Service Outweighs Data Center Cost

Withhighly skilled engineers, facilities personnel and trained security, colocation data centers provide a high level of protection at a lower cost than if you were to host your servers in-house. Data center cost is a tricky issue, with many business owners questioning where to judge the value in one facility versus another.

The best way to determine whether a data center is worth your valuable business is to evaluate their level of customer service. A colocation facility that is proud of its support staff and consistently provides top-tier service will usually justify the cost with its prompt assistance and helpful staff.

A service-oriented colocation facility should readily provide these three services for your business:

• Global Support Services

A data center should always provide around-the-clock staff to keep your business running smoothly 24x7x365. During your search, look for a facility that staffs engineers, operators and technicians at all times—that way, in the case of an equipment or network issue, an expert will be able to isolate and fix the problem immediately. This will prevent you from experiencing any downtime.

Some data centers claim to offer 24x7x365 support, when their staff may actually be on call. This means that if you encounter a serious issue in the middle of the night, the provider may not be able to solve the problem until a data center employee reaches the building, which can cost you time and money.

• Migration & Installation Services

The best colocation facilities will make the transition of your servers feel as simple and painless as possible, customizing their approach to suit your business needs. Make sure to choose a data center that takes a flexible approach to the migration and installation of your systems.

When a dedicated expert creates a custom design of the racks for your space, you are more likely to be satisfied with your solution. A data center’s suite of services should include the following:

o Rack & Stackrno Rack Layout Optimizationrno Design Consultingrno Post-Deployment Evaluation

• Virtual Hands Services

A data center should provide full-time, trained technicians who can service your equipment anytime in the facility. That way, you don’t shoulder the cost of sending your own staff to deal with routine support and maintenance. Virtual Hands services should include:

o Remote cablingrno Replacement or Installation of equipmentrno Patching of network connectivity between devices and network switchesrno Loading and unloading of backup tapesrno Power Cyclingrno Hard Drive Swaprno Directed command line entry for basic troubleshooting

With any business, the quality of the support you receive has a direct correlation to your satisfaction. Finding a facility with trained experts will ensure a positive experience and most likely cost you less money and headaches than if you host your servers in-house.