July 18
When choosing colocation partners, several crucial aspects need to be considered to enhance capacity planning efficiency. Here are four important factors to keep in mind when thinking of the future of your data center.
Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Software
Premier colocation facilities leverage DCIM software to oversee their entire infrastructure. These robust platforms offer data center managers and customers a panoramic view of operations and performance. They enable monitoring of power and bandwidth usage over a period, enhancing cooling efficiency, and furnishing a comprehensive summary of deployed resources down to the rack level. The information provided by DCIM tools simplifies the task for IT teams in monitoring their existing capacity usage, thereby allowing for an improved assessment of when additional resources will be needed to meet increasing demand.
Right of First Refusal (ROFR) Space Management
Colocation data centers house multiple clients within a common server room. Upon the initial asset migration into the facility, the equipment is generally organized in one contiguous area for optimal efficiency and performance. However, future requirements to refresh colocated servers might necessitate deploying the equipment elsewhere in the facility due to space limitations. Providers that incorporate "preemptive rights" clauses in their contracts give clients the chance to consolidate their assets whenever space opens up. By seizing these opportunities, organizations can ensure their capacity expansion is as streamlined as possible.
Dynamic Workload Versatility
Deploying and setting up new equipment in a data center is a time-consuming process, particularly in a time of component shortages. By collaborating with a colocation data center that offers adaptable access to cloud infrastructure, organizations can swiftly provision the resources they need to scale capacity and manage workloads more effectively. If the colocation provider includes flexible billing arrangements, companies can temporarily employ cloud resources until they are able to install extra equipment. Once the new hardware is operational, they can shift workloads back to the data center and reduce their cloud expenditure. Alternatively, colocation customers could elect to lease equipment rather than taking the time to provision and install their own servers.
Build-to-Suit Services
Colocation providers that offer "build-to-suit" options can dramatically expand an organization’s ability to plan for future capacity by allowing them to tailor their data center space according to their specific needs. Instead of conforming to pre-existing constraints and layouts, they can design their future infrastructure to maximize efficiency and cater to specific business objectives. This can range from defining unique power configurations to specifying the physical arrangement of servers within a rack. As business needs evolve, companies can adapt their data center strategy accordingly, ensuring optimal utilization of resources and preventing over-provisioning or under-provisioning of capacity. This not only streamlines operations but also contributes to cost efficiencies in the long run.
Enhance Your Capacity Planning Strategy with Evoque
With multiple data center locations positioned in key growth markets across the country, Evoque has the rock-solid infrastructure in place to support the most ambitious capacity planning strategy. As a carrier-neutral data center provider, we offer access to a rich connectivity marketplace that allows customers to quickly and easily connect with their preferred cloud platforms and ISPs.
To learn more about how migrating your tech stack into an Evoque data center can put your IT operations on a path to sustainable growth, talk to one of our colocation specialists today.
