Plant pots. Staplers. A door. All very useful things for a business to have, we admit. But what every organisation really needs is a data centre. Don’t look at us like that! As if we’re mad. Possibly even a bit geeky. We’re not. Really! We’re just people who like looking out for others. So think of us as superheroes if you like. Cool ones without the lycra.
So a data centre – this is the jargon-y bit – is a facility which houses computers. And these computers contain all of the information of a company. Interesting so far, isn’t it? Logic would have it therefore than large companies have large data centres full of thousands of computers all doing computery things 24 hours a day. And luckily for us, logic is correct in this case. Large companies do have large data centres. And with large data centres comes great responsibility. And the necessity for Buckingham Palace style security. And sophisticated cooling systems – not easy when there’s a hose-pipe ban in place. And back-up systems in case of outage. All of these things mean that data centres can be extremely expensive to set up and run. So, why then, does your business need data centre services? Here are the answers.
1. Spiralling costs. Downwards. No, we’re not contradicting ourselves here. Not at all. You see, you could do it yourself. You could invest in 900 Commodore 64s, 45 computer nerds with their own soldering irons and a couple of former nightclub bouncers to handle your security. Then, when it all goes wrong, you could bring in the data centre service providers. Or, you could skip straight past the local boot-fair and just have the pros do it in the first place. By using a data centre service, you eliminate the need for large investments in facilities, equipment, security and energy. A survey in Sourcingmag.com, reported that 44 per cent of businesses outsource their data centre services for this very reason. And quite frankly, if it says it on Sourcingmag.com, then why are we even thinking about it?
2. “So, you know about USB ports I take it?” That’s just one of the questions you may find yourself asking IT experts if you decide to hire specialists yourself. And that’s a bit like asking a cow if it knows it’s eating grass. Pointless, as neither will bother replying. By using data centre services, you can leverage the IT expertise of experienced data centre staff without having to hire your own specialised team. Or looking on Google for interview questions.
3. There’s no such thing as a handyman. The days when everyone in the business knew how to do everything have gone. By outsourcing your data centre services, you can free up your staff to focus on internal business operations, not work out if they can fry an egg on a server. Data centre staff are experienced in the business. Let them take care of day to day maintenance issues while your staff focus on your bottom line.
4. Tick Tock. Yes, there’s also the time issue. By outsourcing, you can also speed up the time it takes to complete data centre projects. Doing such projects internally can take years. Let’s be honest, most workers take half-an-hour to make a cup of tea. What are they going to be like faced with something that sizzles and bangs when you add sugar to it? Outsourcing can get the job done properly within months.
5. The man who knew too much. Data centre managers often have to manage a number of data centres whose primary focus is delivering data centre services. Which basically means they know their stuff. And more. They will baffle you with words long and short, but at the end of the day they’ll have the expertise to deliver a top service while applying industry best practices to their operations. Which is much more preferable to putting Mike in charge. Yes, he’s the one who tried to fry an egg and sprinkled sugar in the sockets.
6. Grow today. Not tomorrow. Assuming your business isn’t ‘Bob’s Burgers’ on the A27, the chances are you’ll be looking to grow and transform. By outsourcing data centre services, you free up internal resources to focus entirely on the critical process. And if you are from ‘Bob’s Burgers’, well you’ll just have to be content in the knowledge that the only thing growing is your customers’ waistband.
7. Customers! Without them, you’re going no where. The last thing you want is to have to cancel a business meeting because everything your company has ever done is being slowly deleted from your server after Mike – yes, him again – got superglue down the sides of the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys. By outsourcing your data centre services, you free up employees to focus on customer retention and business operations. And that’s the way it should be.
