New year, new data center strategy

New year, new data center strategy: The coming of the new year offers a time for both reflection and for planning. Data center strategy is changing for many organizations. What changes do you envision for your data center in the coming years?

Your customers, staff and vendors expect your information technology applications to be available immediately and always. Expectations aside, if your company depends on your computer systems for your business processes, you need to assess your cost of downtime. In 2008, Amazon’s cost of downtime was $122,260 per hour. Downtime calculators are out there; every business is different. Assign a dollar figure to your cost of downtime so you can determine how much to spend on high availability, also known as data center uptime.

Your cost of downtime helps you determine what your uptime levels need to be. Data center industry people talk in terms like 99.995% uptime (also known as 4-1/2 9’s), which translates to 36 minutes of downtime per year or less. Is 99.995% uptime what your company needs?

Large and small companies are using outsource data center facilities (colocation) as a higher uptime alternative to the computer room at their headquarters. If the cost of downtime means lost revenue, lost credibility, and lost clients, using outsource data center facilities offers an easy way to improve uptime. Data center outsourcing takes care of mission critical facilities details like N+1 data center redundancy, security, HVAC and fire suppression, so you can concentrate on your mission critical applications and executing your business processes.

Companies who are required to maintain regulatory compliance can greatly benefit rom outsource computer room facilities. SAS 70 data center facilities can offer many tiers data center compliance. Data center compliance experts can help determine how your regulatory requirements affect your data center.

Affordable colocation has also been an incentive for many companies to move their main computers out of their headquarters. Prices are very competitive for midwest colocation. Outsource data center pricing models can offer both incremental grown and a drastic reduction in data center capital costs.

Check with outsource data center facilities experts to learn more about data center strategy.

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.