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Reliability, robustness, and responsibility: Ensuring data centre resilience

This article highlights the key elements of ensuring data centre resilience, including reliable infrastructure, supply chain robustness, and a responsible workforce.

Given the complexities and inherent risks associated with building and operating data centres, a robust insurance strategy is essential to protect your investment and ensure project success. Contact our experts today to explore how we can support your business's future development and resilience.

From power outages and supply constraints to talent shortages and the demands of 24/7 operations, data centres must be prepared for crises. But how much resilience is enough?

There are three key elements that a data centre operator should consider in their resilience plan:

Hard infrastructure: Reliable access to energy, water, and internet connectivity.
Components: Servers, storage devices, and switches that store and process data.
People: Staff responsible for managing and maintaining the facility.
Let’s explore each of these factors and their importance for data centre resilience.

Reliable power supply

A data centre’s huge need for power means that they typically rely on two primary sources of energy to ensure continuous operations. However, unforeseen events can compromise these plans.

For example, power outages are a growing concern, with generator and fuel failures accounting for a significant portion of incidents. Globally, national power grids are struggling to meet rising energy demands, including those from data centres. Operators of data centres are under pressure to demonstrate to regulators that they are reducing energy consumption and transitioning to cleaner energy sources.

Most data centres are built to the Uptime Institute’s tier 3 standards, which employ an approach called concurrent maintainability. This involves multiple data paths, duplicate equipment, and dual-powered cooling systems, allowing any single component to fail or undergo maintenance without disrupting services.

Robust supply chains

Tariffs on steel, aluminium, and semiconductors may impact on data centre construction and innovation. Additionally, global economic uncertainties could lead organisations to reduce inventory levels of critical components, which often take months to deliver or could become more costly.

To maintain resilience, data centre operators might need to adapt sourcing strategies, negotiate better pricing, or upgrade existing infrastructure with the latest equipment. Continuous improvement and modernisation are also vital to ensuring ongoing operational resilience.

Responsible workforce

The data centre industry is experiencing significant workforce growth and transformation. Every role, from technicians to contractors, is critical to its smooth running. Contractors must adhere to strict safety protocols to mitigate risks associated with construction, maintenance, and operations. For example, a recent incident involved a fire caused by contractors failing to properly drain water from pipes, leading to flooding and a subsequent blaze in the data centre’s lithium-ion uninterruptable power supply. Fortunately, warning systems, emergency response training, and comprehensive fire risk assessments minimised the impact.

Cost versus resiliency

Building and operating a data centre is a substantial financial undertaking. Striking the right balance between efficiency and resilience is crucial for long-term success. Under-investing risks unreliability and reputational damage. Insurance can promote business continuity by mitigating risks and facilitating recovery from disruptions. This involves comprehensive insurance coverage, robust risk management strategies, and proactive planning to handle various potential threats, including natural disasters, cyberattacks, and operational failures.

Marsh’s Data Centre Insurance and Risk Management Services offers comprehensive risk management and insurance support through all stages of the data centre and digital infrastructure lifecycles. For more information, please contact a member of the team.

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