This audio was created using Microsoft Azure Speech Services
My father-in-law recently took me for a drive in his brand new, top-of-the-line Buick. He is a “car guy” and clearly enjoyed showing off his newest prize. He pointed to the GPS that was built into the nifty dashboard design and proudly informed me it contained these incredible interactive maps from cities all over the U.S. and Canada.
When I asked if he’d yet had a chance to use this high-tech instrument, he shrugged and said: “I don’t have the slightest idea how it works.” I was very surprised. He had spent so much money to buy this premium product, yet was unable to fully utilize its many features because no one showed him how they work. This reminded of the situation faced by data center managers.
Data centers include a wide variety of equipment, such as servers, routers, switches, and data storage systems – to name just a few. When hiring new staff, managers often look for people who have the appropriate education and experience, as well as the appropriate certifications.
Why? Because they know the success of their business is tied directly to the knowledge and expertise of their operations staff. Loss of critical equipment in the data center can result in lost business, added operational expenses and unhappy customers. Having trained personnel on staff who are proficient in their jobs gives data center managers the necessary “peace of mind.”
However, when it comes to the data center’s physical infrastructure – which consists of the power, cooling and management systems needed to maintain equipment availability and performance – the operational knowledge and level of proficiency of staff is often very low. If these systems are compromised, the operation of the entire data center could be jeopardized.
According to the Gartner Group, the largest single cause of data center downtime is human error, which often results from poor training. In addition to the increased risks to system availability, poorly trained personnel spend valuable time referencing manuals and contacting technical support to find answers to rather basic questions. This takes valuable time from their other duties, which are closely associated with the success of the employer’s core business.
Like my father-in-law, the operations staffs are not able to use all of the product features at their disposal because they either don’t know they exist, don’t know how they work, or are downright afraid to touch them. This situation makes it virtually impossible for customers to realize the full potential of their solution, thereby greatly reducing their return on investment (ROI).
Schneider Electric offers customer training services designed to improve the knowledge and confidence of operations staffs working with their data center’s physical infrastructure. Through a combination of classroom training and interactive labs, participants learn how to safely and properly operate their equipment and fully utilize the features included with their solution.
Schneider Electric’s training services provide the foundational operational knowledge customers need to achieve maximum value and performance from their equipment.
