Planning to set up or lease a data center? Here’s why you need to choose the right partne
By 2025, 85% of infrastructure strategies will integrate on-premises, co-location, cloud, and edge delivery options, compared with 20% in 2020, says a Gartner Research Report. And that is why it is important for an enterprise to choose the right partners to work with when setting up or co-locating at a data center.
Here are four areas for which you need to find the right service partner.
A data center is a nucleus of computational operations handling magnitudes of powerful high-tech components working at lightning-fast speeds. So, you’ve got to ensure that the data center you are leasing or setting up is designed to keep pace with your enterprise’s changing requirements.
Design
If your design is not flexible enough to do this, you will find that as more components and end-user terminals are added, and as more demand is placed on the network’s resources, the systems will get strained, and workflow will be affected. Design components include server racks that can handle growing computing needs, power supply and distribution units, temperature monitoring units, basic floor, ceiling, and wall design, hot and cold aisle management, and so on, even noise control. So, it is important to choose the right design partner who understands the present and future needs of your enterprise.
Once your new data center is up and running, you need to invest in a comprehensive maintenance plan either with the company that helped you design it or a third-party service provider who specializes in support.
Support and Maintenance
A comprehensive maintenance strategy involves predictive maintenance (to spot the potential end-of-life equipment); preventive maintenance (testing, cleaning, replacing equipment to ensure optimal performance); corrective maintenance (prompt replacement of faulty parts).
Regular maintenance will reduce the risk of data center failure, prevent downtime, and help manage operating costs (data centers consume massive amounts of power which can mean high operation costs unless equipment works at optimal levels of efficiency).
Data centers hold sensitive and proprietary information, and therefore must be digitally and physically secured. Digitally, spyware, malware, and hacking are common threats to data stored within a data center. Physically, one needs to ensure that the data center is in a location where natural disasters are rare, as well as away from airports and chemical plants.
Security
There must also be barriers surrounding the data center to shield it from outdoor elements and it must have single-gate access only.
The right service provider will also give you a strategy for maintaining security within the perimeter of the data center. For instance, installing doors that can only be accessed by authorized personnel with biometric ID access or where to install surveillance cameras.
Digitally, firewalls, access control lists, standards-compliant SSL encryption for web applications, secure password policies, etc need to be enforced to maintain network security. Ensure you partner with the right service providers for this.
Sourcing hardware and accessories from a trusted and reliable vendor is a cost-effective way to improve the efficiency of the data center and reduce downtime. Go with a proven service provider who can give you hardware and accessories that adapt to the changing needs of your business in terms of scalability.
Hardware
For example, if you don’t have proper cooling equipment or monitoring in place, hot air may not be properly expelled through the exhaust system, and end up blocking cool air from flowing in. That’s going to result in your equipment heating up, resulting in equipment failure over time. And that means downtime, which translates to added costs in terms of fixing the system or buying a new one.
As American computer programmer, Ellen Ullman wisely said: “We build our computer systems the way we build our cities: over time, without a plan, on top of ruins.”
With the increasing dependence on data centers, it’s time to change that and move ahead with a plan in place.
Hardy Racks is a server and network rack manufacturer based in India, delivering high-quality data center accessories. We’re tried, tested and reliable, and our production and installation teams offer customized solutions for setting up efficient data centers. Call us today.
Hardy Racks is one of the leading server rack manufacturers in Chennai. We are also a trusted name in the industry for the installation, customization, and optimization of data center enclosures and accessories such as PDUs, fiber raceways, and aisle containment. Our experience also equips us to provide expert data center consulting services.
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