Have you been thinking about building your own data center? Maybe partnering with someone in owning a data center? Or we can tone it down a little, and might be interested in knowing the different costs a data center has? You have nothing to wonder about anymore, because Coloco has done its research and prepared a simple list for you.

Let’s first talk a bit about why estimating the total cost is an essential step. Calculating the TCO (total cost of ownership) can help you forecast, understand and manage long-term costs. Being a business asset and providing a competitive advantage, data center expenses must be greatly monitored so that it provides efficient and lower costs for both the company and its customers.

Now let me tell you this, do not expect 100% accurate results. Keep in mind that the equipment found in these data centers is frequently updated, thereby resulting in different calculations. On top of it all, there are different hidden costs that you might not even know about. But no worries, that’s what we are here for!

Let us look into the different expenses that data centers have that are frequently forgotten:

Cost of Maintenance and Repairs

When buying the hardware needed for a data center, many companies forget to include the cost of repairing the equipment.

It doesn’t stop there. Think about the labor cost of maintenance too. Making sure you cover up all parts of the cost can be extremely beneficial for your business!

Cost of Downtime

Although it is highly advised for data centers to decrease their downtime (especially since it pushes your customers away), that doesn’t mean you should totally ignore it. Data centers, when they experience even a few seconds of downtime, lose a huge amount of money.

• How long will it take for a technician to arrive in case of downtime?
• In case of a situation, how long will it take for them to fix it?
• How often will you experience downtime and what will you do about it?

Cost of Water Consumption

Did you know that data centers use large amount of water in their services? It is so huge that there is even a movement in the data center industry which aims to decrease the use of water consumption. Although this movement has achieved great amounts such as having greatly known providers to use water recycling programs, it still should be a concern for the data center owners. There are two main reasons why data centers use large amount of water:

• The largest water usage in data centers goes to electricity generation. From water to steam, to electricity.
• Data centers need to use cooling equipment and humidifiers, especially during the hotter months, therefore needing a great amount of water.

Now that you know, you’ll be ready for your own data center!

However, our help does not stop here. We have many other blogs which you can check out and learn more on Coloco! See you there.