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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Vendor co-location site visits can validate decisions or uncover vendor inadequacies and biases. Conduct site visits to shortlisted data center co-location vendors to add another layer of due diligence to the final vendor selection.

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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...

Enterprises beginning the selection process for co-location vendors should establish a set of criteria to evaluate the vendor's managed services offerings, regardless of present need. Managed services may not be in scope when first embarking on...

When a shortlist of co-location vendors has been determined, IT must complete an additional key step in due diligence that includes validating vendor claims and following up with site visits to each potential location. Be prepared to confirm...

Template/Policy

Organizations that have determined a shortlist of co-location vendors (likely after the RFP process) should conduct additional due diligence before making the final decision. Vendor co-location site visits can validate decisions or uncover...

When a shortlist of co-location vendors has been determined, IT must complete an additional key step in their due diligence that includes validating vendor claims and following up with site visits to each potential location. Be prepared to...