IO Blog

You’re no doubt familiar with the famous real estate mantra, “Location, location, location.”  Well, what’s true for homes also applies to data centers.  Location plays a major role in data center cost and service, so when searching for a home for your IT systems you’ll want to carefully consider where the facility is located as well as what it has to offer.

In the past, businesses generally selected a data center facility that was located within reasonable traveling distance of their main business site.  But thanks to ongoing advances in data center automation and remote management, proximity isn’t as important a consideration as it used to be.  In fact, many organizations intentionally use a back up facility located in another city or state simply because it provides added insurance against a local disaster bringing operations to a standstill.  For those increasingly rare times when a switch needs to be physically flicked or a disc has to be swapped, look for a data center that offer free Remote Hands service.  Here’s what to look for:

• Natural Environmental.  Most backup systems are only useful for a few days (at best).  Yet earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, floods and other catastrophes can knock a data center out commission for weeks, or even months, as the local infrastructure collapses and is then gradually rebuilt.  So when selecting a data center, think about the facility’s exposure to destructive natural forces.

• Local Environment.  Pricey real estate, high taxes and other unfriendly business conditions usually don’t have a big impact on data center services, yet these factors can drive costs through the roof.  Take this into consideration when evaluating data centers in different places.

• Local Utilities.  Data centers rely on local utilities, particularly power companies, for essential services, so it’s important to check the quality and cost of local electric services before you commit to any particular facility.  Additionally, backup power systems notwithstanding, you probably don’t want to risk deploying your equipment in an area that experiences brownouts and blackouts each summer.

• Carrier Proximity.  To maximize your communications options, as well as to ensure high reliability and performance, make sure that the data center offers close and direct proximity to a wide selection of top telecom carriers.

• Skilled Employee Base.  The cheapest and safest place to build a data center is probably way out in the country, many miles away from expensive cities.  But a data center located in the middle of nowhere will have a tough time finding and connecting to the vital resources it needs, including the skilled people required to keep the facility running at peak efficiency.  Locating your data center in an average city with a nearby major university and an educated workforce can help you keep costs down without heading to the boondocks.

• Physical Space.  If a data center is already bursting at the seams with no room for future expansion, it may not have space available for you when you’re ready to add new systems.

• Construction.  How a data center is constructed is as important as its placement.  The best facilities are the ones that have been custom designed and tailored for data center use.  Also pay close attention to the building techniques and materials used.  Thick steel-reinforced concrete walls, an insulated roof to minimize heat gain and a tight, insulated building envelope will reduce cooling requirements, creating an energy efficient data center.  Energy efficiency leads to lower operating costs.