How effective power management can save the bank

How effective power management can save the bank

Take control of your data center's electricity consumption.

Data center power consumption already acts as one of the biggest contributors to the operational expenses of businesses. However, research from the National Research Council estimates that by 2020, American businesses will collectively pay $13 billion a year to power data centers.  

Banks, insurance providers and other organizations in the financial sector will be among these businesses. As the number of people relying on online banking and money transferring services continues to rise, so will these institutions' reliance on data centers. Furthermore, by 2020, it's very likely that digital wallet technologies that rely on near-field communication to transform smartphones, smartwatches and even fitness bands into payment vessels, will have come a long way, according to Wired contributor Max Wolff. 

If – or when – this happens, businesses in the financial sector will have a lot more data to manage. This means more data centers, more power consumption and higher costs. As a result, effective power management will play a central role in running a sustainable business. 

Power problems aren't just about downtime

"Many facilities are having power problems – and not just because of outages."

Every time a data center power outage results in downtime for a big-name company, the media is quick to make calculations about the amount of money that was lost. The Ponemon Institute estimated that the average cost of data center downtime is $7,900 per minute, which equates to nearly $475,000 per hour. This statistic is in and of itself good enough reason to invest in top-notch power management solutions for the data center. This includes a reliable uninterruptible power supply system and transfer switches, which can keep a facility up and running for some time in the event of a power outage. 

However, the effects of many power problems are more insidious to a business. Unbalanced electrical loads in the data center may result in frequent circuit overloads in specific sectors. Power distribution units (PDUs) with breakers should cut the current to prevent damage to electronics; however, these breakers will have to be manually reset, which costs money and time for data center personnel. 

Furthermore, some breakers are designed to activate based on temperature increases caused by dangerously high currents. Over time, continually overheating electronics will shorten their life span. This means more money spent on maintaining and replacing equipment. 

Another area of concern resides in comatose servers consuming more energy than needed. A study from Anthesis Group shows that roughly 10 million comatose servers worldwide represent about $30 billion in data center capital. It's safe to say that many facilities are having power problems – and not just because of outages. 

Effective power management can save a lot of money in the long run.Effective power management can save a lot of money in the long run.

Protect your assets with better power management

One way that businesses in the financial sector can save money over time is with smart PDU technology from Geist. Power monitoring embedded into the unit can notify data center operators of increased loads, while also tracking power consumption over time. This makes it easier to balance electrical loads throughout the entire facility, which helps prevent circuit overloads and energy waste through improperly utilized servers.

As an added bonus, Geist's Upgradeable PDUs let data center operators integrate climate monitoring sensors to help maintain a hospitable facility environment. Climate conditions and power usage can then be managed from a single pane of glass. 

Don't let power inefficiencies bog down your bottom line. Contact Geist today

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