Data Centre For Businesses - The Why And How

At a time when critical business processes rely on data, data centres have become pivotal for the business structure for many brands around the globe.

A recent study showed that 70% of businesses that currently use data centres increased their budget for the service coming into 2017. This is in acceptance of the importance of data centres for the organisational structure and highlights why you should embrace data centres. How can a data centre improve your business?

Reduction in Capital Expenditure

When you manage your data storage in-house, the financial outlay can be significant. Using data centres allows you to save money on data management, channelling your investments towards other vital parts of your business.

Increased Flexibility

“Managing your data in-house translates to oversized investments or constant reinvestments”, says UK Data Centre experts Virtus Data Centres. “Outsourcing your data management, on the other hand, accords you the flexibility of increasing or reducing data management resources on a per need basis”.

The flexibility provided by data centres equally means you can reduce risk by starting small and scaling up your equipment when you need to.

Additionally, your data can be accessed at any point in time by authorised personnel from any part of the world.

Improved Security

Properly managed data centres are manned round the clock making physical or remote break-ins extremely unlikely.

How can you choose the best data centre for your business?

Selecting a data centre is an important decision for your business. Here are top ways to ensure you are making the right decision:

Location:

The location is vital when choosing a data centre for your business. Can the location be easily accessed by someone from your business? Is the data centre location prone to natural disasters? Most data centre companies set up their business in the best possible locations, but you need to do your due diligence.

Scalability:

It is important to choose a provider that can meet your needs, not just now but as your business needs grow. Focus on providers that offer customised solutions to avoid the need from impromptu migrations in future as your business expands.

Reliability:

When gauging the reliability of a provider, the key things to keep in mind are the uptime, customer feedback, staff certifications and availability of on-site support. Data centres with outsourced support should rank lowest on your list of options. It’s a no-brainer choosing a provider that hits all the right notes regarding reliability.  The success or failure of your business is dependent on this.

Nearness to other providers:

When choosing a data centre, you need to watch out for proximity to other vendors. The reliability of a data centre in an area with multiple providers cannot be questioned as multiple providers in an area shows, geographical hospitality, quality network connectivity as well as optimal utility services (steady power and water supply).  

Financial standing:

Considering the financial stability of a data centre provider is important.  It is counterproductive to invest in a data centre that will close in just a few years. The best data centre providers should be able to support you for a minimum five years.  Can’t find financial records? Use the company’s date of establishment and the strength of their customer base as a measure of their financial viability.

It is time for your business to make the leap to data centre usage.