Solution Set

IT managers may only face a data center move once or twice in their professional lives, and therefore may have little knowledge of how to approach the project.

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Note

The decision to co-locate all or part of the data center facility can be a risky one. Because the decision to build vs. buy is essentially one of cost, IT decision makers must put in the time and effort in requirements gathering, determining the...

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Ongoing management of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) and co-location contract is critical for a successful co-location engagement. Assessments should be conducted at least annually to ensure the co-location vendor is complying with the...

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A co-location Service Level Agreement (SLA) provides a definition of performance for the negotiated service. SLAs ensure accountability on the part of the service provider and also determine the price of the service. Understand and develop...

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After defining the organization's requirements for data center co-location service offerings, expectations for the engagement methodology should be defined. Many organizations run into trouble in the co-location agreement when a vendor's...

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Co-location recovery services deliver high availability using replication and backup technologies to ensure continuity of enterprise operations. Many organizations engage in co-location purely for recovery services; however, recovery services...

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Basic services for co-location are a commodity amongst vendor offerings. Understanding the business needs helps to narrow down the list of vendors and aid in the selection process. Choose a set of criteria to base the decision on, before...

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Managed services offerings build on basic co-location with added services provided by the vendor. Regardless of immediate needs, IT should include managed services criteria in the vendor selection process. Choose a set of criteria based on...

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The data center build versus buy decision is essentially a cost decision. Many organizations that gather requirements and forecast data center costs into the future will find that over time, a co-location strategy is the less expensive...

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Successful data center renovation projects involve more than refreshing specific components of the facility. Renovation projects are more complex than first thought and require specific design and requirement steps. Define and scope the data...

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Completing an annual review of the data center resource utilization and physical condition plays a crucial part in overall capacity planning and IT effectiveness. Comparing the current base-line state against information captured in future...

Solution Set

This solution set will provide you with step-by-step design, planning and selection tools in order to define a data center renovation plan to reduce cost and risk while supporting cost-effective long-term growth.

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A data center renovation project charter is essential to the planning phase of the project. It lays out important information, such as the project description, potential risks, and communication plans to keep all stakeholders informed. Complete...

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IT leaders tasked with renovating a data center often experience scope creep and budget issues in later stages if initial planning, design and requirements are not properly outlined in beginning stages of the project. Start the project off on...

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Data center facilities call for specific industrial design and engineering requirements to meet needs for fire-protection, power provisioning, stand-by power, cooling, physical security, and layout. Therefore, selecting a contractor is one of...

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When meeting with potential contractors for the data center renovation project, organizations should use a scripted interview process to aid in decision making. Each contractor should be scored based on a standard scoring method to ensure...

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Data center renovation projects can lead to unexpected complexity and require the assistance of mechanical engineers or contractors in planning and implementation stages. Selecting the right contractor for the project should be based criteria...

Solution Set

42% of IT leaders have been tasked with completing a data center build-out in 2010. Often, the organization lacks previous experience building a data center.

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Many IT departments lack internal expertise to undertake a data center build project as facilities require specific industrial design and engineering requirements to meet the needs for fire-protection, power provisioning, stand-by power,...

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One of the most important phases a new data center build is selecting the building site. Whether it is an existing building or a new construction site, IT must exercise due diligence by completing a site evaluation for each potential location....

Holding onto old equipment in the data center may appear to reduce IT spend, but can actually cost more in the long run. While there may be a gradual accumulation of costs associated with maintaining older systems, these costs can add up to a...

Organizations planning to build or refresh the data center should consider the build versus buy decision in the planning phase. This decision requires careful examination and evaluation of options involving asset inventories, facility...

Sizing the data center can be a difficult task, especially when factoring in future business needs. Employee-based sizing is one of many methods that can aid in estimating the required size when building or refreshing the data center. Estimate...