True Costs of Data Center Downtime

The adage, you can’t understand what you can’t measure is particularly true in trying to determine the cost of data center downtime. All levels of the Enterprise know that the price may be significant but there really hasn’t been a concrete way of measuring the issue. Emerson Network Power has, with findings from the Ponemon Institute, looked to create a way of quantifying an answer to this question.

In this timely whitepaper three issues are discussed; how to determine bottom line downtime data center costs, specific data center infrastructure vulnerabilities, and the long term case for addressing these issues overall. This research is extensive. It covers 41 independent facilities with a minimum of 2500 sq feet. It encompasses all levels of the Enterprise from CIO to management personnel using an activity-based costing model which took into consideration direct, indirect and opportunity costs.

The subsection entitled “Quantifying the Cost of Downtime” is particularly enlightening and examines nine categories of vulnerability. It calculates a loss of $5.600.00 per minute with extrapolated numbers that are frightening. The value in this whitepaper is that it not only looks to measure and analyze but conclude a way forward. This information should be shared with all that have a monetary investment in your data center.