Customer demand is constantly evolving—as is competition from other data center companies. In this dynamic environment, where tomorrow’s challenges are unpredictable, future-proofing is essential to keep services running. Using the right technology is the best way to protect your data center against risks.

GRC’s liquid immersion cooling protects your data center’s long-term future. The liquid coolant can handle massive amounts of server heat. Furthermore, it has a lower total cost than air cooling—so there’s no excuse to forego system protection.

Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) is another valuable tool for future-proofing your facility. It helps different systems within the data center communicate with each other. When IT equipment, cooling systems, and building infrastructure all work seamlessly, you reduce the risk of downtime.

Facilities can face the threat of disruption at any time, and future software needs will place an even greater pressure on data center efficiency. That’s why it’s important to take steps now to protect your data center investment for the years ahead.

Why Future-Proofing Data Centers is a Must

Future-proofing is an essential step toward navigating the ever-changing requirements of business. Without it, your data center is liable to degrade under operating pressures—allowing better-prepared competitors to take over your market share. Equipment wears down, costs from outdated technology grow, all of which will leave your enterprise vulnerable.

Data centers that aren’t ready for future demands will face costly disruptions—even an hour of downtime can cost millions of dollars and lose customers to the competition.

High-performance computing (HPC) is at the forefront of current technological advances. In this scenario, increasing computational density pushes HPC beyond the envelope of conventional air cooling. As a result, there’s a pressing need to deploy more efficient cooling systems with the capacity and capabilities to handle these extreme heat levels.

Immersion cooling is the future—not only for HPC but also for other computation needs. The same problems that have pummeled HPC are creeping into more general data centers. Processor speeds and heat emissions are rising rapidly. Software is placing greater demands on hardware each year, as intensive tasks like blockchain and AI become ever more prevalent.

Common Causes of Data Center Downtime

Downtime is a data center’s worst enemy. There are several frequently recurring causes of downtime that will have an increasing effect on data centers in the coming years—unless you take preventive action.

Of course, it’s easier to prevent some drivers of downtime than others. And although there’s no stopping human error, proper education can at least minimize it. The direct control of infrastructure as well as capacity planning are part of the answer.

By maintaining hardware and mitigating risks such as electrical issues, you’ll be better able to reduce downtime. Then, there are unpredictable events such as cybercrime, network failures, or natural disasters.

Server Failures from Overheating

Data center downtime often occurs as a result of overheating. When servers are exposed to excessive heat, the processor may slow down or fail entirely. In addition, other data center components may be subject to failure from overheating. These problems may be caused by insufficient IT equipment cooling systems or by uneven cooling that produces hot spots.

Air cooling requires complex planning and execution, and mishandling a cooling system can add to downtime challenges. Because servers are expected to continue increasing in power and heat, future-proofing will become essential, underlining the importance of using more efficient cooling systems.

Interruption of Power or Water Supply

Ironically, downtime is often caused by an uninterruptable power supply (UPS). In some instances, the UPS may fail to function correctly. Alternatively, it may have to support more equipment than that for which it’s designed. Air cooling places heavy demands on electrical systems, requiring a lot of susceptible UPSs and backup generators.

If the power or water supply goes out, your system may experience downtime. However, with liquid immersion cooling, there’s less need for power and water than there is with air cooling. Moreover, the liquid coolant continues to protect servers—even without power—through its own thermal capacity.

Additional Environmental Threats

Other causes of downtime include airborne pollution, corrosion, high or low humidity, electrical malfunctions, and vibrations. Any of these pervasive threats can disrupt hardware, bringing down services for which customers have already paid. GRC’s liquid immersion cooling protects data centers from these negative prospects and makes this solution vital to future-proofing your business operations.

How to Future-Proof Data Centers

Future-proofing your data center involves using innovative technologies to handle the high computational demands expected in the coming years. There are various ways to achieve this. For example, regulations increasingly require environmentally sustainable systems, so it makes sense to run a “green” data center.

Additionally, building modular data centers with prefabricated parts that can expand as needed is a convenient future-proofing tactic. Furthermore, you won’t have to overspend on upfront purchases that you may not need.

Although these solutions all play their part, liquid immersion cooling remains the number one way to future-proof your operations. This technology reduces the maintenance necessary for servers in addition to improving the supportable rack density. It’s also possible to install it in small increments.

Liquid immersion cooling has many other benefits including cost savings and being the best sustainable cooling solution. It keeps servers running safely at cool temperatures for years and truly prepares data centers for the long term. This means you’ll see ongoing ROI while, at the same time, meeting the growing expectations for green computing and expanding your computational density.

Future-Proofing Your Data Center with GRC

The data center industry is changing fast, and companies that don’t adapt will be left behind. Increasing server heat, along with related problems, will cause downtime for the unprepared. Thankfully, there are a number of measures you can take right now to prepare for the challenges ahead.

Upgrading to liquid immersion cooling is the easiest step, as it pays for itself while simultaneously increasing your server capacity and making the facility sustainable. Even the fastest processors of the future can be cooled using liquid immersion methods.

GRC’s liquid immersion cooling is future-proofing data centers for years of successful operation. It’s not too soon to start planning for the future, and the benefits apply to today’s challenges too. Contact GRC to future-proof your data center operations!