Data Center Efficiency Survey

ServerLIFT^® LLC conducted an anonymous survey at a large technology trade show to determine data center efficiency specific to equipment handling practices.
Respondents were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of six questions that related to daily operations in their data center. All survey information was anonymous to encourage participant honesty and minimize bias.

Trends:

The data indicated that using ServerLIFT^® products was far more efficient method of handling IT equipment than using generic warehouse lifts; translating into significant cost savings for data centers. For the purpose of this survey, data center efficiency was defined as the number of man-hours required to install a server in a rack. Data centers using generic warehouse lifts are losing approximately 1 man-hour per equipment move, resulting in higher operating costs. Results are illustrated in the graphs below¹.

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Equipment Weighing More Than 50 lbs:

1. 70% faster install times with a ServerLIFT^® vs. a generic warehouse lift
2. Required, on average, approximately 1 man-hour (58.13 minutes) less with a ServerLIFT^®

¹ Savings were calculated strictly from the results of the survey and based solely on estimated lost man – hours. Other differentiators such as ease of use, risk reduction, suitability for the task and improved handling safety were not evaluated as part of these results. A VMWare survey of customers’ operational efficiency citing the company’s internal cost calculations specified the fully-burdened cost of system administrators to be $75 per hour. This number was used to project the cost savings achievable with a ServerLIFT^®.