Neglected IDF Room Results in $30,000+ Loss

A professional data center cleaning company received an urgent call from Customer X, "I need my IDF rooms cleaned. We’ve had an equipment failure in one of the rooms." A $30,000 router had failed. Official cause of failure: overheating caused by contamination buildup. While the equipment cost was significant, the resultant business interruption and recovery costs were far greater.

A couple years before, Customer X moved to a new multi-building campus. Once again, the company was hired to help prepare the data center and IDF rooms by performing post-construction cleaning services. The managers responsible for the IT gear understood the need to eliminate construction contamination before installing and energizing the sensitive equipment.

Customer X also understood the need for an ongoing preventative maintenance program and professional data center cleaning company was contracted to provide monthly cleaning services for the data center. However, Customer X elected not to include the IDF Rooms in the cleaning program, citing the rooms had low traffic and were not mission critical. While it was strongly suggested some level of ongoing cleaning for the IDF rooms, still the answer was “no”.

Even though the IDF rooms were lower traffic areas, equipment swaps, cabling projects, and various other activities in the IDF rooms continually exposed the equipment to contamination. Dust and other particulates collected on the rack mounted equipment, cabinets, cable trays and wall-mounted hardware.

Prevention is the cure. Downtime, lost productivity, and replacement equipment are costs that can be prevented. Customer X now understands and is dedicated to an ongoing cleaning program for all critical spaces including the IDF rooms.

If your IDF rooms have been ignored for too long, an ongoing cleaning program could save you thousands of dollars!