With the rising costs of renting physical data centers, businesses are finding it more financially viable to set up virtual data centers. Virtualization technology allows for greater flexibility in the way that your organization stores and processes its data, and helps you to improve quality control.
However, this technology isn’t suitable for everyone. When considering its implementation in your business, there are a number of factors which you must take into account. These cover a wide range of potential benefits and setbacks, which can make choosing the most effective virtual data center technology difficult.
Virtual data center technologies are being utilized by many businesses today as an affordable alternative to building actual data centers. This article breaks down two of these popular technologies and analyzes their strengths and weaknesses.
The virtual data center is a concept which is similar to cloud computing. It offers services to the customers based on affordable rates in various plans as per lease period and requirements. The virtual data centers are owned, managed and operated by service providers and offer services such as virtual servers, storage etc. The users or customers need not have to worry about hiring people for maintenance in order to manage the data centers.
The Virtual Data Center has both advantages and disadvantages which are listed below:
Advantages:
It offers services to the customers based on affordable rates in various plans as per lease period and requirements.
- It offers a robust software and hardware ecosystem.
- It offers great system performance by distributing load across cluster nodes.
- The users or customers need not have to worry about hiring people for maintenance in order to manage the data centers.
- The data centers offer instant scalability based on changes in capacity requirements by customers.
- The services are available always and without any fail over due to backup of systems.
- The Data Center is not a new concept. It has been around for several decades now. Companies first began to use the concept of the Data Center when they needed to reduce costs and increase efficiency in their data processing operations. We will consider the disadvantages of the Data Center in this article, along with the advantages offered by it.
Disadvantages of Data Center
- Companies hiring the resources from the data center providers will not have complete control locally. This is due to the fact that the human resources and hardware lies at the remote location.
- The usage and quality of data center services vary based on internet connectivity at the customer premises.
- There are limitations on security features offered by data center service providers.
- Some companies charge technical support fees from customers.
- In case of troubleshooting and issues, customers have to rely on support staff from data center providers. Hence resolution of the same depends on skills and knowledge of the support staff.
The world has changed, and with it the demands placed on data centers. In order to meet those demands, data center providers need to be flexible and able to adapt quickly.
The right partner should be able to help you navigate those changes while still providing the same level of quality service that you’ve come to expect.
In order to find that partner, there are several things you should consider:
- Cost and speed
While this is a cost-driven business, it can be a mistake to focus too much on the price tag. A low dollar per kW doesn’t always give companies the best solution for long-term success. It’s also about speed to market, and the right data center partner can mean the difference between the success and failure of a product.
- Security and compliance
At this point, customers consider compliance to be a given. That can mean up to 30,000 or 40,000 unique jurisdictions where providers need to meet compliance requirements just to meet base-level expectations. Physical security is also table stakes with most providers utilizing very similar tools and technologies to secure their campuses and data centers.
- Last-mile customization
The demands of today’s businesses are different than they were 10 years ago. The global economy has evolved, and our expectations have changed. As a result, the IT industry has changed too.
When evaluating data center partners, it’s critical to consider not just cost and speed, but also security and compliance, last-mile customization and more.
A.Cost and speed
While this is a cost-driven business, it can be a mistake to focus too much on the price tag. A low dollar per kW doesn’t always give companies the best solution for long-term success. It’s also about speed to market, and the right data center partner can mean the difference between the success and failure of a product.
B. Security and compliance
At this point, customers consider compliance to be a given. That can mean up to 30,000 or 40,000 unique jurisdictions where providers need to meet compliance requirements just to meet base-level expectations. Physical security is also table stakes with most providers utilizing very similar tools and technologies to secure their campuses
The right data center partner will have high-quality standards, but it’s also about speed to market, and the right data center partner can mean the difference between the success and failure of a product. If a company needs to quickly scale up or down, they need someone who can meet their needs in a timely manner.
C.Flexibility
The flexibility offered by many providers today is unparalleled when compared with even just five years ago. This means that companies are able to scale up or down based on their own business needs instead of being locked into long-term contracts for more space than they need at any given time.
D. Customer service
Customer service is another area where there has been a significant improvement over recent years. It’s no longer acceptable for customers to wait weeks or months for simple requests like new circuits or additional racks; companies expect immediate responses from their vendors on all fronts — and rightly so! E. Expertise
Finally, expertise is always important when evaluating potential partners because you want them to be experts not just in their own offerings but also with regard to your specific needs as well
Data center providers need to offer last-mile customization because today’s customers are demanding a more personalized experience. The good news is that this trend should continue to grow as we become even more connected and mobile. But it also means that companies must be able to offer their customers the ability to customize their data center space, whether they’re looking for a dedicated circuit or an extra rack or cabinet.
- Flexibility and agility
There’s nothing worse than being locked into a long-term commitment with your vendor only to find out they aren’t delivering on what they promised or they’ve been acquired by another company and now you have no choice but to switch vendors. It can be very discouraging, especially when it comes time for expansion or new projects, which means you may have no choice but to look elsewhere for service providers who can accommodate your needs without making you jump through hoops.
The data center is the foundation of your business. In order to be successful, you need a partner who understands your business, can offer viable solutions and can easily scale with your business as it grows. However, finding the right partner is easier said than done. Here are seven critical considerations when evaluating your next data center partner:
- Growing densities and diverse rack designs
As data center technology and designs have evolved, more are being built to accommodate higher densities. Today, it’s not unheard of for a hyper-scale client to reach up to 50kW per rack. But the growth isn’t limited to hyperscalers – enterprise clients too are looking for ways to up the ante, density-wise.
- Network flexibility
Network flexibility is becoming table stakes, including multi-site data center and connectivity options. Customers need to have options because they’re communicating with so many different levels and looking at so many different multi-sites. The more flexibility a company has, the better.
- Security and compliance
Today’s customers expect that their data center provider will meet security requirements such as SSAE 16/SOC 1 or SOC 2 Type II audits. It’s also essential that a company has a written security policy that outlines how physical access is controlled
- Planning for the unknown
Increasingly, larger and larger pieces of contiguous space are becoming part of client “mandatory” when engaging a data center provider. Even if the client doesn’t need the space today, space means flexibility and scalability. Hyperscale clients, for example, often need to scale suddenly to meet demand, but they don’t often have the ability to predict where or when they’ll need to expand their collocation data center footprint. So, having room to grow is a hedge against future uncertainty.
To Sum up
Organizations should also look for a provider that offers disaster recovery and backup services as part of their core offerings. This helps minimize any downtime that could result from an outage or other disaster – and prevents any unexpected costs from mounting up.
Finally, companies need to ensure their chosen data center offers scalable solutions that meet their specific needs at the most competitive rates – without sacrificing the quality of service.
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