1. Renovate the Data Center

2. Introduction This solution set will help you to:
Info-Tech Research shows that 33% of Enterprises will complete a Data Center Refresh, Upgrade, or Renovation in 2010 to extend the life of the data center (See Appendix 1).
Upfront planning and detailed project scoping can prevent a cascading impact on data center renovation projects to other areas of the data center that can increase project size, scope and spend.
While only 13% of organizations experienced major scope creep in renovation projects, organizations also cited the following as most common areas to improve the renovation project if they were to do it over again.
88% said they would spend more time and effort documenting and identifying facility requirements for initial project scoping.
39% Said they would put more emphasis on monitoring contractor management and performance.
This solution set will help you to:
Identify the Renovation Project
Diagnose the Renovation Project
Plan the Renovation
Get the Job Done

3. Executive Summary
33% of organizations will complete a data center renovation in Info-Tech survey results found that 18% of IT leaders have never completed a data center renovation project before.
Data Center renovation projects extend the life of the data center, but can be costly. The median cost per square foot for data center projects are as follows:
Power Renovations - $75/Sq. Ft
Cooling Renovations - $87/Sq. Ft
Standby Power Renovations - $150/Sq. Ft
Fire Protection Renovations - $30/Sq. Ft
The average age of the data center facility when organizations renovate is 7.5 years. A consistency with the typical lifespan of a data center 7-12 years.
61% of total survey respondents indicated that GreenIT was NOT a driver in the organization’s renovation project.
88% of organizations cited they would spend more time and effort on documenting and identifying facility requirements for initial project scoping. Organizations can prevent scope creep by conducting the necessary project planning up front and identify requirements and the effect that the renovation project will have in all areas of the data center facility.
Early internal efforts to create a budget and facility requirements yields better cost and project outcomes when the data center renovation begins.
Selecting contractor or mechanical engineer is one of the most important first steps in a complex data center renovation. Organizations must ensure the contractor selected has experience specifically in data center renovation.

4. Renovate the Data Center Roadmap
This solution set will outline the following roadmap to help you conduct a successful data center renovation project in your organization:
Identifying the Renovation Project
Understand what the issues are
Understand the scope and complexity of the renovation project
Diagnosing the Renovation Project
Renovate Power
Renovate Cooling
Renovate Standby Power
Fire Protection & Suppression
Planning the Renovation
Detailed Project Scope & Monitoring
Establish a High Level Budget
Getting the Job Done
Seek Expertise to Ensure Success
Select a Contractor to Execute the Project

5. %
33% of enterprises will renovate the data center in 2010 to extend the life of the existing facility.
Common Drivers for Data Center Renovations Include:
Accommodating for organizational growth
Replacing/updating old equipment for better efficiency
Lack of budget to build a new facility
Implementation of virtualization /high density environment (trigger for additional cooling)
Need for additional power capacity
Need for additional or more efficient cooling systems
Need for additional standby power capacity
Replacement of old standby power equipment (i.e. batteries)
Additional physical space requirements to add additional racks
Addition of fire suppression system or additional fire protection
The average age of the data center facility when organizations renovate is 7.5 years. A consistency with the typical lifespan of a data center at 7-12 years.
20+ Years
Renovated
Years
20%
Years
29%
20%
Years
6-9 Years
18% of Info-Tech survey respondents had never completed a data center renovation project.

6. Renovations should be considered throughout the lifecycle of the data center to prolong its life and avoid additional cost. %
Cooling, and Standby Power data center renovation projects double in cost per square foot than other projects
Power $75/Sq. Ft
Cooling $87/Sq. Ft
Standby Power $150/Sq. Ft
 Fire Protection $30/Sq. Ft
Renovation projects completed earlier in the data center lifecycle are generally less expensive projects.
Financial Services and Healthcare have the oldest Data Centers when a renovation project was completed. 12+ years for Financial Services and 15 years for Healthcare.
Info-Tech Insight:

7. Data center renovation projects vary in cost depending on facility age.+
Facilities over 20 years old were more likely to spend over $251k on data center renovation projects.
$251K+
$101K to $250K
$51K to $100K
$11K to $50K
< $10K
Power Renovations
Standby Power Renovations
Under 5 years
38%
15%
31%
23%
6-9 years 8%
33% 8%
10-15 years
29%
29%
13%
63%
15-20 years
33%
67%
33%
20+ years
20%
25%
Cooling Renovations
Fire Renovations
Under 5 years
33% 8%
22%
44%
6-9 years 8%
17%
14%
43%
10-15 years
29%
43%
25%
75%
15-20 years
33%
100%
20+ years
40%
20%
20%

8. Case Study: Why buy a new car when you only have to replace the muffler?
The Situation:
An organization in the insurance industry found themselves with a lack of space and power capacity in their existing facility.
When forecasting for growth ,the company identified that they would require additional office and data center space, therefore creating a need for additional power and a data center renovation project to accommodate for growth and prolong the life of their existing facility.
The Result:
After gathering current and future requirement estimates, the organization discovered that they had outgrown the existing facility. Because they were in a building that shared space and power supply with other tenants, accommodating for growth in their existing facility had become impossible. The lack of space and power capacity in the building brought them to a halt on renovations and created a data center relocation project instead thus requiring a lot more budget.
Lessons Learned:
Identifying potential data center renovation projects in advance can help organizations to plan for future renovation projects and ensure they are viable solutions.
When located in a facility with multiple tenants, ensure there is space to grow and power capacity to support growth.
Proper planning and scoping of data center renovation projects can identify just how big of a project you are looking at.

9. Extent that GreenIT initiatives drive data center renovation projects
GreenIT is NOT a major driver for data center renovation projects, it is a result.
Extent that GreenIT initiatives drive data center renovation projects
100%
61% of total survey respondents indicated that GreenIT was NOT a driver in the organization’s renovation project.
This indicates that GreenIT is not a major driver in the decision to renovate, it is a consideration once the decision has been made to renovate.
13%
26%
61%
Not a Factor
Somewhat a FactorSomewhat a Factor
Significant FactorSignificant Factor
Total
Manufacturing was the only industry by which 33% of organizations said that it was in fact a significant factor to their data center renovation project.
Info-Tech Insight:

10. Identifying the Data Center Renovation Project
Identifying the Renovation Project
Understand what the issues are
Understand the scope and complexity of the renovation project
Diagnosing the Renovation Project
Renovate Power
Renovate Cooling
Renovate Standby Power
Fire Protection & Suppression
Planning the Renovation
Detailed Project Scope & Monitoring
Establish a High Level Budget
Getting the Job Done
Seek Expertise to Ensure Success
Select a Contractor to Execute the Project

11. Identify data center renovations by performing an annual assessment of data center assets
Strategy
Current and Future State Assessment
Physical Audit
Near Term Implications
Future State Implications
Current state decomposition model
Future state decomposition model
Assess age of current equipment and measure against industry standard for refresh/upgrade
High level review of current state with dependencies and constraints for future growth
High level review of future state initiatives with dependencies and constraints from current state
Identify assets
Identify impacts
Establish specification on all equipment
Develop decommission inventory
Identify assets
Identify impacts
Establish specification on all equipment
Develop decommission inventory
Performing an annual assessment of data center assets can help IT identify future renovation projects and prepare for growth in annual budgetary requirements
Info-Tech Insight:

12. Info-Tech Helps Professionals To:
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