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After speaking to hundreds of data center managers all over the world, we have gathered these 6 questions. Data center operators say that they have all SOPs and MOPs under control. If that is true, how come that the majority of data center downtime is still caused by Human Error?...
Tier/Rated-4 data centers are considered to be Fault Tolerant meaning that there is no Single Point Of Failure (SPOF) which could have an impact on the critical IT load. So how do I dare to claim that your Tier/Rated-4 data center, whether you reference Uptime or TIA-942, still has...
There are a lot of discussions, articles and questions regularly raised about Data Center Operations, SOPs, MOPs. This is an indication that there are still a lot of challenges in Data Center Operations for all types of data centers whether commercial or enterprise. At the same time, we often...
Business Case Study Business Challenges Atman data centers, located in Warsaw, Poland, are well known in the market for providing quality service to their customers. As part of their commitment to services they implemented standards such as ISO-9001:2015 and ISO/IEC-27001:2013 to ensure the confidentiality, availability and integrity of processed information...
The DCOS® (Data Centre Operations Standard) benchmarks the data center operations maturity at 5 easy-to-understand levels; DCOS-1 – has no or little documentation, monitoring, training and processes DCOS-2 – has processes available but they are often undocumented with a high reliance on personnel DCOS-3 – has standardized and documented processes and procedures DCOS-4 –...
There is quite a bit of confusion in the market when it comes to the requirements for the utility feeds for a data centre based on the TIA-942 Standard. The first thing to clear up is that there is a major difference between the Uptime guidelines vs. the TIA-942 Standard. ...
The EPO, Emergency Power Off, function is also known under different terms/acronyms such as; Emergency Shutdown (EDS), Remote Shutdown (RSD) and Remote Emergency Power Off (REPO). Functionality wise they are all doing the same which is to (remotely) shutdown/disconnect energized equipment. In a data center environment this commonly relates to the UPS –...
The importance of data centers is constantly increasing, with new large-scale facilities being announced almost every month. It is common that the attention of data center operators/owners is directed toward the design of data centers, but it is also critical to focus on effective operations that will contribute to...
The TIA-942 standard indicates that the floor loading capacity for superimposed live load for a Rated-3 data center should be 12kPa (250 lb/ft2). What was the intent of the technical committee when writing this requirement? The overall premise was that Rated-3 and 4 data centers are commonly used for high-availability...
In every discipline there are many standards each with its own pros and cons. Some standards are popularized by big marketing budgets, though they may not be the best to protect your interest. It is a human trait where we are influenced by popular beliefs or vendors/salespeople when we do...
With so many data centre training available, choosing a training that is going to benefit you can be a headache. Many of the folks you see achieving their career goals with somewhat ease, received the right guidance and took the right training. While those still struggling are folks who...
Dust in data centre It is a well-known fact that ICT and other electronic equipment don’t like dust, and any other contaminants for that matter. The impact of dust on ICT equipment manifest itself in a variety of issues and risks such as reduced cooling efficiency, bad connectivity all the...
On 18-July-2019, Bank Negara Malaysia released the “Risk Management in Technology” document. This document is a policy document which sets out the regulation for financial institutions on management of technology risk. Top 6 critical questions and answers 1. Is compliance voluntary? This policy document states the compulsory ‘must’...
Published on October 29, 2018 By Leo Lee When organisations are considering to house their mission critical environment in a commercial data centre, the immediate question is ‘which one?’ WHICH COLOCATION PROVIDER? Apart from the commercial considerations, it is important to evaluate the colocation data centre providers on both...
Published on October 22, 2018 By Jan Willem Mooren DCOS is the world’s first complete data centre operations standard. DCOS addresses 11 process domains and 5 maturity levels which at first sight can be overwhelming for some organisations who consider improving their data centre operations based on the DCOS....
Many people probably have this question on their minds if they have not experienced EPI's training before. These are the reasons why so many global enterprises including Fortune 500 companies have chosen EPI training. Hands-on Expert Knowledge The EPI courses are written by a group of data centre veterans...
The modern IT Manager/Consultant/Teamlead is expected to: 1. Keep up with the ever-growing complexity of IT in the digital economy 2. Manage IT efficiently and effectively, whilst implementing new solutions in this fast paced environment 3. Stay relevant and stay ahead of the competition Many senior IT professionals...
Published on Feb 26, 2018 Edward van Leent Chairman & CEO at EPI Group of Companies Last week an announcement was made that the QTS Data Centers facility in Chicago received the UL3223 certification. The immediate question which floated around in the industry was multi-fold; Why is UL, an international safety...
Take this quick quiz to find out if you know your data centre facilities/infrastructure! No registration required and answers are provided. QUESTIONS Q1 What is the maximum Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) strength which data centre equipment can handle without performance degradation or even break down? Q2 Do you...
JOIN THE WORLD OF ELITE CERTIFIED DATA CENTRE PROFESSIONALS! Certified Data Centre Professional (CDCP) is the leading globally recognised training course and certification for data centre professionals. If you are working in and around the data centre industry, the CDCP training and certification is a must-have for you,...
Uptime vs. TIA-942: Uptime certification is easy, ANSI/TIA-942 certification is difficult Published on Jul 4, 2017 Edward van Leent Chairman & CEO at EPI Group of Companies Following up on my previous article, we will now have a closer look at a statement which consultants favouring Uptime tend to throw...
Uptime vs. TIA-942: Outcome based or checklist or can it be both? Published on Jun 13, 2017 Edward van Leent Chairman & CEO at EPI Group of Companies In this article, in the series of articles about Uptime vs. TIA-942, I will address a statement often used in favour of...
Uptime vs. TIA-942: What is within the scope? Published on May 22, 2017 Edward van Leent Chairman & CEO at EPI Group of Companies One of the key differences between UTI:TST and ANSI/TIA-942 is the scope. For the TST topology guideline of UTI the scope is very clear as it only...
Uptime vs. TIA-942: Standard or guideline? Published on May 22, 2017 Edward van Leent Chairman & CEO at EPI Group of Companies There have been many debates on the internet to discuss this topic including the confusion about its relation to codes and arguments about using a capital letter to indicate...
Uptime vs. TIA-942: A short history Published on May 14, 2017 Edward van Leent Chairman & CEO at EPI Group of Companies Before getting into the details of Uptime vs. TIA-942, I thought it would be a good idea to provide a bit of background so that some of the matters...
Uptime vs. TIA-942: Introduction, why this series of articles? Published on May 8, 2017 Edward van Leent Chairman & CEO at EPI Group of Companies During a recent one month tour throughout the USA and Asia I had the pleasure to meet numerous data centre owners/operators, consultants and end-users to talk...
The EPI IT Training Framework – Part 2 of 4 CITP – Certified IT Professional Published on February 17, 2017 Managing Director EPI Malaysia In this follow-up to Part 1, we will answer some of the common questions we have received about CITP: · What is the course about? · Who will...
The EPI IT Training Framework The World’s Only IT Training Framework Fully Aligned with the e-CF – Part 1 of 4 Published on January 20, 2017 Managing Director EPI Malaysia We have often received many questions about the EPI IT Training Framework, CITP, CITS and CITE. Among the most common questions...
Auditors Conflict of Interest Published on October 21, 2016 Edward van Leent Chairman & CEO at EPI Group of Companies Last week I was attending the Data Centre World Asia which took place in Singapore. We had a lot of traffic at the booth and one of the visitors had a...
In order to measure the performance of a data centre, we require Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). A KPI is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. Organisations use KPIs to evaluate their success at reaching targets. Practically therefore, KPIs are designed to benchmark...
The recent Delta Airlines incident sent a shockwave through the data centre industry. According to the airline company, ‘a critical power control module at our technology Command centre malfunctioned, causing a surge to the transformer and a loss of power. The universal power was stabilized and power was restored quickly....
The global release of the EPI-DCOS® has created a big wave in the industry. One of the questions often heard is ‘What are the data centre operations standards out there and how do we compare them’? With this short article we attempt to provide an overview of standards and guidelines...
What are the data centre operations standards out there and how do we compare them? The table below provides a quick comparison of the standards and guidelines which can be considered for data centre operations and maintenance processes. ISO DCOS M&O Stamp of Approval TIMS Owner ISO EPI Uptime...
This question often arises when professionals are faced with the expiry date of their hard earned qualification. They question how much new information will be in the current version of the training material versus the training material they had when they attended the course. Re-certification has great value for both...
A data centre is a dedicated space where companies store and operate the majority of their information and communications technology infrastructure (data centre infrastructure) that supports their business. A typical data centre will have redundant power quality controls and backup power system, data communications connections, environmental (cooling) controls such as air-conditioning...
