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What is a Data Center?
Most people know the basics: a data center is a hardened building crammed with racks of servers that securely store, manage, and disseminate data. The data center’s primary purpose is to protect the servers—and the files, folders, and applications they hold—from intrusion, corruption, downtime, or any other damage. Data centers make much of modern business possible. In fact, the United States Census Bureau states that data centers are growing fast and are reshaping local economies.
Safely stored and accessible, data does amazing things. It could be as simple as a financial database—or as complex as a powerful virtualized application, responding to requests from around the world. Companies with a high volume of data, or a need for an application development environment, rely on data centers to conduct business.
4 Ways to Choose the Right Data Center
Not all data centers are the same; each one has strengths and weaknesses that you should consider when selecting a data center. Outsourcing colocation services can save your company money, but only if you choose a data center that matches your infrastructure needs.
1. Security
When you are considering storing an expensive piece of hardware with your company information on it, security should be a top concern. Does the facility have passcode entry to keep unauthorized personnel away from the servers? In addition, look for video surveillance around and inside the building, and ask about when personnel are present.
Not all threats are human; natural disaster can have devastating effects on electronic equipment. Ask about how the facility is prepared in case of a flash flood, ice storm, or even a tornado. In addition, ask what safeguards are in place to prevent and respond to a fire starting inside the server room.
Finally, consider protection from digital intruders. DDoS attacks have taken down companies as large as Google, so check what kind of security protocols the facility has to prevent breaches. Additionally, see if they offer security patches for servers in the facility.
2. Accessibility
Just as security has multiple parts, so does accessibility. The physical location of the data center matters; is it close to your IT staff? However, just as important is the electronic accessibility of your servers. Remote access is crucial, especially in the case of a crash. Does the data center offer “low-level” access to the server, which is still functional even if the Operating System is offline?
Finally, consider the accessibility of the support team: are they available on weekends or holidays? Do they have a level of expertise you feel comfortable with? Are they going to be able to solve problems you aren’t familiar with?
3. Cooling and Power
Similar to natural disaster security, the environment should have plenty of space to handle the servers it is hosting, but also be able to support those servers and protect them. Ask about the number of backup generators available, and how their emergency systems are setup to support a maximum capacity of servers.
Servers are delicate pieces of equipment, and having many of them close together in the same room produces lots of heat. How is the data center’s HVAC equipped to keep the servers cool at peak times?
4. Other Factors
There are other specific questions you will need to find out about, such as if the data center offers extra services, what the cost for colocation is, and what bandwidth they offer. If you don’t understand the information, ask the facility to explain it. You want to feel comfortable storing your company’s most private and valuable information with them, after all.
Features that a Data Center Must Have
A data center should protect against physical as well as virtual threats. A well-equipped data center will have measures and equipment in place to prevent fire and ensure necessary cooling of hardware so the physical devices can remain safe.
Data centers should restrict access to the facility and vet their workers. Building security should be tight, including controls such as biometric scanners.
A data center should make redundant backups of your data in case one version becomes corrupted. They should have redundant servers in a separate site(s) in case of catastrophic failure or disaster. They should also have strong encryption and data security measures.
Be sure any data center you are considering is SOC-II Certified. If your MSP has its own data center and this certification, you are partnering with a provider whose data center meets high industry standards.
Survey Says: Data Center Choices Are Confusing, Even for the CIO
The results are in from InformationWeek’s State of the Data Center Survey. Editor Kurt Marko provided his analysis of the results:
“Our take is that [CIOs] have a bad case of the paradox of choice: Faced with myriad alternatives — private data centers, leased wholesale space, collocated facilities, managed infrastructure services, virtual private clouds, public IaaS, PaaS, SaaS — they get overwhelmed and become paralyzed.”
Marko goes on to advise companies to find clarity by asking, “What’s the optimal way to deliver this particular application or IT service?”
You see, beyond simply “doing IT,” your IT vendor should be more than just a service provider. They’re your strategic partner. Every feature of your data center or technology network should serve to help your business grow and keep it on the path to success. Anything less is insufficient, anything more is waste.
If you start your data center search with these objectives in mind, it will quickly become clear which companies are partners for growth – and which are just performing a service. A vendor who sees themselves as your business ally will offer solutions that serve your goals, and you’ll experience business-wide improvements beyond simple data center storage.
So when it comes to data center shopping, if you seek out business IT partners – rather than providers – you’ll have a much better result and take out a lot of the confusion, even for the CIO.
The Problem with Managing Your Own Data Center
Why did you start your business? Unless you own an IT company, it probably wasn’t to manage your own data center. A shoe store sells shoes, a pizza restaurant makes pizza, and you’d rather do what you got in business to do than worry about IT issues. But here you are – so let’s talk.
In the age we live in, if you’re not using technology, you’re next in line on the dinosaur list. Even tea shops use social media, maintain e-commerce websites, and hold digital records of account data, finances, order tracking, and customer information. With business comes technology. And the more you focus on your business’s IT, the less you can focus on your core competencies. It’s a headache, we know. You’d rather just be selling shoes.
Plus, you’re sucking money off your bottom line by purchasing technology components, building space to store your servers, hiring staff to maintain them, paying for electricity and cooling, and you may not even be using more than 10% of the stuff you bought, anyway.
And what if the pipe bursts in the ceiling? Are you prepared to lose your capital or data? Did you back it up?
Benefits of Managed 3rd Party Data Center Hosting
The alternative to on-site data center hosting is managed 3rd party hosting, or colocation, and for a lot of business and IT professionals it makes total sense. You can get back to growing your business rather than dealing with IT headaches.
But is it secure? Worry not. Data centers are designed to be tornado-proof and have plenty of IT professionals on hand to make sure servers are humming 24x7x365. They even keep your environments extra safe by performing automatic backups, upgrades, patching, and security monitoring around the clock.
Data Center Services – What Should You Look for in an Managed Service Provider?
The best Managed Service Providers (MSP) will take the time to get to know your business, anticipate your needs, communicate openly and respond quickly. Your MSP’s data center holds your business’s most precious assets. You need absolute assurance that they’ll keep your data safe and work tirelessly to keep you up and agile.
This is especially important if a disaster occurs. Your MSP should be able to troubleshoot files quickly. Of course, MSP’s with their own data centers have an easier time of it, so you’ve got the peace of mind that they’ll get your business back online swiftly.
But beyond the file-level responsibility of an MSP, there’s a business-level promise of synergy and strategy. Your MSP should be more than just about fixing broken things. They should be active participants in your business planning and be included in your strategy to minimize disaster.
Why Your MSP Should Have Its Own Data Center
Your Managed Service Provider is your trusted partner, keeping your information technology at peak performance, and—most important—helping your business grow. But if your managed service provider doesn’t have its own data center, your company is missing out on a competitive edge.
It might seem not to matter, since you can access your data wherever it’s stored. If you’re just looking for secure backup or virtualization services, your data could be next door or on the other side of the continent. Either way, you’ll be able to access it in an instant.
Conclusion
When it comes to data center shopping, seek out a managed service provider who actually wants to be your partner. A vendor who sees themselves as your business partner will offer solutions that serve your goals, leading to business-wide improvements beyond simple data center storage. So get back to work, and leave the IT to the professionals.
If you’re interested in managed data center services, colocation, or have other managed IT needs, Dynamic Quest can help you out. Please contact us to learn more.