02-06-13 | Blog Post

Michigan Colocation: Where Should You Host Your Data?

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IBM estimates that 2,500,000,000,000,000,000 (2.5 quintillion) bytes of data are being created every day. Gone are the days when data can simply be stored on desktops. With people sending 144.8 billion emails sent per day, organizations and individuals creating 571 websites per minute, and Apple receiving 47,000 app downloads per minute; it is no wonder why 90% of today’s data has been created in the past two years. Today, companies – both large and small – must strategize and plan how and where all their data will be stored.

Many organizations have realized that outsourcing to a Michigan data center offers the most benefits and cost savings compared to building their own data center. According to Gartner’s Build or Buy? Economics of Data Center Facilities as previously written about in Key Benefits of Leasing vs. Building a Data Center, there are many positives to colocation or outsourcing managed services.

A predictable expense model – One of the most beneficial factors of outsourcing to a data center or colocation is the predictability of costs. Expenses can be spread over multiple years rather than a large capital expenditure occurred when building an internal data center. Monthly colocation or managed service costs can be budgeted and managed. With an internal data center, there can easily be unforeseen equipment failures or maintenance costs. Also, leasing managed servers eliminates the costs of hardware and software upgrades, yet allowing you to benefit from the latest and greatest technology.

Scalability – A scalable IT infrastructure allows companies to meet growing business demands and align with changing business needs. By using a colocation provider, expanding your data center footprint is much faster than expanding an internal data center. Increasing capacity or adding multiple servers is a simple phone call with colocation. Compare this timeframe with increasing capacity in an internal data where limited space and infrastructure may derail how quickly you can expand.

Access to experienced data center professionals – It’s very unlikely that you have the expertise in your IT staff to manage a data center effectively and efficiently along with understanding HIPAA and PCI compliance requirements. Plus, many organizations do not have the staff resources or funding to manage their own data center. A managed data center can provide a knowledgeable and experienced staff dedicated to providing you a secure, reliable, and multi-compliant data center. This allows your IT staff to focus on your own applications and servicing your own customers. In other words, “Let the experts do what they do best.”

HIPAA and PCI compliance – By partnering with a Michigan data center provider like Online Tech, you have all of the technical, physical and administrative security for HIPAA and PCI compliance. In addition, their staff has the expertise in understanding HIPAA and PCI compliance and can guide you through deployment and maintenance.

Lower energy and cooling costs – With energy and cooling costs being a large expense for data centers, any cost savings can affect the bottom line. Colocation providers have massive purchasing power to receive competitive pricing on utility rates and power and cooling infrastructure. Online Tech’s Michigan data centers has the additional benefit of being geographically located in a cool climate to lower cooling costs even more.

A Peace of Mind – Although Forrester did not include this in their report, I feel this is the most important benefit to outsourcing to a data center. If you selected the ideal data center, you should have all the confidence in the world that your data is always secure and always available.  And if something does go wrong, you have an experienced staff there to help 24 X 7 X 365.

Related Links:

Ensuring Uptime for Michigan Businesses: How to Configure a High Availability Rack
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The Best Place to Store Your Data: When Selecting a Data Center, Location Does Matter
Whether you are building a new data center or looking to colocate with a managed data center, selecting a good location is critical.  Your decision where to build a data center or colocate, can directly impact the total cost of … Continue reading →

High Density of Data Centers Correlate with Disaster Zones; Michigan Provides Safe Haven
Gigaom.com reports that the greatest amount of data centers are located, most inconveniently, in states that have also experienced the greatest number of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) disaster declarations. Coincidence? Not really – data centers can be found closer … Continue reading →

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