Data Center providers: what to consider before signing an agreement

The evolution of Digital Transformation drives the production and use of data in businesses of all sizes and segments. Therefore, more and more businesses are looking for a Data Center provider.

The point is that the market is full of these providers and choosing the ideal partner can be a major challenge. With that in mind, we have prepared this content to help you make a secure and advantageous decision.

Below, you can learn which aspects should not be ignored before signing an agreement and choosing your Data Center. Check it out!

What is the importance of Data Center providers?

Never before has so much data been produced as today, and according to the IDC, the world will have a total of 175 Zettabytes of data by 2025. This is a reflection of the digitalization of companies, the increase in internet searches, social networks and various other common activities in the Digital Age.

With so much information available, organizations have the opportunity to turn numbers into intelligence to grow and captivate their clients. But to get there, they need the support of Data Center providers.

These partners are responsible for the secure storage, availability and connectivity of information. Without them, your business fails to take advantage of this sea of valuable data and risks falling behind the competition.

Therefore, it goes without saying that a good provider can drive business growth. After all, it provides the necessary infrastructure to implement truly strategic management, with agility and cost savings.

Checklist for choosing a Data Center provider

The Data Center is the “brain” of the company. There, you will find state-of-the-art equipment to receive, store, process and distribute the information your business needs to grow.

From storage to data processing to obtaining value and answers, everything goes through its robust IT infrastructure. In such a competitive market, you can’t really ignore its role, can you?

It is important to note that data centers have evolved with technology. That is, the companies providing these services are betting on new features to provide more agility, security and quality to their services.

But the truth is that Data Centers are not all the same! You need to make the right choice to take advantage of the best the market has to offer. Here’s what to review before choosing a Data Center!

1. Infrastructure and scalability

Data Center providers need to have a strong infrastructure, capable of scaling with business growth and offering the necessary technological support throughout the transformation journey. After all, the desire and objective of every company is to grow.

A “brain” that cannot expand is more of a hindrance than a help. Therefore, it is important to research and select a provider with the best and largest infrastructure.

These characteristics will ensure scalability to operations, with right sized resources, considering both present and especially future demands.

2. Connectivity

A Data Center without connectivity is like an island. The provider you choose needs to understand and actively work to ensure that your data is always available and can be shared in real time, wherever you are.

With today’s highly dynamic and decentralized operations, data needs to flow from one point to another. Even more so, it must be available to a wide range of stakeholders, ensuring a fast and intelligent decision-making process.

In this context, latency is also an important point, since information must be delivered in the shortest possible time.

As you are well aware, critical processes (such as financial ones) cannot suffer from bottlenecks and slowdowns. Information needs to be updated and transmitted in real time, saving you from errors and misinterpretation.

3. Credibility

The credibility of the Data Center provider is an indication of its level of quality and reliability. A growing demand has led many companies to enter the data center market, but quantity is not synonymous with quality.

Therefore, before making any decision, your company needs to take a careful look at your partner’s background, seeking someone with more experience and greater credibility. Remember that your success will depend on the efficiency and commitment of this business.

The safest decision is to team up with serious companies that possess the know-how and broad market recognition to navigate the challenges of the Digital Age.

4. Client satisfaction level

Satisfied (or dissatisfied) clients cannot be ignored. This is one of the biggest indications that the company is serious, efficient, secure and committed to the development of its clients.

Therefore, before signing an agreement, look at how the Data Center provider handles its clients and their needs. Are there complaints? Failures? How can they impact your routine?

Remember that a good partner should be accessible and interconnected with the companies that hire them. In addition, it needs to be involved with the client’s projects, assisting and seeking new solutions to optimize their processes and results.

5. Quality of support and service

The quality and agility of support and service should also be evaluated. Have you ever considered the impact of not getting an answer when you need it most?

The offer of a consultative service and focus on the client are key benefits that make the difference in the daily routine of any company. Similarly, the use of automated tools that report failures in operations to the partner is very valuable.

This not only reduces response time, but assists everyone involved in optimizing the processes, making them more stable, secure and reliable.

6. Security

Finally, you should evaluate the level of security offered by the Data Center provider. This is a critical point of Digital Transformation, as many cyber threats can affect data privacy and business continuity.

In this context, the choice of a partner should be based on a careful analysis of the technological infrastructure of the data environment. Key aspects include the availability of protection tools, as well as the application of security policies and good practices focused on infrastructure and people.

Remember that good partners put security first because they know the financial and reputational damage that intrusions and data leaks can entail.

The ideal Data Center provider drives your business to grow!

The evaluation of Data Center providers is one of the most important steps for the success of a business in the Digital Age. The time invested with these analyses will represent a fluid, safe operation based on the strategic use of data.

By joining forces with specialized partners, your company is much more likely to grow efficiently, overcoming the different challenges that may arise.

In addition, this is a more economical and strategic way to gain access to cutting-edge resources and policies, which would be more difficult if acting on your own and without the help of Data Center providers.

Did you like this content? Make sure to check out our post on connectivity issues and learn more!

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Learn about the different types of Data Centers and their main characteristics

Data is at the center of corporate decisions, and this requires leaders to be knowledgeable about the types of Data Centers available. After all, the market is evolving and the infrastructure used must be able to meet the demands of the business.

In the past, file location determined where the work was to be done. Today, this reality has shifted and the existence of several teams operating remotely and at the same time makes it clear that data must always be available and accessible.

The good news is that the Data Center is no longer constrained to the perimeters of your company. More flexible, cost-effective, and highly efficient models already exist – for all sizes, demands, and types of business. Would you like to learn more? Just keep on reading!

The role of the Data Center in the evolution of companies

A Data Center is designed to handle a large volume of data. In an increasingly competitive and strategic market, it becomes clear how vital and decisive it is for business development.

Thanks to this structure, your business can operate efficiently and collaboratively, regardless of where employees are located. After all, fast and secure data traffic supports decision making and various digital capabilities that depend on this information.

Therefore, the Data Center is not only useful, it is an essential element in the daily routine of companies in the Digital Age, performing different functions, such as:

  • Hosting software and applications, such as CRM and ERP;
  • Leveraging Big Data, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence;
  • Securing high-volume e-commerce transactions;
  • Ensuring secure and efficient data storage;
  • Running backup routines;
  • Ensuring easy connectivity to the main carriers and internet exchanges in the market.

That said, it is no exaggeration to say that practically all sectors, in one way or another, depend on the resources provided by Data Centers.

Data Center architecture: what do you find there?

When we talk about the architecture of a Data Center, we focus on how this environment is organized and on the elements that comprise it. It is a curious subject, since many people are actually unaware of how it all works.

In practice, a Data Center gathers everything needed to store and process data with security, agility and high availability, such as:

  • Physical servers;
  • Hard drives;
  • Network and connection equipment;
  • Expert staff; and
  • Complex power supply and cooling systems.

In addition to all this, companies have access to modern backup systems, which ensures that stored data is secure and readily available. After all, that is where valuable information for organizations is stored.

Therefore, the environment needs to be monitored 24/7. Because in the end, if it stops, so do the businesses.

This scenario shows that maintaining a Data Center infrastructure is not a simple task. And this is exactly the reason that many businesses are opting for decentralized models provided by specialized companies.

Learn about the 5 types of Data Centers and their characteristics

A survey conducted by Dell’Oro Group predicts that global Data Center spending will grow 10% over the next 5 years, totaling USD 350 billion. Given the exponential growth in demand, it is normal for new technologies to be implemented and others to be improved.

To make a smart investment, you need to know more about the different types of Data Centers available on the market. We have highlighted 5 of them for you here. Check it out!

1. Enterprise

The Enterprise model is one of the most common on the market. Its main characteristic is that the entire Data Center infrastructure is located within company premises, making it exclusive.

Although it involves high assembly and maintenance costs, several organizations opt for this format. This is because it allows greater control over security-related operations and processes.

2. Colocation

Colocation, unlike Enterprise, is based on decentralized management. In this format, the physical infrastructure is not inside the company, but in an external environment that is run by a provider.

Therefore, the business can contract space, hardware, bandwidth, and various Data Center solutions, according to its demand. This means that even without a large budget for your own infrastructure, you can enjoy all the advantages of having a data center.

You pay for what you use, and the vendor is responsible for keeping your data secure and accessible at all times. And the best part is: if the company grows, you just expand the storage space, simply and economically.

3. Internet

This type of data center is cloud-based and classified as virtual. This also means that there is no need to build your own infrastructure, since the information will be hosted and processed on a provider’s servers.

It is an interesting model, especially due to its flexibility and scalability. In addition, it democratizes access to computing resources remotely, as a service.

It is important to understand that the infrastructure is owned by the provider and will be shared with different companies. Thus, the information is accessed over the Internet.

4. Hyperscale

Hyperscale is a type of Data Center designed to serve large-scale operations. As such, it relies on a robust infrastructure, capable of supporting activities that demand large storage volumes and high processing power.

Because it is vital for important activities, the model needs to have reinforced mechanisms to ensure the continuity of operations. In other words, it has a state-of-the-art infrastructure with redundancy, backup, and complex communication and power supply networks.

5. Edge

Among the different types of Data Centers, the Edge model has become more and more common in the market. It is geared toward operations that demand faster communication between users and servers, solving the issue of latency.

The name itself explains how this model works. In this format, the Data Centers are smaller and more numerous in order to cover a larger area of territory and be as close as possible to the end users of the services.

It is worth noting that this is the format used by major streaming providers such as Netflix and YouTube. This is because it offers a more agile, low-latency connection, ideal for delivering media and services in real time.

Your Data Center is no longer constrained to the perimeter of your company!

As we have seen, the Data Center is no longer constrained to the perimeter of your company. Advances in technology and data storage are driving new models, ensuring more flexibility, security, and agility for business management.

In this context, businesses of all sizes can fully exploit the power of data and invest in the digitalization of their operations. There are Data Center types for all needs – and now you know a little about them.

To help you on this journey and in choosing the ideal model, we would like to suggest reading another post on our blog: Understand why your company should not maintain an Internal Data Center!

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