ARTICLE
Datacenters – Build or outsource
The datacenter facility has emerged as a critical infrastructure for housing computer systems
and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems, generally
including backup power, redundant data communications connections, environmental controls
and security devices. HVAC and fire protection systems become critical to system maintenance
and recovery.
Any build versus outsource decision could be viewed through the prism of core competence increasing performance and organizational delivery through a focus on its core value activities.
Unfortunately, in the past, multiple extraneous factors muddied the perspective. The key
difference is that when an activity is core and business critical it will receive top-level attention
and focus. An IT team’s time should be dedicated to the activities that provide strategic
advantage to the enterprise and allow resources to be focused only on those key areas. The
decision to outsource a datacenter requires careful examination of options at a strategic level
from a business vision perspective and a thorough tactical evaluation on an operating plane
involving asset inventories, facility requirement estimations, and budgetary considerations.
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Outsourcing Vs Building a Datacenter
Outsourcing a datacenter
Building a datacenter
A predictable and operational expenditure
model with costs that are easy to predict
and that increase at a consistent rate
over the life of the datacenter
Complete control over operating
environment from who can access the
facility to the temperature that it runs at
Additional capacity can be brought on
quickly and only as-needed, shielding you
from having to build out extra capacity
that might not be used for many years
Very low risk of losing your lease and
being forced to leave the facility
Better access to space and power
through the colocation provider’s
purchasing power
Ability to leverage and share existing
space, giving IT staff the ability to work in
close proximity to the data center floor for
a low cost
Data center is run by experienced
professionals with more experience and
expertise in the practice of running an
efficient and highly available data center
facility
An ecosystem of partners in the same
facility that can be leveraged with
extremely low latency via a cross-connect
Advantages of outsourcing your datacenter
Many organizations whether small, medium and large companies across various industry
verticals, have realized that outsourcing their datacenters is the best way to align IT and
business in the most cost-effective manner. There are many important business benefits
associated with outsourcing - organizations can gain higher operational and financial
efficiencies, enjoy proactive monitoring and management of their hosted IT infrastructure, and
increase customer satisfaction, while businesses can stay focused on their core business areas.
Benefits not only include protection of IT infrastructure from technology obsolescence but also
allow maximum freedom and flexibility in daily IT operations, while simultaneously lowering their
financial and operational overheads. Benefits include:
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Align to changing business needs
Compliance with corporate governance
Cost advantage
Customized solutions
Scalable IT operations to meet growing business demand
Access to latest technology
Business continuity
Accountability through SLAs
Access to skilled expertise
Energy efficient datacenters
High Availability and reliability
Leverage the true potential of IT; not just managing costs
Netmagic Solutions
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03
What is getting outsourced?
Typical areas delegated to managed and outsourced datacenter providers include:
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Trouble ticketing and help desk
End-user support and infrastructure operations
Hardware maintenance and network operations
Monitoring and management (server, systems, etc.)
Security
HVAC
Disaster recovery, storage management and backup (power, data)
Full functionality and support of all elements within their datacenters
The TCO Advantage
Predicting and measuring Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for the physical infrastructure for
network rooms and datacenters is required for Return-on-investment (ROI) analysis and other
business decision processes. In addition, an understanding of the cost drivers of TCO provides
insight into opportunities to control costs.
Organizations, today will need to assess the benefits of a build or buy decision based on the
impact IT enablement, business continuity, process excellence, privacy and compliance
requirements – in line with Board vision and cost compulsions. And as businesses look further
afield at outsourcing or out locating their datacenters, they need to carefully evaluate the
providers in various geographies. The spectrum of decision factors will range from management
mandates to energy efficiency.
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