We have talked extensively about the benefits of data centers in the past. We mentioned that they are valuable for ecommerce businesses and many other sectors. However, many companies still don’t know how to choose them.
Many organizations are increasing their Big Data footprint and looking to data centers to help them grow. Global companies are projected to spend over $274 billion on big data this year and data cetners have played a role in this trend. There are many data centers available to all types of businesses now, but finding the best fit isn’t always the easiest decision. Housing your critical data and infrastructure in someone else’s facility necessitates a great deal of trust and thought, but not all data centers are created equal. Each facility has different standards and services, and you must consider several factors when selecting the best data center.
However, as data centers have grown in popularity and function, so has online and advertisement fraud. The electronic weaponization of data center traffic has played a significant role in the rise of ad fraud over the last decade.
Geographical Location
One of the most important considerations when choosing a data center is its location. While there are many data center locations worldwide, the right facility should have a physical location that someone from your company can easily access. This is a highly important consideration if you ever need to upgrade or service your equipment. IT redundancy is also crucial. If your on-premises production environment fails due to a disaster, such as a cyber-attack, make sure you have a plan in place to failover operations to a different data center.
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Data Center Scalability
Your provider should be able to meet your current and future needs for at least several years to come. However, service providers typically provide varying degrees of scalability. While some will provide out-of-the-box solutions that may only meet your initial needs, others will provide customizable solutions that can expand and add more resources as needed, allowing your company to have enough resources when you need them the most.
These adaptable solutions can also scale down when the server load decreases, such as during peak and off-peak seasons of a ticket booking system. Having a service provider with this level of scalability will benefit your business during peak seasons and save you money during off-peak seasons.
Support and Uptime
Your data center should be available to provide your company with quick and efficient support. A Service Level Agreement is typically used to govern this. The ideal data service provider should offer in-house remote support with engineers available at all hours of the day. Furthermore, on-site assistance is required during emergencies or for important tasks, such as server checks, disaster recovery, and network maintenance. Note – In the IT industry, redundancy is critical. If your on-premise production environment fails due to a natural disaster, human error, or cyber-attacks, you must be able to remove operations to another data center quickly.
Reliability and Reputation
The reputation of your data center vendor is one of the most crucial factors too. Data center compliance can mean the difference between passing an audit and getting entangled in litigation. Security is also an essential consideration for data centers. For example, healthcare providers who handle sensitive patient data require data centers that are explicitly HIPAA-compliant. PCI-DSS compliance, on the other hand, is required for any organization that handles the transfer of credit card details. Even government agencies require special compliance standards to ensure data security, particularly the protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
Network Interconnectivity and Connection Quality
The potential to interlink within a shared data center space is one of the most significant benefits of colocation. Interconnection can be highly beneficial to your business, whether you want to connect with partners, distributors, or even competitors for peering. Take the time to learn in-depth about the available connectivity options before making a decision. Does the vendor already have a large customer ecosystem that is interlinked? Is there a platform in place to facilitate multi-load connectedness and management?
In Conclusion
Businesses and organizations need to carefully research their options when it comes to data center vendors. In today’s competitive market, many organizations utilize the public cloud to drive their businesses. Many of the giants in the market, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google, are setting cloud trends with innovative technologies backed by solid security. Choosing the right partner can place your business on the fast track to success.
To learn more about data centers, what you need to consider when choosing one, and how to avoid online fraud, visit this blog by CHEQ.AI.