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The Advantages of Renting Data Center Lifts

When to  Rent a ServerLIFT® Data Center Lift

It’s no secret that every data center needs at least one of our data center equipment lifts for regular operations. Financially, safety-wise, and from a productivity standpoint, it just makes sense. Whether you’re in a company-owned data center, colocation space, or edge facility, having a ServerLIFT® machine on hand is both critically important and cost effective. It is also a responsible decision for social distancing in the workplace.

However, there are a few scenarios where the option to rent a lift is particularly useful. Our rental program was created for those with specific and temporary needs.

Some of the data center lift rental scenarios we’ve serviced include:

Data Center Migrations and Relocations

These are big—but temporary—moves, requiring the swift and non-problematic installation of millions of dollars of equipment into a different facility. Additional data center lifts can be incredibly useful to finish the job on time and under budget without compromising uptime.

Server Refresh Projects

Upgrading to the newest hardware usually happens every 2 to 4 years in an average data center. Changes can be extensive—and heavy. It’s best to rent additional server handling lifts to switch equipment out quickly and safely.

Data Centers Build-Outs or Expansion

Building up data center capacity due to 5G, IoT, or other factors means handling many pieces of rack-mounted IT equipment in a compressed time frame. That can be much easier with access to multiple data center lifts to meet deadlines. Otherwise, your team risks injuries and delays when time is of the essence.

One-Off Jobs and Data Rooms 

Managed service providers and contractors are occasionally called  upon to install or replace servers in client facilities, especially in very small spaces (such as a few racks in a room in an office building). These aren’t data centers per se, and don’t need to have a lift onsite at all times. But when the need arises to replace new equipment, the service provider must handle the physical install as well as the software provisioning. Having a lift available for a few days here or there at a client site makes these tasks much more manageable and allows the engineer to get the server up and running.

Why Rent a Data Center Lift? 

Recently, we sat down with three rental customers. All of them took advantage of the ServerLIFT® Rental Program within the last 6 months. We wanted to know what their experience was like, in their own words. If you are trying to evaluate renting our products, these use cases can help you with your decision.

Q: Tell us how you learned about the ServerLIFT® Rental Program:

A:Travis Robinette, Project Manager with Ironbow Technologies: “One of my team members said: “We have a lot of heavy switches. I think we need to get a ServerLIFT®.” And I said, “Great! What’s that?” They gave me the research, and we scheduled delivery of the lift to the work site.” 

A: Carl, Project Manager for a small, contracting telecom firm: “We knew of your company. We had a timeline, which shifted multiple times. ServerLIFT® was very accommodating to our changes in scheduling, which was great.”

A: Doug Hood, Lead Architect for managed IT infrastructure data center services with FIS Global: “It was our first experience. We called ServerLIFT® and they let us know a data center lift could be provided to us, thanks to the rental program.”

Q: Why did you need to rent a ServerLIFT® data center lift?

A: Travis: “We were handling dozens of core networking switches. They were in excess of 200 pounds each. We care about our team members, and we don’t want them to hurt themselves doing the work that we do. When we were presented with a ServerLIFT® device, specifically designed to take that load off and assist our team members, making that happen was a no-brainer.”

A: Carl: “We had a special project to build server racks from the ground up. The work was not typical for our company, which is why we haven’t purchased a lift for ourselves.”

A: Doug: “We happened to have some equipment come in, some substantial high-density storage. We needed to elevate it to install it. The vendor delivering the equipment required that it be moved with a lift. It was too large for manual installation.”

Q: What were the primary benefits of renting a data center lift for your team?

A: Travis: “When you take manual lifting out of the equation, it puts the focus on the devices we are installing, rather than forcing operators to protect themselves from any damage. It’s often hard to quantify the cost of something that doesn’t happen. But all I have to do is put it in these terms: imagine if someone dropped a server, and the medical bills associated with that. It puts everything into perspective.”

A: Carl: “If we hadn’t been able to acquire this rental, we would have made do with two people lifting, and that’s not a great situation; not for the people doing the lifting, nor the hardware that could be dropped.”

Q: What feedback did you get, or are you getting, from your staff about the ServerLIFT® device?

A: Travis: “They’ve been glowing in their praise, because it has made their lives extremely easy. We ordered it and had it out here in four or five days. It was very fast. As far as the work goes, they were able to accomplish in a week what they assumed would take a couple of weeks.” 

A: Carl: “I was there when the lift arrived. It was very nicely packaged. My team loved it! It served the purpose it needed to serve, and I can absolutely see why a product like this is in such demand.”

A: Doug: “We called ServerLIFT® and they let us know a data center lift could be provided to us, thanks to the rental program. We had it for a month, and the experience was good, considering we had never done it before. I think it went really well. We were glad to finish this project on time.”

Q: Would you give any advice to a potential Rental Program customer, or recommend it to them?

A: Travis: “This isn’t the first time we’ve needed it, and it won’t be the last. It’s not just the hours we’ve saved. It’s the wear and tear on equipment. We definitely recommend ServerLIFT® devices to anyone.”

A: Carl: “We would use the rental program again. I’ve recommended ServerLIFT® within my company for anyone who may need it. I highly recommend it.”

A: Doug: “The price of the rental was about one-sixth of the cost of buying one. Without room to house a lift permanently, it made sense to utilize the rental. If you’re moving out of a data center or moving into one, with lots of equipment moving for a period of a month or two, go ahead and rent one. When you have those needs accessibility to a lift is great. You’ll save a lot of back pain.”

How to Rent Our Data Center Equipment

Whether you decide to rent, buy, rent to own, or trade in an existing lift for an upgrade, there are options available to you, each dependent on your budget and specific needs.

The Rental Program is open to customers in the United States and Canada. We may also be able to assist with international inquiries based on stock and availability. Contact us to discuss your project and how we can be of service to you. Click here to learn more about ServerLIFT® machinery and the benefits of a data center lift rental or purchase.

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