Outside, independent data centers play
a dual role in the protection of a company’s equipment and data. While providing security and stability to a company’s critical data, the facilities also allow
companies to avoid major capital investments.
“A data center’s infrastructure is built to
provide protection,” points out Margi
Shaw, Chief Operations Officer of CIMCO
Communications. “Data centers can offer a
safe haven for your communications equipment and can also help to free up your IT
resources to work on more significant
business issues.”
Smart Business spoke with Shaw about
the benefits of using an outside vendor,
what to look for when choosing a data center and the types of services available from
a data center provider.
How can a company benefit from using an
outside, independent data center?
Independent data centers offer you the
physical diversity of your infrastructure
presence without having to buy or rent
another facility. There is an extensive
investment associated with building your
own data center, not to mention the staff
required to manage it on a daily basis.
Many times, companies look at adding a
data center to an existing facility, but the
additional IT personnel that would be
needed could increase your operating
expenses. Outside vendors provide you
this additional, separate location and the
protective capabilities associated with it,
minus the overhead costs. The significance
of this separate location is that it provides
redundancy and backup to your primary
physical site.
What should companies look for in a data
center provider?
A data center should first and foremost
be able to meet the goals outlined in your
disaster recovery and business continuity
plans. Most plans outline location as being
an influential part in the decision-making
process. Many companies need to be a certain distance away from their primary location, but still have the ability to easily move staff over to operate in a hot seat environment. If your staff will not be able to do
this, then it is important to consider the
expertise of the staff at the data center.
There will be certain applications that will
reside at the data center, and it is important
to know that the staff and engineers can
provide advanced support when you need
it. Ask simple questions. Are the data center’s technicians certified? Who is on its
client list? What is the longevity of those
clients? The answers will offer insight into
the reliability and quality of the facility.
What type of environmental controls should
be in place?
Environmental controls are an extensive
component of the benefits a data center
offers. They help to maintain a balanced
environment within the facility and provide
the most security for your equipment.
Temperature is a critical element. As the
facility fills up with customer equipment, it
gets hotter and hotter so you want to make
sure that the provider has an HVAC system,
which maintains the appropriate temperature to protect your data. You should also
consider the type of fire suppression
agents available. A waterless suppression system is ideal and will help stop any additional damage done to your equipment.
Most importantly, there should be proper
alarming and notification procedures in
place in the event that there is an incident
involving the environmental controls.
What is the difference between co-location
and managed hosting?
Co-location refers to renting space in a
data center. With co-location, you get a
cabinet with power but you install, maintain and manage the equipment. In some
cases, a company may move its own
equipment into its co-location cabinet and
then use the underlying provider for application management.
Managed hosting doesn’t require you to
have a physical presence at the data center. You can purchase managed applications or managed servers that are in a
common space and are 100 percent managed by the underlying provider. This
arrangement allows you to pull space or
applications as you need them without
having to invest in hardware as you would
within a co-location facility. With managed hosting, the underlying provider is
responsible for the equipment; if equipment requires upgrading you don’t even
notice — it just happens.
How do managed services increase the efficiency of an IT department?
Managed services extend the eyes and
ears looking at your network as well as
the physical hands working on your equipment. With data centers, all of the backup
services are handled turnkey by the
provider’s staff, preventing you from having to invest in additional IT staff. The
provider’s staff essentially becomes an
extension of your staff. By alleviating the
amount of time it takes to maintain hardware and platform connectivity, you are
allowing your IT staff to focus on more
significant business issues.
MARGI SHAW is Chief Operations Officer of CIMCO Communications. Reach her at (630) 691-8080 or [email protected].