Time for Colocation? 5 Signs You’re Ready

In life, timing is everything. This is especially true in the business world. Just like great investors know when to put their money on the table, great IT teams know when to make changes to their company’s infrastructure.

Weighing out the decision about whether to stick to the status quo or upgrade to an expertly maintained colocation center? See if any of the following scenarios ring true:

1. YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE LACK OF SECURITY IN YOUR BUILDING.

Many businesses fall dangerously short when it comes to data center security. In an effort to protect your data even your computers and filing cabinets require passwords and locks. What built in security measures does your onsite data center have? Without monitored security features like video surveillance and programmed authorized access you’re vulnerable to thieves and anyone with motivation to tamper with or destroy your equipment. By moving your IT assets offsite, you protect your valuable data and eliminate vulnerability.

2. YOUR SERVER CLOSET IS TOO SMALL.

Simply put, many server closets simply won’t cut it if you want to reach your full business potential. Whether you aim to expand in the future or anticipate relocating at some point during your tenure, the investment required to properly outfit a data center space can grossly inhibit your progress. Moving your hardware offsite is a scalable option that lets you easily expand or contract with your business. It also allows you to set your sights on finding the minimum amount of space needed to house your staff instead of investing extra money to get more data center square footage. Additionally, colocation centers take the worry out of cooling maintenance issues or accidents like unintentional sprinkler deployment—both of which can be very damaging to IT assets.

3. YOU WANT TO PROTECT YOUR DATA FROM THE ELEMENTS.

North Texas is no stranger to severe weather. From tornadoes and storms to rolling blackouts and occasional seismic activity, lost network connections are a real threat that can negatively impact your business. The only corrective measure is increased redundancy. Still, it’s a critical investment that some companies simply aren’t in the position to make. Find yourself offline for even a few minutes and watch in horror as you incur major revenue losses. However, that’s nothing compared to the damage caused by a true calamity. Moving your facilities off-premise to a colocation center can give you peace of mind against the wreckage caused by weather emergencies like flood or fire.

4. YOU CAN’T RISK DOWNTIME.

Whether you are an essential service like a hospital or simply can’t afford the estimated $9,000/minute it takes to be offline, look to colocation centers to improve your reliability. To keep unplanned downtime to a minimum, you need continuous 24/7/365 monitoring, increased redundancy and storage backups. Critical periods require critical management to keep your vital systems up and running.

5. YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WAY TO SLIM YOUR IT BUDGET.

Go through your expenses line by line and you’re likely to see that maintaining an on-site data center is an astronomically costly expenditure. A colocation center folds in the cost of continuous monitoring and added security to protect against unforeseen threats while insuring optimal performance.
Ultimately, there are no shortage of benefits that come with a colocation center, but it can still be difficult to recognize the best time to make a switch. Though a colocation environment may not be right for every business, those in need may have a brief window of time to make a move before a data loss occurs.
Think you’re ready to do business in an expertly run colocation facility? Let GIP Networks put their disaster preparedness expertise to work for you. Contact us to speak with a professional about your many options.