As temperatures begin to drop around the U.S. and across the globe monitoring environmental conditions around sensitive equipment used in equipment and wiring closets can become difficult or may become an unforeseen problem.

IT professionals and businesses often worry about security breaches, cyber attacks, malware and viruses that can damage their systems and equipment, but environmental monitoring is just as important to the safeguarding valuable assets.

In many cases equipment and wiring closets are in isolated and hard to reach areas making it a challenge for personnel to access these area during dire situations such as below freezing and above normal heating conditions along with security breaches. Equipment and hardware stored in these closets can be damaged or destroyed by environmental factors and make access and response to these areas critical.

Below are a few factors that can be cause serious damage to your wiring closets, server rooms and data centers:

Airflow

If airflow is not maintained and monitored computers and other devices can over heat and become damaged. The temperatures caused by poor airflow can cause wire shortages and even fire.

Smoke

While smoke detectors may alert those nearby often times closets and rooms are isolated. Servers and systems are not firefighters and emergency responders priority. Networks that alert IT personnel and managers of smoke can possibly prevent millions of dollars in damage if equipment can be saved in time.

Power Outages

The loss of power not only stops electronics from working but if environmental monitoring systems aren't wireless, businesses would never know they occurred. Wireless or RFID tags can ensure that your readers receive a signal and real-time updates through power outages and storms.

Water

Hurricanes, thunderstorms and flooding plague areas around the world. Leaks and cracks in roofs can cause computers to stop working and cause electrical wires to wreak havoc on nearby devices.

Humidity

High levels of humidity can lead to the corrosion of electrical hardware, whereas low levels of humidity can lead to problems with static electricity.

Distributed closets and server rooms contain some of companies most valuable assets and are congested and small making entry or assess to them almost impossible. Sensors and tags make monitoring these areas simply and the amount of space they take up is minimal,thus reducing the need to accommodate bulk hardware..

Taking care to monitor and assess environmental changes and breaches can save companies time and money in the long run.