Choosing a data center to partner with is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your business. With varying technologies and architecture options on the market, the key is to find a data center solution that doesn’t just meet but complements your business needs.
Data is an indispensable commodity for modern businesses, regardless of size or niche. So you’re betting on your future with this particular decision.
Of course, every provider will claim they are the best and offer the most value. It’s upon you to verify their claims, but more importantly, find out how they can be helpful to your expansion goals.
In this article, we’ll list all the important things you must consider when looking for a data center service provider.
The Case for Creating Your Data Center From Scratch
Before we dive into the nitty gritty of choosing a data center partner, let’s discuss the idea of having a private data center. Does it make sense to have your own on-premise data center? The answer depends on a variety of factors.
Setting up a data center on-premise isn’t that difficult. Even a small business can create its own data center with a few servers and a handful of storage racks in a space as small as a closet. A big enterprise would require a much larger space with appropriate cooling, monitoring, and security.
While creating your proprietary data center has advantages like control and observability, it’s a major commitment. Not every business may have the space or resources to build a dedicated data center. Some would simply prefer the convenience of someone else handling all the day-to-day maintenance and monitoring.
Ultimately, it’s a decision of what works best in your situation. For a business with fewer than 50 employees, creating a data center with a provider is a feasible solution.
On the other hand, creating a private data center is a good choice for a business that doesn’t expect its data handling to scale enormously. Similarly, maintaining hardware ownership is crucial for an enterprise handling highly sensitive data.
You'll need hardware if you have the space and technical resources and want to create your data center from scratch, and PivIT specializes in data center hardware procurement. With savings as high as 60 percent, PivIT can help reduce the costs of purchasing and make it comparable in the long run with using a data center provider.
Key Things to Consider When Choosing a Data Center Partner
Now, should you decide to outsource your data handling needs to a third party, here’s what you should consider to make the best choice:
1. Type of Data Center
Broadly speaking, you have three options: managed data center, cloud, and colocation.
With managed service data centers, you have dedicated resources fully managed by a third party. This is typically suitable for critical data with high security and monitoring requirements.
Cloud is the most popular and cost-effective option. It’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and cloud providers run distributed data centers that are scalable and flexible. Gartner expects cloud IaaS spending to cross $150 billion in 2023.
Colocation data centers host your data center with your equipment. You maintain ownership of the equipment, but they provide the space and upkeep.
| Colocation | Managed | Cloud | |
| Time | Weeks to months | Days to Weeks | Minutes |
| Scalability | Slowest, rigid, and costly | Slower, somewhat flexible, and costly | Instant, flexible, pay-per-usage |
| Cost | High CapEx | Costly, sometimes month/year contracts, no CapEx | No contracts, usage-based, no upfront costs |
| Green | Low | Low | High - virtualized |
| Pricing model | But servers and colocation costs whether used or not | Rent servers and hosting costs whether used or not | Rent based on usage only |
2. Location
Data center service providers typically have facilities all over the world. Customers can pick the location where they want their data center located. Proximity is important in terms of accessibility, performance, and security.
However, proximity shouldn’t be the only criterion for location selection. Socioeconomic and environmental stability is equally important. This is why the US, Japan, and Singapore are the top data center destinations.
3. Cost
Cost is a major driver for businesses to base their data center with third parties. In many cases, renting or leasing servers with a provider is cheaper than buying. However, when determining costs for choosing a particular data center, consider secondary expenses (add-on services like performance analytics or upper-tier security) and expansion.
When comparing costs between providers, keep your expectations realistic. Powering, cooling, and maintaining large data centers is expensive. If the cost of housing your data is too low, it's likely the good old case of ‘too good to be true.’
4. Connectivity
For businesses operating in different regions, the connectivity between their data centers is of great importance. Similarly, the success of their business depends on their users connecting easily to those data centers.
It’s worth noting that connectivity is somewhat linked to the location. A city that’s an economic hub with the presence of all the major carriers is likely to offer reliable connectivity. That said, you should choose a carrier-neutral partner that allows you to connect to different networks.
5. Security and Compliance
Data centers and cloud providers have massively improved the security of their networks and infrastructure over the years in the wake of rising cyber-attacks. However, the attacks are getting more sophisticated at a faster rate.
Choose a provider that guarantees security on both logical and physical layers. In addition to security measures like next-generation firewalls, DDoS protection, and traffic monitoring, the facility should have 24/7 surveillance and only authorized access.
Compliance is just an extension of security, as your provider should comply with industry regulations and standards (for example, ISO 27001), particularly those that apply to your business.
6. Power Reliability
Outages can be costly, not just for business but also reputation. Backup power is essential for data centers. Also, redundancy plays a pivotal role in guaranteeing data access in emergencies.
Uptime is a good indicator of a data center’s reliability, as it indicates the percentage of time the facility was in operation without disruptions. For instance, Tier IV data centers typically guarantee 99.99 percent uptime, which is near perfect.
(Data: source)
7. Scalability
Thanks to cloud and virtualization, the scalability of data center infrastructure is simpler. Nevertheless, it’s another important consideration because some may simply do it better, which is crucial for a rapidly growing business.
When talking about scalability, we mean scaling up and down, ensuring needs are met without any resources wasted.
Hyperscale data centers, such as those provided by Google or AWS, can handle enterprises' rapidly expanding bandwidth and storage needs with their large-scale, dense data centers.
8. Support
Even though your data center is not on-premise, you’re responsible for most of the management. In most cases, you’d be configuring, testing, and monitoring the servers. Running into technical issues isn’t uncommon, so reliable customer support is not just a plus but a requirement.
The data center provider should deliver upon its service level agreements. They should outline the level, medium, and duration of support while providing guarantees for response time and ticket resolution.
Do Your Research Before You Commit
Choosing the right provider, whether cloud, colocation, or managed data center, requires a strategic review of the features and benefits of the service. An easy way to choose is to opt for a reputable provider with a proven track record of top-notch service. At the same time, there’s nothing wrong with choosing a new player as long as it meets your requirements.
In addition, it’s imperative to work with a partner that shares your business values. Take your time to dig deeper into the services of the provider and the technologies they use to support them. Look for testimonials from past and existing clients to gauge things like dashboards, cost, and customer support.
While you can always opt out and move to another provider, it’s best to avoid that hassle and choose a data center partner you can trust and rely on from the get-go.
