Data centers, whether starting in a simple rack or taking up an entire floor, are the engines of business growth and today’s connected economy. Technology is changing fast, and investments in infrastructure can be very high and can get very fast. What Should I Look For In A Datacenter – 5 Things To Consider While Choosing A Data Center?
Here are five considerations to keep in mind when purchasing any ICT infrastructure to help protect your investment and adapt to this changing landscape. If you are in the UK, then check for data centres in London.
Number 1
Make sure your infrastructure can respond dynamically to changing business demands without having to change systems continuously. That is actually a trap rather easy to fall into, and businesses get stuck in this unhealthy cycle.
Number 2
Location is perhaps one of the most important factors to consider when selecting a data center and may even be more important than other factors such as geological risks, access to appropriate available power at reasonable prices, along broadband service availability. There has been an increase in the amount of data centers that are becoming available around the globe, each with its own levels of service and cost.
This creates an overwhelming effect on buyers. As a solution, people can use websites that list available colocation space or data centers entirely up for sale or lease. The customer can customize the search results by providing their requirements, and the website displays the most attractive and suitable results.
Number 3
Ensure that your architecture and infrastructure allow you to accelerate IT service delivery to users across your organization. This is why business and customer proximity is an important factor.
If an organization chooses to be in close proximity to the site of their data center, then it will allow it to closely supervise the on-site staff. As per the customers, their location might also be an important factor, especially if the speed of transmitting data and latency are important.
Number 4
The climate of where the data center is located is yet another crucial factor since it can determine the cost and the type of cooling system that needs to be deployed on-site. The cooling technologies used for data centers can total approximately 50% of the total power costs; hence locating a site where the climate is cool and rather less warm and humid would be ideal.
Number 5
On the power side, make sure the power systems will meet your needs. Understand what types of circuits you are going to need, three-phase two, 2110, et cetera. Ask if they support all the socket types you need, and here’s a pro tip if you’re running all 220, make sure you put in a couple of 110 circuits for things that don’t take 220 as you will invariably need some 110 circuits at some point.
Find out how many kilowatts that can support a cabinet. If you have large power needs, do you want power fed off a bus so that you can reconfigure things easily? Or is it OK to have power coming off of whips, which are cables running back to a panel? Understand your options. Electrical power used at a data center site usually represents the largest chunk of your total cost; hence it is necessary to ask your service provider the right questions.
Conclusion
There are continuous demands for ICT purchases as companies evolve. IT managers and IT leaders should be ready with a proactive strategy to protect the companies investment and grow with these needs. The data center has become the ever-intelligent brain of an organization, and it is a vital responsibility to ensure that your data center is future-ready.
