In addition to extreme heat across the U.S., this year’s hurricane season is off to a tumultuous start. Hurricane Beryl, which has been the earliest category 5 hurricane ever recorded, ran its way through Texas, causing over 1.3 million outages in the Houston area. Its effects were felt as far away as New York, resulting in thousands without power.
For casino IT operators, ensuring uninterrupted IT operation is crucial for both on-site systems and online gaming platforms. Any disruptions caused by severe weather can significantly impact business operations. During this time of heightened weather-related events, implementing a robust backup power strategy is essential to minimizing downtime and safeguarding data integrity.
Assess current capabilities
The digital transformation of casinos continues to gain momentum as operators increasingly look to digitalization to modernize the guest experience. With new technologies such as online gaming platforms, VR/AR experience loyalty programs and artificial intelligence (AI) experiencing growing adoption, it is essential that foundational power infrastructure is protected to ensure IT systems stay up and running.
An extended power outage in a casino can generate enormous revenue loss for gaming operators, making it one of the industries most vulnerable to a potential blackout.
As digital IT infrastructure has evolved, the hardware and software tools available to protect these assets have advanced to help casino IT operators experience uninterrupted service even amid potentially devastating weather events. Taking steps to implement an integrated backup power strategy can help casinos safeguard their operations. Such a strategy should, at minimum, include the following:
- Begin with the foundation. Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) are crucial for disaster readiness in casino IT operations, serving as the essential bridge to generator power during outages. Casinos can now leverage UPSs that feature lithium-ion batteries, which are increasingly accessible and cost-effective, to enhance their longevity with longer battery life and a smaller physical footprint. Additionally, investing in UPSs with integrated network cards enables remote management and helps strengthen cybersecurity, particularly when integrated with disaster avoidance software.
- Stack your cards. Whether operating independently or as part of a larger chain, casinos may not always have IT staff present to deal with outage-related issues. This highlights the significance of distributed IT performance management software in enabling casinos to maintain control over their power systems. Casino IT managers can integrate software applications with their power management equipment to adopt a proactive approach to remote management. These software solutions provide the capability to remotely shut down or reboot a ‘hung’ server or other equipment during power outages due to extreme heat, storms and cyberattacks.
- Go all in. Thanks to the evolution of remote monitoring services, casino IT teams can now continuously monitor and analyze power trends. This capability enables operators to make informed decisions about their equipment, taking proactive measures to repair or replace devices before any downtime disrupts business operations.
Dependable hardware components like surge protectors and power strips are crucial for a comprehensive disaster avoidance plan, particularly in the face of extreme weather events. Integrating power management solutions with a wall-mount rack enclosure can also help conserve floor space while facilitating easier and more efficient hardware upgrades in the future.
Powering casino success
If Hurricane Beryl was any indication, communities may encounter substantial challenges from storms through the summer and into the fall. Casinos and their IT teams are advised to proactively prepare now to prevent being surprised by severe weather events. By implementing a strategic backup power strategy that incorporates the latest hardware and software innovations, casinos can better safeguard critical IT systems and data against potential threats from Mother Nature.
