Data center outages are a growing concern for businesses relying on continuous operations. A major cause of these disruptions is power failure in data centers, which can lead to significant downtime. The Uptime Institute’s data center outage report reveals that power outages remain the primary reason for data center disruptions, followed by network issues, IT system failures and human errors.

Here are ten things you should know about data center outages.

1. Data Center Outage Rates are Shrinking

As the data center industry expands, new data centers were established. As a result, most people expect the data center outages to grow. That is true to a certain extent. Surprisingly, the Uptime Institute report found something quite the opposite. They found that the data center outage rate per site is shrinking. Even the overall data center outage number is not growing as fast as the footprint of data centers is increasing.

Data from the report show that 78% of survey respondents said that they experienced a data center outage in the last three years in 2020. Gradually, that number continues to decline, racing 69% in 2021 and 60% in 2022. This is a positive sign and an indicator that the data center outage situation is improving every year.

2. Outage Severity is Declining

Despite 60% of data centers experiencing outages in the last three years, only a handful of them were severe in nature. According to the report, only 14% of these data center outages were serious or of high severity. Last year, that number stood at 20%. This clearly shows a downward trend in the severity of data center outages.

Highlighting the main reason behind this, Chris Brown, who is the chief technology officer at Uptime said, “We’ve become much better at designing systems and managing operations to a point where a single fault or failure does not necessarily result in a severe or serious outage.”

3. Financial Damage Is Increasing

Despite the decreasing number and severity of data center outages, the financial damages are increasing. According to the report, 45% of businesses said that their recent data center outages cost them more than $100,000 and less than $1 million. 25% said that most recent outages cost them $1 million. The highest costs can be attributed to higher inflation as the cost of replacing equipment and labor is much higher than it used to be a few years ago.

4. Third Party Vendors are Responsible For Most Public Outages

With more and more businesses outsourcing IT to third party service providers, these vendors are struggling to keep pace with it which is why we are experiencing most data center outages from these providers. In fact, 66% of data center outages happened due to these third party providers since 2016. What’s even worse is that the number is increasing with each passing year.

In 2021, the number of data center outages caused by cloud and telecommunication service providers stood at 70%. The number jumped to 81% in 2022. Expect this trend to continue in 2023 and beyond as more and more businesses rely on these third party providers for IT services.

5. Human Error Still Leads To Outages

After analyzing 25 years of data, Uptime found that human error resulted in 66% to 80% of all data center outages. When you dig deeper to unearth the reasons, you will find that these human errors are caused by staff not following the procedures or by following the faulty procedure. Other causes include, installation issues, service issues, lack of staff and frequency of preventive maintenance.

6. Power Issues Continues To Haunt Data Centers

One of the biggest causes of on site data center outages is power issues. 44% respondents said that power outage was the primary cause of the most recent data center outage that impacted their business. What’s even more interesting is the fact that power outages were also the main reason behind data center outages in 2021 with 41% respondents citing power issues as the main culprit.

7. Rising Network Complexity Results In More Outages

44% of respondents said that network and connectivity issues were the key reason behind data center outage. In a rapidly evolving network landscape, network optimization tools need to be constantly reconfigured. Coupled with rising complexity of the network, minor errors can easily travel across the newtok. This means that it is harder to identify, stop and fix issues causing the network outage in the first place.

8. Configuration and Change Management Issues Causes Software Outages

When Uptime Institute scratched the surface on common causes of networking issues, they found that configuration and change management failures were at the top of the list. 45% of survey respondents said that these configuration mistakes and change management failures are the main reason behind network outages while 64% cite it as the key driver behind software outages.

9. Hardware Failure Is Still An Issue

Another common link between network and software outages is hardware failure. 37% businesses blame hardware failure for network disruptions while 36% hold hardware failure responsible for software related outages. Hardware issues were also the main cause behind IT system issues, making it a problem that affects different aspects of your IT infrastructructure from network to software to IT systems.

10. Fires Are Rare But Dangerous

The Uptime Institute report found that fires were one of the main reasons behind data center outages especially in publicly reported data center outages but they ranked very low or did not rank when they checked the IT sources. 7% of publicly reported data center outages were caused by fires and most of them were mainly caused by the use of lithium ion batteries.

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Data Center Outages Rates

Understanding the frequency, causes and financial impact of data center outages can help businesses better prepare.

Here are 10 essential things to know about data center outages and their consequences.

1. Data Center Outage Rates are Shrinking Although the expansion of data centers suggests a rise in outages, the rate per site is shrinking.The data from the report shows a gradual decrease in the percentage of businesses experiencing data center outages, which is a positive sign. 
2. Outage Severity is Declining While 60% of data centers report outages, only a small percentage are severe. The report reveals that the severity of these outages is decreasing, with improved design and management minimizing the impact. 
3. Financial Damage Is Increasing Even though the number of outages is shrinking, the financial consequences are growing. Power outages in data centers, IT system failures, and network disruptions are leading to higher costs for businesses, with many reporting losses in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. 
4. Third Party Vendors are Responsible for Most Public Outages A significant portion of outages is caused by third-party vendors, with cloud and telecommunication providers increasingly at fault. These providers are struggling to keep up with the demand, resulting in more frequent disruptions. 
5. Human Error Still Leads to Outages Human error remains a major cause of data center outages, contributing to 66%-80% of all incidents. Mismanagement, improper configurations and oversight often result in critical failures. 
6. Power Issues Continue to Haunt Data Centers Power outages in data centers can have catastrophic consequences, often affecting business continuity. Ensuring a reliable power supply and backup systems is essential to prevent these types of disruptions. 
7. Rising Network Complexity Leads to More Outages As network infrastructures become more complex, the likelihood of network failures increases. Managing these intricate systems requires robust monitoring and proactive management to avoid outages. 
8. Configuration and Change Management Issues Cause Software Outages Poor configuration and inadequate change management can lead to software outages. Ensuring proper systems and protocols are in place can mitigate these risks and enhance uptime. 
9. Hardware Failure Is Still a Concern Despite advances in technology, hardware failure remains a critical issue. Regular maintenance and updates to data center equipment are necessary to prevent such failures from causing significant disruptions. 
10. Fires Are Rare But Dangerous Fires, though infrequent, pose a serious threat to data centers. Proper safety protocols and fire suppression systems are crucial in mitigating this risk.

While data center outages are still a threat, advancements in technology, better management practices and proactive measures can significantly reduce the frequency and impact of these disruptions. By understanding the causes, including power outages in data centers and human error, businesses can take steps to safeguard their operations against future downtime.

Which of these facts you didn’t know about data outages? Share it with us in the comments section below.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Data Center Outages

What are the main causes of data center outages?

Data center outages are primarily caused by power failures, network outages, IT system issues, and human errors.

Have data center outages been increasing over the years?

Surprisingly, the rate of data center outages has been shrinking, with fewer data centers experiencing outages each year despite the growth in the number of data centers.

What is the financial impact of data center outages?

Data center outages have increasingly led to higher financial losses, with some businesses reporting costs of over $1 million due to disruptions, largely due to inflation and rising equipment and labor costs.

Who is responsible for most data center outages?

A significant number of data center outages are caused by third-party vendors, including cloud and telecommunication service providers. This trend has been growing, with these vendors responsible for 81% of outages in 2022.

How does human error contribute to data center outages?

Human error remains a leading cause of outages, accounting for 66% to 80% of incidents. Even with improvements in system design, mistakes in operations continue to result in service disruptions.