It amazes us to talk to so many clients who do not know their current power utilization in their datacenter. Too often do we run into people who have simply purchased colocation space under the traditional retail model and figure as long as they are under 80 % of their current breakered capacity they are ok. Typically most won’t even worry about power utilization until they get an email from their service provider notifying them that they need to purchase more space. Even more common are those who have spent time, money, and resources virtualizing their datacenter environment only to realize that they are paying for circuits that they no longer need and can’t disconnect because they are locked in contract. Sound familiar?
True metered billing on a total aggregate power draw used to be a lofty goal for the average colocation buyer. Historically, metered power billing was something offered to only service providers and wholesale buyers. Bandwidth Advisors has noticed a welcomed trend within our portfolio of service providers. By asking the right people, the right questions, we are able to secure true aggregate metered per kW billing as a custom offering for our clients. What was once a fantasy has become a reality for users who consume over 100 kW and this has our team excited to say the least. To the average user this billing model shift may not mean much, but to the power savvy few this is the equivalent of cutting the bill 50% while increasing capacity 30%. To put it another way, this saves our clients a lot of money.
We encourage our clients to review the power utilization in their datacenter as often as they can. Not only will it empower you with the information you need to run a more efficient operation, knowing your current running power draw is also essential to negotiating a fair datacenter contract. Many service providers won’t offer up this information unless you explicitly request this. In fact, don’t be surprised if this triggers a few follow-up calls from your otherwise absent sales rep. After all, knowledge is power.
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