Supply chain drawbacks exacerbate data center outages

According to AFCOM's annual State of the Data Center 2023 report, data center disruptions are related to supply chain shortages. AFCOM conducts market analysis in the IT and data center industries by polling its members. According to the report, 44% of data center administrators who were surveyed experienced an outage because they were unable to obtain the components needed, while 94% said they had encountered supply chain issues of some kind. As stated by Bill Kleyman, program chair for AFCOM, the number of disruptions caused by supply chains has increased dramatically, with only 25% of companies reporting this issue last year.

59% of respondents reported problems procuring IT equipment, such as servers and switches, while 51% reported problems with power systems, including generators and UPSs. CBRE research revealed that global construction and development projects are occurring, which explains why supply chain restrictions persist.

Kleyman added that the issue is more prevalent in hyperscale data centers than in colocation or enterprise locations because hyperscale data centers are more inclined to extend the equipment's lifespan. In the future, he advises businesses to stockpile critical parts whenever possible, consider reusing IT equipment, and source from multiple vendors. 

The June 2022 Outage Analysis by the Uptime Institute revealed that outages were enduring longer and costing more than in the past, despite the fact that their frequency had not increased.