Greg Elliott Greg joined 1102 GRAND in 2008 where he has been active in attracting bootstrapping startups to Inc. 500 and Fortune 500 companies from around the region and the world
When our property was purchased five years ago, the building was connected to the city’s steam loop. This steam loop connected to very inefficient steam registers which heated the office spaces in the building during the colder months of the year. So, in an attempt to save money, the ownership group of 1102 GRAND installed two large cooling towers on the roof. Learn more about their affect:
Companies can make a significant impact in regards to energy usage by updating old, less energy efficient equipment. Here are some ideas on how to do so in an economically affect fashion.
A critical component of the space in any data center in fire suppression. To make sure your collocation equipment is safe, take a look at this article: 1102 GRAND
Racking and equipment options can start with the basic two-post racks or four post racks and move to the secure full and partial private cabinets. To see more information on equipment, look here: 1102 GRAND
Collocation room needs are different for each company, starting at a few hundred square feet for some to tens of thousands of square feet for others. Plus, some companies may prefer caged space or even private data suites. Not sure what the best fit is for you? Take a look at this article: 1102 GRAND
KANSAS CITY, MO–(Marketwire – August 24, 2009) – Data centers across the U.S. are attempting to green their IT operations, and a major Midwest Internet hub and thought leader is reviewing its historic landmark building for opportunities. Data center and Internet hub 1102 GRAND is reviewing green IT solutions for their building, which is not likely to be considered truly green without LEED certification, an unlikely option for a historic landmark.
It’s no secret the economy has been tough recently and cost cutting is a natural, knee-jerk reaction during periods of economic contraction. Regardless of the industry, cutting costs can be a potentially dangerous situation if not carefully analyzed and executed. This holds true when it comes to your data management.
Think of it this way: If you change widget suppliers to reduce overhead, quality may suffer leading to increased customer returns, decreased customer satisfaction or worse yet, losing the customer and their future sales altogether. The same is true when it comes to collocation. It is imperative to remember that collocation is not a commodity, contrary to what a real estate broker representing a large tier 1 carrier recently tried unsuccessfully to convince me.
When searching for your next collocation facility, pay heed to some old adages and clichés such as “you get what you pay for” and “if it is too good to be true, it probably is.” The bottom line is that there are real costs that facility providers have to pay whether it is the cost of cabinets, cooling units, or electricity. They can only lower their price to a certain level before it becomes unprofitable. Then they either price themselves out of business or find things to cut corners on like preventative maintenance in order to stay afloat.
The topic of “green” data centers is more than just a fad or marketing gimmick – it is a matter of real dollars. For even small to moderate data center footprints, the dollars saved by being more energy efficient can really add up quickly. Here’s a post by Greener Computing that is right on the mark: To Green the Data Center, IT Has to Feel Some Pain –
Power is probably the single biggest operating cost, besides payroll, for many data center environments. Keep in mind that we are not only talking about the power to operate networking equipment but to cool it as well. Unfortunately, even if an IT executive has a solid grasp of their power draw, from my experience and conversations, they often don’t know how that translates into electric utility costs. Oftentimes the information is not readily available to them due to internal controls, and they are often forced to make approximations if they consider it at all. Organizations need to develop internal strategies to arm their IT executives with the necessary information to make solid operational decisions which hopefully includes making significant strides to become more energy efficient.
It should also be noted that moving equipment into a collocation environment that is energy conscious can be a great way to address issues quickly and cost effectively. Otherwise CAPEX that may not be in the budget may be necessary to implement certain energy efficiency strategies. Furthermore, larger facilities such as 1102 GRAND have far greater ability to leverage various economies of scale resulting in an even greater reduction in operating costs for organizations.