If you run a tech business, the time will eventually come when you need a data center. You can try to do it all in-house, but you’ll eventually discover that it’s just too much hassle.
The problem, of course, is how to find a great data center. You want somewhere that really allows you to make the most of your resources and get stuff done.
So, what do you need? What should you be looking for? Let’s take a look.
An Exit
While it might sound strange, it’s a good idea to look for the exit first when using data centers. You don’t want to use a service that attempts to lock you in for life and won’t let you migrate elsewhere.
For example, you’ll want to check for things like lock-in clauses. You’ll also want to test the data center to see whether it lets you move a small amount of data around. You’ll sometimes find out a lot by doing this, and how the business will operate if you move over more data and become more dependent on it.
If you can, avoid the temptation to commit fully and immediately. Take your time to figure out what you need and what you have to do.
The Level Of Cost Transparency
Next, you’ll want to find out whether the data center offers transparent pricing. A lot of companies will actually look for ways to charge more on the side instead of including extras in their upfront price.
For example, what are the ingress and egress fees? Don’t just focus on the dollar value per rack per month. That’s not usually enough information to make a fair determination on the proper price.
The Sustainability
Another thing to look out for is the level of sustainability on offer. You want a data center that protects your business and the environment, not just one or the other.
Fortunately, most data centers now publish all the data you need to make an informed decision. A lot of them will tell you about their e-waste policy and how much water they use. They will also publish their implied CO2 emissions, where they get their power from, and if they have any carbon-neutral accreditations.
Remote Hands And Support
Another thing to check is the remote hands and support. Ideally, you want people on-site all the time who can respond to issues within 15 minutes, any time of day or night.
Remote hands are critical for protecting your business and reducing downtime. You need them to ensure that you can continue operating and providing your customers and clients with the services they expect. You don’t want systems to go down and then be unable to generate revenue while disappointing existing clients. That’s a really bad combination (but it is possible if you use the wrong data center).
Disaster Recovery
Related to this last point, you also need a high level of disaster recovery preparedness. If systems go down, what will you do?
Disaster recovery is best achieved through geographic distribution. To reduce local risks, ensure that your data center is at least 100 km from your current location, and preferably more.
Also, check things in the region of the data center. For example, can it cope with seismic activity if it turns out to be among the strongest in recent years? If it can’t, then you may need to move on and try somewhere else.
Scalability
What about scalability? A lot of business customers now take this for granted without realizing it’s not guaranteed. Data centers can sometimes be on the small side, making it more challenging to add cages, racks, and suites. You should be able to do this within 30 to 60 days, but many brands simply don’t offer this type of service.
Therefore, double-check with the provider that they can actually meet your projected future workloads. You don’t want to be rapidly growing and then run out of compute, just because the team at the other end doesn’t provide it.
If you’re not sure about a specific data center, ask the team if you’re allowed to go and visit. When on-site or watching via video link, check that the company is doing everything it can to make space available.
Compliance
While it might be dull, you also need to check compliance when using a data center. If you get anything wrong, it could reflect your business in a negative light.
The compliance you need from your data center will emerge from your industry. For example, if you’re in the healthcare niche, you need to follow HIPAA. The data center should essentially facilitate this for you so you’re not having to do everything alone.
Physical Security
Whenever you’re dealing with customers’ private data, you also need to consider the physical security of the site. While the majority of attacks by bad actors will be digital, some will actually try to break into data centers and steal physical hard drives.
To prevent this, you want to find a data center offering 24/7 monitoring and advanced access systems. People should only be able to get in and out using their cards or fingerprints.
The data center should also have perimeter security, including CCTV with 90-day video retention. Again, this makes it more challenging for anyone to get inside and start doing things that they shouldn’t.
Power Redundancy
Another thing to look for in a data center is power redundancy. You want to ensure that the whole thing keeps going, even during blackouts.
Data centers can vary in how they implement this additional power, but the rules are generally the same. They need systems that kick in quickly in the event of a power cut and keep the whole machine alive.
Uptime
Lastly, check the data center’s uptime. You want to use a service that’s going to be as reliable as possible for as long as possible. Usually, outfits will publish this information for you. It’s just a matter of tracking it down and asking if it is good enough.
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