The document outlines seven essential questions to ask data centre providers, focusing on location, capabilities, contractual flexibility, network connectivity, security and compliance, support services, and power/cooling performance. It emphasizes the importance of proximity for reduced downtime, flexibility for adapting to business needs, and robust security measures. Ultimately, reliable uptime is highlighted as a key performance indicator for data centre effectiveness.

1. 7 QUESTIONS TO ASK
DATA CENTRE PROVIDERS

2. Question #1
Where is the
data centre
located?

3. Close proximity of the data centre makes it easier to access but it also
reduces downtime when disaster strikes, reduces cost of connectivity
between the office and DC, and lowers latency and
potential data replication issues.

4. Question #2
Does the
service
provider offer
a wide range
of
capabilities?

5. Consider the option to go to your provider and ask them to supply new
hardware, manage some ageing technology or maybe support your cloud
initiatives. This will help you achieve and deliver a flexible and dynamic IT
strategy that accommodates the ebb and flow of your business cycles and
responds to changing needs quickly.

6. Question #3
How flexible
are the
provider’s
contractual
terms?

7. It is important to check what the provider proposes to do when the original
contract expires or how would their contracts cater for future growth
or new requirements.

8. Question #4
What are the
provider’s
network
connectivity
options?

9. Choose a provider that owns and operates its network end-to-end to have full
visibility across the network. This provides greater control to improve network
performance and reduces potential downtime during an outage

10. Question #5
How does the
colocation
provider
ensure
security and
compliance?

11. It is critical to check if and how they provide proposes to cater for your bespoke
security requirements and check if the provider can assist with your
organisation’s audit and compliance requirements and what experience
they’ve had in this area.

12. Question #6
What ad-hoc
support
services are
available?

13. Your provider should at least provide 24x7 ad-hoc remote hands and feet
services, courier acceptance and storage, access to basic tools along with on-
site security, power and cooling, and facility management.
Ensure that the so-called remote hands service is actually provided by
skilled IT staff and not the security guards or electricians.

14. Question #7
What are the
historic power
and cooling
performance
of the data
centre?

15. Question #7
What are the
historic power
and cooling
performance
of the data
centre?
Power and cooling for your servers and networking equipment are mission-
critical components for a data centre. It is very important to keep in mind that it
is NOT the service credits that makes you money but is the uptime.

16. Read more about the answers on
our recent blog post – Learn more