RISK &

RESILIENCY

Bulletin No. 2, April 23, 2020

COVID-19 Update
Editors
Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute
Rhonda Ascierto, Vice President of Research, Uptime Institute

COVID-19 presents operators and owners of mission-

critical facilities and digital infrastructure with wide-ranging
and often unforeseen challenges. This bulletin is intended
to identify issues and new developments and to point to
further resources.

In this report
COVID-19 in data centers: Risk and reality 2
Top concerns of data center leadership 4
Pandemic is causing outages, critical incidents 5
Data center projects delayed, but activity continues 7
Critical industry exemptions — update 9
Further resources 10

COVID-19 Bulletin 2 v1.0. Published: April 23, 2020. Last update: April 23, 2020
COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

COVID-19 in data centers: Risk and reality

In our most recent (April 2020) global survey, COVID-19 Impact on Data
Centers, Uptime Institute questioned more than 200 professionals
familiar with the operation of their organization’s critical IT infrastructure
— defined as physical data center operations (also known as data center
facilities). We asked them more than dozen questions about the impacts
of COVID-19.
The single-biggest risk the pandemic poses to their critical IT
infrastructure is, for most (32%), a reduced level of IT infrastructure
operations staff (see Figure 1). Staff shortages and lengthy shifts,
previous Uptime Institute research has shown, can increase the risk of
incidents and outages.

This concern is perhaps not surprising; before the pandemic, 60% of

data center owners and operators surveyed by Uptime Institute reported
difficulty finding or retaining operations staff — a challenging situation
that is now exacerbated by a global health crisis.
The concerns are justified. The need to sequester staff means teams
have to be kept separate from each other and skills spread among
them. Isolation at home for healthy staff is also an issue. Furthermore,
according to our most recent survey, about one in six respondents have
had staff or visitors to their data centers either test positive to or show
symptoms of COVID-19 (see Figure 2).

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COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

Given the quick response by most data centers in many geographies to

restrict access for nonessential staff and visitors to their facilities, this
data underscores the immediate (and, of course, longer-term) risk of a
critical industry strained by a staffing shortage. It is extremely difficult
to bring in outsiders unfamiliar with the data center — and expensive.
The need for investment in data center education and training (both in
academic institutions and on-the-job) has never been clearer.
The availability of staffing may be the biggest risk but it is not the only
one. When asked about the top three risks that COVID-19 poses to their
critical IT infrastructure in the next 90 days, reduced levels of staffing
and data center project or construction delays (see Data center projects
delayed, but activity continues) were the most commonly cited, followed
closely by a reduction in scheduled maintenance for equipment (see
Figure 3).

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COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

Top concerns of data center leadership

Digging deeper, what are the top concerns day-by-day for critical
infrastructure leadership? Since March, Uptime Institute has fielded
about a dozen inquiries daily regarding COVID-19 guidelines for data
center management from operators and managers globally, and more
than 29,000 people have accessed our online COVID-19 resources.
Among all these questions and discussions, it is clear that several
common issues face most data center managers, as detailed in our
advisory report COVID-19: Minimizing critical facility risk. They include
pandemic planning and documentation, site sanitization, and staff
and third-party facility management, among other concerns. Uptime
Institute has incorporated all of our recommendations into various
online resources and will also publish them in an extensive update to our
advisory report in early May.
Perhaps the most common concern we have received to date pertains
to the use of the personal protective equipment (PPE) and, in particular,
masks, inside the data center. There is considerable uncertainty over
this, reflecting the lack of clear guidance across different localities. We
recommend always using masks during shift turnover, when staff are in
contact with or escorting vendors or visitors, and when a “key staff pair”
(a critical employee and their designated alternate or training partner)
must be in proximity. Management should create a policy for the proper
use of masks — and be sure not focus on COVID-19 protection to the
exclusion of other, more routine safety measures and PPE.

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COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

The second most common inquiry is around confirmed or suspected

infection in the data center. The response should be immediate: all
affected staff should self-quarantine (usually for 14 days) and the facility
cleaned by specialists, using single-use bio-hazard suits, gloves, shoe
coverings, etc. We recommend implementing a contact tracing system
and, until more scientific data becomes available, staff who have had
COVID-19 should be considered to be as potentially infectious and as at
risk as all other staff.
The third most frequently asked question involves equipment
maintenance when site access is restricted. Deferred maintenance
brings higher risk; this risk is more serious for some equipment than
for others, so maintenance activities should be prioritized in order of
criticality. Managers should consider the resources required to complete
the activity (including whether internal staff can be remotely trained or
guided by vendors to perform small-scale tasks) and the risk of doing the
activity against the risk of not doing it.
Contact manufacturers to better identify the impacts of not performing
maintenance on specific equipment and, where possible, postpone all
nonessential maintenance. When prioritizing essential maintenance, try
to perform the most critical activities and rotate hours among redundant
components as much as possible.
It’s important to note that while these are the top concerns of data center
owners and operators to date, they may not be the top concerns in the
future — we are working with data center management leadership teams
on identifying and addressing their challenges once pandemic-related
restrictions are relaxed.

Pandemic is causing outages, critical incidents

If the first priority of data center management in the current crisis
has been to protect the health and safety of staff, the avoidance of
outages and service disruptions is clearly second. As the pandemic’s
impact unfolds, not every operator is able to succeed in either
objective all of the time.
In our most recent survey, 84% of respondents had not experienced
a service slowdown or outage that could be attributed to COVID-19.
However, 4% said they had an COVID-19 related outage and 10% had
experienced a service slowdown that was COVID-19 related (see
Figure 4).

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COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

The causes of these outages require further clarification and research.

Reduced maintenance, some supply chain interruptions, extended shifts,
and staff shortages due to isolation, separation of teams and illness all
are factors that may introduce risk.
IT service slowdowns have been widely reported in the media and
elsewhere. These have been mostly attributed to surges and changes in
IT demand and network overload, especially at the edge of the network.
One major grocery company, for example, initially mistook a surge in
demand for a denial of service attack.
Data centers with a case of staff or visitor infection with COVID-19
usually responded vigorously with sanitation, isolation and access
restrictions, but only one in 10 moved some workloads to another data
center. Figure 5 shows the most common responses following COVID-19
exposure within the data center.

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COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

Data center projects delayed, but activity

continues
Industries across the world have been hit hard by the pandemic. Many
are in critical difficulty, but even those that are not will likely be hurt by a
sharp economic slowdown. The United Nations has estimated the global
economy will lose $2 trillion as a direct result of the pandemic in the next
12 months.
What is the business impact of COVID-19 on the data center sector? As
discussed in COVID-19 Update (Bulletin No. 1), there are two apparently
opposing narratives.
The first is that the sector is positioned to thrive, supported by strong
long-term demand, the continuing emergence of new technologies
(such as 5G and the Internet of Things), and, in some cases, the critical
role of the internet and data centers during lockdown. There is much
speculation that there will be a long-term switch, but not a fall, in demand
patterns.
The second narrative is less reassuring. In this scenario, almost all
demand and investment for every product and service falls — or at least
slows — during a sharp recession or, as seems possible, a prolonged
depression.

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COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

If these two positions represent a continuum, the evidence is currently

pointing toward the more negative end in the short term; but investor
sentiment still favors a rebound in the longer term.
There is clear evidence of a slowdown. Uptime Institute’s latest survey
shows that the single biggest impact of the pandemic is in data center
project or construction delays (see Figure 6).

The impact of these delays will be felt across the sector, but especially
by larger equipment suppliers and services companies. Schneider
Electric and Vertiv have both warned of revenue shortfalls, although
supply chain issues were cited as the primary reason.

For the most part, stock exchanges have been more gentle on data
center and internet stocks than on the market generally. Some analysts
have seized on the share price performance of major data center and
related stocks as a sign of sector resiliency. But the extremely strong
performances of Equinix and Digital Realty (both traded at record highs
in April) is in part due to their status as REITs (real estate investment
trusts), which are income bearing. High demand for bonds has driven up
prices and suppressed yields, while most equities have plummeted. As a
result, data center REITs have looked more attractive.

To add the sector’s concerns, Google and Microsoft, widely seen as two
companies with strong positions, have announced spending and hiring
freezes. Google’s Chief Executive Officer told Bloomberg that Google is
“recalibrating the focus and pace of our investments in areas like data
centers and machines.” Given that major internet and cloud companies
are key drivers in colocation growth, this could ripple across the sector.

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COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

But these measures are short term — overall most operators continue
to spend. Alibaba, the leading cloud computing provider in Asia Pacific,
recently announced plans to spend $28.2 billion (200 billion yuan) on
its cloud infrastructure, including data centers, operating systems, IT
hardware and networks during the next 3 years. The company said the
investment decision was prompted in part “to help businesses speed
up the recovery process” and to provide cloud-based services “to
support their digital transformation in the post-pandemic world.” Equinix,
meanwhile, has joined forces with GIC, the Singapore government’s
sovereign wealth fund, on a $1 billion project to build three hyperscale
data centers in Japan.
Evidence from Uptime Institute’s roundtable meetings in recent weeks
suggests that at some data center sites, construction and other major
projects have continued or are about to restart after a pause.

Critical industry exemptions — update

When is a critical worker not a critical worker? As noted in Bulletin No. 1,
many operators of critical facilities have expressed concerns that their
locked-down staff will not be allowed to leave their homes or will be
stopped en route during this pandemic. Although many operators define
their facility as mission critical, the law is not always clear — nor are the
actions of those interpreting it.
In the past month, the situation has evolved rapidly, with most
governments accepting that data center workers are key workers who
should be allowed to attend their place of work without impedance. In
addition, lockdown restrictions (as of late April) have been eased in many
countries.
But the current position is still confusing. Different countries have
different ways of defining what “critical infrastructure” means and
different ways of applying exemptions. Some countries require each
critical site to be designated as such in advance, which helps them
secure access to resources such as energy and water, allows staff to
travel to work and ensures emergency service support. Others give data
centers blanket critical status. Less specific terms, such as “key worker,”
mostly just cover the ability to go to and from work.
The UK trade body techUK advises that managers should provide staff
and contractors traveling to sites with the following:
• A letter on full company header stating that the organization
provides digital infrastructure and as such, staff are critical and
included on the government list of key workers. The letter should
document that the individual is a current employee or contractor.
• Contact details for the organization in case confirmation is needed.
• Instructions to carry an officially recognized form of photo ID as well
as a second form of ID (e.g., a National Insurance card).

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COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

Table 1 summarizes the current situation in various countries, with new

data from techUK and related sources.

Table 1. Exemption status of data center, telco, digital infrastructure and IT staff from work-commute
restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic*

*
Examples only, not a comprehensive list. Accurate at the time of publication; there are regional differences within some countries.
**
CNI, Critical national infrastructure
Source: Uptime Institute and government websites, April 23, 2020.

Further resources
Uptime Institute
COVID-19: Minimizing critical facility risk
A library of resources on maintaining operations and business
continuity during the pandemic. (Available in Chinese, English and
Spanish.)
COVID-19: Q&A
Advice on how IT and mission-critical operations can reduce risk from
coronavirus, based on questions asked at Uptime Institute virtual
events.
• Part 1: Staff management
• Part 2: Site sanitation and security
• Part 3: Deferred maintenance, remote work, supply chain, long-
term outlook

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COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

Regional support
For regional information, advice and support, contact:

North America Matt Stansberry mStansberry@uptimeinstitute.com

Europe Ali Moinuddin aMoinuddin@uptimeinstitute.com
Middle East/Africa Mustapha Louni mLouni@uptimeinstitute.com
Russia Alexey Solodovnikov aSolodovnikov@uptimeinstitute.com
North Asia/China Philip Hu pHu@uptimeinstitute.com
South Asia Patrick Chan pChan@uptimeinstitute.com
Latin America Mozart Mello mMello@uptimeinstitute.com

Uptime Institute’s Accredited Education Courses are now available

through remote live online sessions for each of the world’s major time
zones. Visit https://uptimeinstitute.com/education to learn more.
Uptime Institute members will find a comprehensive collection of
resources and discussions on Inside Track. For questions about
membership, contact Uptime Institute member services.

ASHRAE
Guidance for building operations during the COVID-19 pandemic
Heating, air conditioning and ventilation strategies for facilities
managers.

Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International

BOMA International’s coronavirus resource center
A series of guidance documents to help property professionals
address the COVID-19 pandemic.

techUK
COVID-19 information hub
Clearinghouse of COVID-19-related information specific to data
centers in the UK.

US Centers for Disease Control

Implementing safety practices for critical infrastructure workers who
may have had exposure to a person with suspected or confirmed
COVID-19
Safety practices regarding limiting the impact of COVID-19 exposure
in the workplace.

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COVID-19: Uptime Institute Bulletin No. 2

About Uptime Institute

Uptime Institute is an advisory organization focused on improving the performance, efficiency
and reliability of business critical infrastructure through innovation, collaboration and independent
certifications. Uptime Institute serves all stakeholders responsible for IT service availability through
industry leading standards, education, peer-to-peer networking, consulting and award programs
delivered to enterprise organizations and third-party operators, manufacturers and providers.
Uptime Institute is recognized globally for the creation and administration of the Tier Standards and
Certifications for Data Center Design, Construction and Operations, along with its Management &
Operations (M&O) Stamp of Approval, FORCSS® methodology and Efficient IT Stamp of Approval.

Uptime Institute – The Global Data Center Authority®, a division of The 451 Group, has office locations
in the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, UK, Spain, UAE, Russia, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. Visit
uptimeinstitute.com for more information.

All general queries:

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info@uptimeinstitute.com

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