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The end of the year is always a good time to take assessments in any number of areas – your job performance, personal finances, weight (OK, maybe not) and, of course, which blog posts proved most popular.
We assembled the top 15 most popular Schneider Electric Data Center blog posts of 2013 in terms of page views. We realize that’s not exactly fair, given a post that went up in January had a whole lot more time to gather views vs. one that went up last week. But life isn’t fair, is it? No, it’s not.
Nonetheless, it’s clear from the list that our readers are most interested in two, related topics: energy efficiency and saving money. Five of the top 15 posts fell into both categories, which is understandable given that being energy efficient saves money.
That includes our top post for the year, “How much cost saving do you need to make energy efficiency worthwhile?” by Henrik Leerberg. His point is that companies are leaving money on the table by not aggressively going after ways to improve the energy efficiency of their data centers. It’s good food for thought.
Another post that falls into both the energy and money saving categories is “Increase Efficiency in the Data Center with Power Audits,” from the experts at FacilitiesNet. It’s a quick read that explains in simple terms how to determine the power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating of your data center. Assessing your PUE will give you a good idea as to whether you need to be more aggressive in energy saving efforts. Not sure where to start? This post will give you a good idea, even if it didn’t quite crack our top 15.
At least two posts about disaster recovery and business continuity also cracked our top tier, including, “In Advance of Hurricane Season, It’s Time to Conduct a UPS Checkup,” by Michael Maiello. Hurricane season has passed but his advice can also apply to anyone whose data center may be subject to tough winter weather, so take a look.
Another DR/BC-related post, “Is total recovery from power loss really possible?” has similar advice, with Steven Carlini encouraging companies to adopt and follow a comprehensive service plan to ensure backup systems operate as expected when needed.
I say “at least” two posts covered the DR/BC angle because I’m not entirely sure how to categorize the one that landed at number 3 on our list, “Cruise Ship Lines Could Learn Lessons from Data Center Operators.” Probably you recall the ill-fated cruise ship that was stranded for days in the Gulf of Mexico after an engine fire. In this post, Chris Hanley starts with a photo from the ship showing an old APC power strip with dozens of power cords cascading from it and turns it into an indictment of the cruise line for failing to have adequate backup power on board. With help of some reporting by The New York Times, he makes a compelling argument.
I’ll wrap up this wrap-up with what I consider the most unlikely entrant to our top 15: “Two Shades of Grey – in the Data Center,” by Greg Wessels. I wouldn’t have expected readers care all that much about the color of their various data center equipment but apparently they do. And Wessels gives an interesting account of why the vast majority of that equipment is one of two shades of grey, ANSI 49 or ANSI 61. Raise your hand if you knew there were ANSI standards for data center equipment. (Mine is firmly by my side.)
Following are the remaining posts that made our top 15 – congrats to all:
- “Hot or Cold Air Containment? Examine Your Constraints to Decide,” by yours truly
- “4 Ways DCIM Can Help Conserve Energy,” by Philippe Lebreton
- “Why has Schneider Electric taken a segment approach to its Data Center business,” by Damien Wells
- “Data Center Highlights From The Green Grid Forum 2013,” by Jay Taylor
- “Microsoft Launches CityNext – and Schneider Electric is On Board,” by Alistair Pim
- “Build Better Data Centers Faster: Use a Reference Design,” by Neil Rasmussen
- “Six Air Containment Solutions Will Help You to Save Energy in Your Existing Data Centers,” by Paul Lin
- “Data Center Science Series: Containerized Modules,” by Neil Rasmussen
- “How Energy Efficiency Efforts Can Spell Trouble When the Power Goes Out,” by Paul Lin
