Scalability. HCI scales to an organization’s needs instead of forcing organizations to adapt to the capacity of their current technology platform.

High availability. HCI allows organizations to improve fault tolerance by adding a layer of high availability. Organizations can leverage redundancy to isolate workloads from the impact of failed computing nodes and storage devices.

Fast deployment. HCI environments allow organizations to deploy additional storage and computing capacity in the proportions demanded by business workloads.

Flexibility. Hyperconvergence allows tech teams to meet dynamically changing business requirements for IT resources by shifting resources between workloads on a just-in-time basis.

Increased resiliency. Power and cooling technologies can help you identify potential disruptions, prevent damaging downtime and keep your data center running even if disaster strikes.

Improved visibility and utilization. The management system in a chosen solution can provide insights into operational costs that go beyond power and cooling. You may discover a need for more dynamic data center equipment or design a better power plan based on usage.

Reduced costs. A plan that maximizes the efficiency of your resource usage can help you reduce the considerable costs of powering and cooling your data center.

Maximized infrastructure flexibility. The modular nature of a well-designed power and cooling solution will facilitate future scalability as your organization grows.

Use rack-mounted servers. Many small organizations store their servers wherever they have space, piling them on desks or shelves, but this can damage equipment. Instead, buy rack-mountable servers and store in a well-ventilated place to protect your hardware.

Stay cool. Storing servers and networking equipment in a confined space can increase power costs and even damage equipment. Be sure to use rack cooling fans and air conditioners alongside ample ventilation to protect your investment.        

Maximize your server budget. Small offices with less than 10 employees may consider a budget-friendly network attached storage (NAS) server. Easy to operate, these servers provide basic backup, file sharing and remote-access capabilities. 

Get organized. It’s easy for a server room to become a tangle of Ethernet cables, and performing basic maintenance or fixes is complicated by unlabeled equipment. Invest in a patch panel and cable ties to keep wires under control, and label each rack or server with descriptive names and IP addresses.