Is Your Technology Getting Hot, Hot, Hot?

40 degrees? Well, I never! Not in mainland UK anyway. Maybe in Spain and definitely in the height of summer in India, where it can soar to 50 degrees Celsius. So, our tolerance to heat will be tested this week as humans and the advice is to stay indoors ...

But what about our electronic equipment? Our laptops and PCs? But more importantly, the equipment in our Server/Comms/Plant Rooms? We have servers, switches, routers, NAS units, Wi-Fi controllers, CCTV recorders and even fire alarm monitoring equipment.

"When was the last time you had the air conditioning unit checked to ensure all that is at an optimum temperature?"

I once walked into an office, where there was a walk-in cupboard and all the comms data equipment was terminated in this little area. It was only large enough to walk in sideways and get to all the kit. The door was open and a freestanding rotary fan was positioned at the entrance to keep the equipment cool.

Obviously, that is NOT the way to look after your business-grade servers and switches because if it blows up, you lose your entire business (unless you have every single piece of data backed up somewhere.

So, it's all in the planning. If you are relocating to a new office, all companies plan their furniture layout, but very few ever think about where the comms/data equipment will be located and very often ends up at the end of the room, very accessible and creating a noise in the form of a low 'hum' from the built-in fans that switches and other equipment have (also where the equipment can be tampered with).

"Ideally, the data should be in a locked, air-conditioned room, only accessible by authorised persons!"

Do you get your data equipment regularly tested? Is the space where the data cabinet is located well ventilated? Do you regularly check that no equipment is over-heating? It's surprising how many businesses would answer 'no' to all three.

We take our business IT and telecoms equipment for granted. Once installed, it all works day in, day out, until one day ... it doesn't. When your IT person opens up the server case, three different species of siders can be found, the fans clogged up, more dust than on Mars and we wonder why it was gradually running slower and slower in the past 12 months, compared to the previous 12 months.

This is the same for the PCs by your feet, under the desk. Make sure the environment is clean and get your IP person at least annually, to vacuum out the insides to keep it in good order.

"Extreme weather is a regular occurrence now!"

Our electronic equipment is going to be put through some major temperature fluctuations, all be it periodically, but now is the time to consider the best and safest locations within your businesses to ensure it all works as required.

If in doubt, consult your technology partner for the best advice.

If you feel inspired to find out more then do call me on 07555 807700 or leave a comment below and I'll be in touch as soon as I can.