Recent natural disasters have emphasized the risk that mother nature poses to American businesses. Data centers, in particular, carry high risk. These massive collections of electronics racks hold precious data and face both internal and external risks. And when a natural disaster moves through an area, this data could become its victim. Because a single data center could serve thousands of clients and businesses, this could have major consequences.
By preparing your data center for a disaster, you can keep all types of electronics racks and servers secure.
Equipment Disaster Prevention
To protect data centers from disasters, IT managers can take physical precautions on the equipment.
- Check Fire Systems: Your data center should have a fire suppression system already in place, so test this regularly. This will prevent fires from starting in your data center and external fires from causing full destruction.
- Strategically Locate Racks: You may consider moving your data racks away from large windows and closer to brick walls. If feasible, you may also want to move the entire data center to the basement.
- Back Up: About 82% of companies saved money by moving to the cloud, but you could save your business by doing so. Put as much data as possible on external servers as well as your internal systems. If you are not able to do so for all data, try to back up at least the most important information.
- Remove Fire Risks: Hire a professional to do a fire safety assessment of your data center. They may recommend removing certain hazards and updating some of your technology.
Preparing An Emergency Plan
Being ready for an emergency involves more than just your physical equipment. For managing risk for all types of electronics racks, your staff also needs to be on board. Work with your team to develop the best possible course of action that you will take in the event of a disaster. This may involve:
- Emergency backup procedure
- Recovery software management
- Emergency budgeting
- Cloud recovery education
- Fire control best practices
- Staff safety
By working with your staff on disaster preparation, you can be ready for what comes your way. And if a disaster does occur, you can be prepared to pick up the pieces of your business. By doing so, your organization can financially and physically recover from any disaster, retaining your professional integrity.
At AMCO Enclosures, we know that high-quality server racks can help you weather an emergency. Contact us today about our more durable models.