in the Midwest
