When looking for a colocation facility, security should be one of your greatest concerns. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of what to look for, why it is beneficial for security, and why it’s important for your business. If you are looking for a trusted and secure colocation facility in the Atlanta region, contact Digital Service Consultants today.
1. Make Sure The Facility Has Sufficient Power Density To Support Your Current And Future Needs
In the past, data centers were designed with power densities of less than 100 W per square foot and often only 40 to 60 W per square foot. Newer technologies, however, need higher kW-per-cabinet densities of power. It is a good idea to choose a smaller, high-density facility over a larger, low-density facility to ensure you have enough power to run your systems.
Why It’s Beneficial For Security:
Having sufficient power is important to keep you always in touch with your data.
Why It’s Important For Your Business:
You want to make sure that the data center you choose has enough power to support the technologies that you are using now and those that you may need in the future. Larger centers with lower wattage per square foot may actually cost you more money than smaller ones with higher power densities because they need to lease or keep up a larger space.
2. Ask About Their Network Redundancy
Network redundancy refers to having a backup plan if network connectivity is interrupted. Find out if the colocation facility has a variety of network carriers that can provide network connectivity to the location.
Why It’s Beneficial For Security:
If your network is down, that means that you have no access to your important and sensitive data.
Why It’s Important For Your Business:
Most business locations only have the option of a small number of network carriers to provide service to them. If these services are down, then it can have detrimental consequences for your business in loss of sales or poor customer service.
3. Look For A Data Center That Is Making The Most Of Its Space
Just because a data center has the largest area, doesn’t mean that it is making the most of that space. If a smaller facility is able to fit the same amount of equipment as a larger facility has into a smaller space, then they will be able to reduce their operating costs. According to Forsythe analysis, for each cabinet that is consolidated in a data center, a savings of about $10,000 in non-recurring costs (NRC) and $3,000 in monthly recurring costs (MRC) can be realized.
Why It’s Beneficial For Security:
If the colocation facility is able to save money on their monthly and non-recurring costs, they will have extra to re-invest in greater security features and the most updated equipment.
Why It’s Important For Your Business:
If the colocation facility is saving on their non-recurring and monthly recurring costs, you should also be able to reap the benefits with lower rates.
4. Choose A Safe Location
You may want to choose a location that rarely experiences natural disasters such as flooding, earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Some businesses choose a data center that is located far enough away from their main office so that both locations will not be affected by the same disaster.
Why It’s Beneficial For Security:
Natural disasters can wipe out a data center and all of the sensitive data stored there in the blink of an eye.
Why It’s Important For Your Business:
Loss of data as a result of a natural disaster can be devastating for any business. If your data center and your main place of business are affected by the same disaster, you may even lose all of your backups.
5. Ask About The Physical Security Measures They Have In Place
A secure colocation facility will have more than one level of physical security both inside and outside of their premises. Find out what areas are covered by surveillance cameras and if you are able to install your own security cameras. Other security measures could include pin-pad access and 24-hour surveillance.
Why It’s Beneficial For Security:
Your data is not only at risk of being stolen over the Internet by hackers, but it can be physically stolen or tampered with at the facility. That is why multiple layers of security are important.
Why It’s Important For Your Business:
Your data is the lifeblood of your business so it needs to be protected. Stolen or damaged data can cost your company immeasurably. Loss of data could mean that you could lose the trust of your customers or stakeholders; it can also mean loss of business due to the downtime that it takes to recover the information.
6. Make Sure That The Colocation Facility Is Actually Better Than Your Current Facility
Your colocation facility should be equipped with power, cooling and networking capabilities that are as good as or better than what you have in your data center.
Why It’s Beneficial For Security:
A better equipped facility should be able to keep your equipment up during outages and give you the access to the information that you need when you need it.
Why It’s Important For Your Business:
If your colocation center is better equipped than your main building, then they should be able to keep you up and running during any outages.
7. Check To See That The Center Is Following Compliance Guidelines
Verify that your colocation facility is SSAE 16 compliant and that they will support a 3rd party audit at no additional cost to you. If they claim to be Uptime-certified then make sure that their certification with the Uptime Institute is valid.
Why It’s Beneficial For Security:
If a provider is not being honest about the certifications they hold, you cannot trust them with your sensitive data.
Why It’s Important For Your Business:
You want to make sure that you are dealing with a company that you can trust with your sensitive data and a company that actually knows what they are doing.
8. Find Out If Their Service Agreements Are Flexible
Often service agreements are written in favor of the service provider. Make sure you check out their service agreement and ask about items on it that are important for your business. When you initially speak with the provider, find out whether or not they would be willing to revise or include items that you deem are critical for your business before you choose to go with them.
Why It’s Beneficial For Security:
It is a good idea to have in writing all of the security features that the facility has promised you so that you can feel comfortable that they will be provided.
Why It’s Important For Your Business:
You want to choose a provider who is willing to work with you and whose service agreement is satisfactory for both parties involved, not just the provider. Once you have signed the agreement, it is too late to change it.
9. Make Sure That The Colocation Facility Will Allow You To Expand
Ask your service provider if you will be able to modify your service agreement as your business changes and grows. Find out also if there is room for you to expand if you need more power or space as your business grows.
Why It’s Beneficial For Security:
You want to be dealing with a facility that is able to allow you to expand and can keep up with the added security features that may be required for that expansion.
Why It’s Important For Your Business:
You don’t know how fast your business might grow, so you want to make sure that your provider will allow for that growth so you won’t be held back and without the vital resources that you need for your expansion.
10. Ask About Any Managed Services They Provide
Find out what comprehensive managed services the colocation facility will provide you with. It is also helpful to know about the kinds of additional managed services they could provide and how much these will cost.
Why It’s Beneficial For Security:
Having a managed service that can immediately address any security issue as soon as it comes up is a huge benefit.
Why It’s Important For Your Business:
You don’t want to have to send out a technician to the facility every time a switch needs to be flipped, so having a basic management package can offer big savings in time and manpower. As your business grows you may also want to free up your technicians for more important business objectives and allow a managed service to take care of mundane maintenance for you.
For more information on colocation Facilities and colocation hosting check out the following articles:
Server Colocation in Atlanta: The Ultimate Guide 2018
The Difference Between Managed Hosting And Colocation Hosting
Understanding The Benefits Of Colocation Hosting
Colocation Pricing: The Definitive Guide On What To Expect (2018 Report)
For A Secure Colocation Facility – Choose DSC
Your information is important and vital to the smooth running of your business, so don’t trust it to an unreliable provider. DSC has been a trusted name in the IT industry in Atlanta for more than 30 years. We also provide a full range of internet- related services including cloud backup, system monitoring, software hosting, dedicated email, website development and implementation, web hosting, e-commerce, security, and a variety of related products and services. We also provide network support for Linus, Microsoft server and workstation platforms, Fortinet firewalls, and Cisco Systems. Contact us today for all of your internet-related requirements.
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