The need for a data center solution is good news. That means your business is growing. And while you’re contemplating in-house data storage and maintenance, you couldn’t afford its expenses and costs.
Many large corporations trust data storage, processing, and handling to external agencies. They rely on data centers to play a critical role in meeting their IT requirements. Global marketing intelligence firm, IDC, in partnership with the mass data solutions provider, Seagate, revealed in a study that the need for data is continuously growing each year. By 2025, the global data sphere will grow to 175 zettabytes, which is equivalent to 1 billion terabytes (TB) or 1 trillion gigabytes (GB).
Many SMEs (small to medium enterprises) like yours face the same problem of whether to use a data center or have it in-house. An off-premisesdata center can be a sensible choice; otherwise, big companies will not use them.
This helpful guide offers valuable tips about choosing the right data center solution for your growing business. It includes topics ranging from what a data center is to what it can do for your business. Find out more below.
What is a Data Center?
A data center is a structure that provides a secure, remote, and safe location for a big collection of computer servers. These servers are connected to a network that workstations or computers use.
Servers accept and respond to requests from clients, which are the workstations and computers connected to it. Servers are used for this purpose because they can store and process huge amounts of data, which is perfect for growing businesses.
But data centers are more than just a safe facility for servers. They are an asset to many businesses, serving as a valuable extension to their IT staff and daily operations. Being a dedicated facility, they are able to process and handle data 24/7. They also offer additional services and products that can benefit your company.
What are the Different Kinds of Data Centers
Many companies that provide data center facilities offer a range of solutions that may vary. Commonly though, you have enterprise data centers, managed services data centers, colocation data centers, cloud data centers, hyper scale data centers, and edge data centers.
Data centers with managed services are simply leased equipment and infrastructure. A third party you hired will manage the operation of your data center.
Cloud data centers, on the other hand, are off-premises solutions. Applications and data are hosted by a cloud service provider. There are public cloud service providers, but some of the most popular today include IBM Cloud, Azure (Microsoft), and AWS (Amazon Web Services).
Hyperscale data centers are often associated with large IT companies producing and processing data. Names like Microsoft, IBM, Facebook, Amazon, and Google are all synonymous with hyper scale data. Data centers are massive, often containing thousands to millions of servers.
With an enterprise data center, you keep your servers onsite. Itis an increasingly popular option for SMEs. You have your own IT staff to handle the management of your data center. You build your own infrastructure, with the right data center flooring solution, cooling system, UPS (uninterruptible power supply) and generators, and storage facility.
Colocation, or colo data centers meanwhile, contradict all of that. Your data center is off-premises, in a physical, and safe location.
How to Choose the Right Data Center
To help you choose the right solution for your data storage and processing needs, consider factors including reliability, connectivity, infrastructure, security, network, and location.
A reliable data center provides backup power and connection to prevent downtimes and protect the function and operations of your business. This affects energy and internet costs, which is something you should consider as well. Elements such as rate concessions, size of facility, environment regulations, and power source will also contribute to this factor.
For connectivity, a data center should have several transit options available. This means that you should look for a solution that uses not just one internet service provider, but several ones. This is to ensure that when one connection is lost, the others are still running.
It’s also important to know if your data center offers scalability. You need to keep areas open for growth. A scalable data center enables you to expand and meet the demands of your business in the long run.
Finally, if you go with an off-premises data center, consider how secure the location is and its accessibility to your office. You should also request a tour of the data center to check out its infrastructure. Aside from backup power supplies, it should have ample cooling systems, proper storage facilities, fire suppression systems, environmental controls, and high-powered security systems.
