The problem. Your server room is ten or fifteen years old. The cooling units are ageing, UPS batteries are nearing end of life, the load has changed, and nobody really knows what the room can still handle. Management asks whether to invest, close it or move to colocation. Each supplier proposes its own solution, rarely a neutral one.
Our answer. An on-site assessment by experts who have run critical data centers and sell neither equipment nor hosting. Then a costed comparison of the options, so you can decide on the facts.
Our supplier proposes replacing the cooling and the UPS. Is this the right time, or should we outsource?
We want to add denser servers, for AI or computing, and the room was not designed for it.
We are merging two sites and must decide which room to keep.
WHAT WE REVIEW
Cooling: real capacity against the load, redundancy, equipment age, refrigerants
Safety and security: fire detection and suppression, access control, monitoring
Operations: monitoring, maintenance, procedures, documentation, on-call
Capacity: power and cooling available, headroom for densification
Energy: consumption, estimated PUE, the room's weight in building energy obligations
RENOVATE, CLOSE OR OUTSOURCE: THE COMPARISON
| Option | What it involves | What we cost |
|---|---|---|
| Renovate the room | Replace or reinforce equipment, often without interrupting service | Capex, risks during works, operating cost over ten years |
| Move to colocation | Move equipment to a provider, choose the site and the contract | Rent, connectivity, migration, dependence on the provider |
| Combine | Keep a small room for local needs and outsource the rest | Cost of both, split of uses, transition plan |
If you choose colocation, we can write the requirements and compare provider offers, paid by you alone: see choosing a colocation provider.
WHAT YOU GET
A written report: gaps ranked by risk level, urgent actions, the costed comparison of options and a reasoned recommendation. A debrief to management and your teams. Fixed fee, written proposal before starting, best-efforts obligation.
WHO IS INVOLVED
Alain Constantinidis, over fifteen years running Tier III and Tier IV rooms of 15 to 200 racks: audits, procedures, moving or closing a room without downtime. Anis Mokded for operations and commissioning, Francis Gillard for cooling, energy and risk analysis. Frédéric Arnaud, former financial auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers, for the economic comparison of the options. For large sites, see operations audit.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How long does a server room audit take?
It depends on the size and number of rooms. An on-site visit is always included. Duration and price are set in a written proposal before we start.
Do you sell equipment or hosting?
No. Our experts sell neither equipment nor capacity. We receive no commission, which lets us compare options without bias.
Can you help with the move if we outsource?
Yes. We can write the requirements, compare colocation offers and follow the migration, on a separate written proposal.