From building stats to site visits, researching a new colocation provider can be overwhelming.
There are a lot of moving parts and people from multiple departments who need to be involved in a project of this level.
It’s up to your team to plan it well and give it due diligence.
Here are our top tips to making sure your team keeps everyone informed while evaluating potential data centers.
What are the important factors to consider?
When you’re making big decisions about technology, it’s not something you can decide in a day and make a change.
You must make sure the decision is fully vetted throughout your organization and goes through the proper channels.
Project management. From the very beginning, you should include your company’s project management team. Discovering the scope of the project from the very beginning saves time, money and effort down the line. You don’t want to be three months in and have a change in budget or timeline. Project managers are trained to ensure that everyone up and down the ladder is included at the proper time in the planning.
Planning. When you’re considering a new colocation provider, there are a lot of valuable questions to ask. Make sure you have the subject matter experts (SMEs) included during the planning stages. But be cautious about a huge invite list. Not everyone needs to be included in every planning meeting — don’t waste people’s time by inviting everyone to everything. It can be more helpful to send an after-meeting summary, and direct questions to specific attendees.
Finance team. During the planning stages, make sure the finance team is represented. When you’re just starting information gathering, it’s important that the finance team understands the viability of company options. They should be in the know about what your SMEs are recommending. Is it more cost-effective to use a rented facility, or one that’s owned? It’s also important to fully understand the pros and cons of buying or leasing colocation space.
Network team. The network team can offer specific insight about how colocation and your internet connectivity will intersect. Make sure to include important conversations around what you currently do, and what colocation can offer. How does your company connect its IT structure and people? Where are they going to connect? What are the secondary effects of your decisions?
Working within your timeline
Before contacting a potential vendor, make sure you understand your own timeline to go live. Work backward from your “go live” date.
You’ll need to consider the physical move, carrier circuit moves, the backup/testing period, and vendor installs in order to make your space ready.
Some data centers can quickly accomplish their own tasks and in some instances, may even assist with referrals and leverage relationships they may have with other providers.
Moving your organization’s IT infrastructure can be daunting, but knowing you’ve selected the right provider can bring some peace of mind to the project.
You can learn more by downloading our Top 9 Considerations When Shopping for a Data Center.
Want to see if FIBERTOWN is a good fit for your organization? Contact us today to set up a site visit.