Eaton poll reveals what IT professionals really think

Despite the IT industry’s frequent use of the term ‘data centre’ to refer to a room of anything from two racks upwards, a recent poll of IT professionals conducted by Eaton has discovered that 68% of respondents still believe ‘server room’ is a more accurate description for an SMB IT room. “This has confirmed what we thought.” said Steve Spicer of Eaton “It’s important that vendors and buyers use common language as otherwise there is the danger of IT professionals being recommended unsuitable products, or not realising that a product is suitable for them, and time being wasted at the design phase.”
 
The poll, which was conducted by Eaton and answered by visitors to its stand at the recent Spiceworks SpiceWorld London event, also revealed that energy efficiency was an important consideration when selecting a UPS and over 60% of those questioned do not currently have the technology to monitor or track the energy usage of their equipment and server room. However, the latest UPS products such as Eaton’s 5PX and Eaton’s ePDU’s now have the addition of energy consumption metering which can help IT professionals monitor and manage their energy use.
 
The poll was conducted by Eaton to explore the factors that affect how buying decisions are made when selecting a UPS. The findings provided an unexpected additional insight into the needs and opinions of IT professionals working in the SMB sector.  For example, 78% of IT professionals who took part in the poll believe it is critical that they personally specify the type and size of UPS selected, reinforcing the need for vendors to be talking the same language as end users. Additionally, more than half (53%) consider UPS sizing scalability and upgradability an important factor when planning their IT infrastructure for future developments.