Are Virtual Hands Services Worth the Price?

“Virtual Hands” is a service that has grown in popularity over the last few years. Traditionally, it is not included in colocation pricing because it is an as-needed service. A primary reason forthe service’s popularity is that it allows customers to utilize data centers outside of their geographic area. This service isn't for everyone; however, it does offer a variety of benefits.

What is Virtual Hands?

This service was developed to allow customers the ability to perform tasks without sending their own technicians to the facility. It is often billed on an hourly rate, so it is not included in traditional colocation pricing packages. If a customer relies solely on a virtual hands service, a flat monthly fee can be negotiated into the colocation pricing agreement. Today, more data centers offer customized colocation pricing agreements than ever before.

When to Use a Virtual Hands Service

A virtual hands service allows a customer to rent an on-site technician for a pre-determined colocation pricing rate. There are normally limits on what this service will encompass. It usually includes standard and routine tasks such as remote cabling, loading/unloading backup tapes, hard drive swaps, power cycling, equipment installation/replacement, and command line entry for troubleshooting purposes. These tasks are rarely time intensive, which is why including this service in the colocation pricing estimate is more cost effective than sending in-house technicians to the data center.

Benefits of the Service

There are several benefits to paying the colocation pricing rates of the virtual hands service. The primary benefit is it is more cost effective to use this service than for the customer to send their own technician to the data center. This is especially true if the customer is located far enough away that it would take the technician more than a day to complete the task. Another benefit of the virtual hands service is that customers without full-time technicians can still maintain their equipment.

Factors to Consider When Using the Service

At the current pricing rates of virtual hands services, the data center must have highly trained technicians and electricians. Another factor to consider is availability. Anelite data center will make their technicians available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This ensures the customer will have uninterrupted access to their servers and the ability to schedule maintenance tasks whenever it suits their schedule.

Virtual hands service is one of the many additional options not included in a standard colocation pricing agreement; however, it is an incredibly valuable add-on. It gives customers the ability to utilize highly trained technicians and electricians without sending their own IT staff. This is not only a cost effective solution, but a convenient one. Expert trained staffis hard to find, which makes virtual hands service a bargain.