July has arrived and you know what that means… so has the heat. While you’re pulling out the fans and air conditioners, it’s important to note that you’re not alone in needing to stay cool this summer. Your data is also prone to feeling the adverse effects of extreme heat. Now you may be asking, how does temperature affect my data? Data servers, computers, and other storage devices can experience hardware malfunctions due to overheating when exposed to high temperatures, and it only takes a few minutes of heat exposure to diminish the long-term reliability of your devices. Any amount of downtime is detrimental for a company, and it can end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix.
Heatwave!
Overheating is a serious threat to computers and data servers. An increase in device temperature from 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit can reduce the long-term reliability of electronic equipment by 50%. Particularly, laptops are extremely sensitive to overheating because they have less efficient cooling systems than desktop computers. Battery life deterioration and hard drive expansion are both possible results of heat exposure that can lead to the inevitable meltdown of your device. Even servers located in data centers are at risk of overheating. Although many data centers have thermostat controlled air conditioning systems, these systems might have a hard time accurately measuring the temperature at every rack and aisle of the data center which leaves room for temperature-related malfunctions.
When Lightning Strikes
The high temperatures are not the only threat to your data this summer. Thunderstorms can be catastrophic for businesses resulting in downtime, costly repairs, and lost data. For most of the United States, July is the peak of thunderstorm season which means that power surges are more likely to occur. A power surge during a thunderstorm is capable of frying plugged-in devices and short-circuiting your electrical equipment. Lightning is a challenge that all data-based companies, small or large, face. Even Google was affected by a thunderstorm in 2015 when its Belgian data center was struck by lightning 4 times which caused momentary power loss resulting in permanently lost data.
Keeping Your Data Safe From The Elements
Although summer is a time to enjoy the sun and the outdoors, it is important to understand the danger that summer weather poses to data and technology. That is why it is essential to be proactive in preparing for these circumstances to avoid unnecessary downtime. To keep your devices safe from overheating, make sure to keep them out of direct sunlight and if they have to be in a warm area for any amount of time make sure to fully power down the device. In the case of thunderstorms, if possible, unplug your devices or invest in a surge protector which will minimize the risk of electrical failure.
However, no matter what the threat is, you should always back-up your data. No protection method is 100% full proof so backing up your data is essential to properly recover from any disaster. At Sierra, we provide a variety of backup solutions complete with expert support and assistance. Whether onsite, offsite, in the cloud, or in our own data center, your data will be protected. Redundant data is safe data, so if you’re looking for an effective way to protect your data from the elements we’ve got you covered.
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Sierra Experts is an IT Managed Service and Support provider, specializing in IT Monitoring and Management, Cloud/Virtual Systems, Hosting, VoIP/SIP PBX Trunks and Solutions, Physical Server Hosting, Website Design and Development, Software Development, and Hardware and Software reselling. For more, check out sierr001-2.sierradevops.com
