Robin Ellis, group commercial director, BlueSquare Data, explores some of the universal preconceptions of the data centre industry. With his ‘view from the trenches’, Ellis examines the reality of the data centre experience and provides insight into what businesses should be looking for when choosing a facility

There are a number of myths circulating within the data centre industry that have now come to be commonly accepted as truths. It’s a situation that could be leading some companies towards making colocation or hosting choices that just aren’t right for their business. A concerning prospect given that now, more than ever before, businesses need to get the most out of investment and make the right decisions on data management.

Perception one:
London is the ideal place for your data. Close to transport links, near to businesses, and on the hub of fibre networks – it’s the perfect location.
Reality: London is a minefield. Data centres based in the city have to compete for power and fibre on an already oversubscribed network, thereby increasing the risk of outages and downtime for your servers.  It’s also quite important to consider why many companies use colocation services in the first place - to ensure business continuity. London is undeniably a prime target for terrorist attacks which means that any potential threat could shut down access indefinitely, leaving customers in the lurch.

Perception two:
London data centre space is more expensive and therefore much better quality and higher specification.
Reality: Any space in London is expensive - this isn't an indication in itself of high standards. Most London data centres are conversions of existing buildings, which means that the site is unlikely to be as fully specified as a purpose built site. The difference is clear with benefits such as secure car parking, or space for amenities such as meeting room and kitchen facilities – potentially high priorities in terms of security and comfort for both customers and their clients.

Perception three:
Only data centres based in London can achieve low levels of latency. Facilities outside of the M25 won't benefit from key fibre networks.
Reality: Many out-of-town data centres are now being built on top of newly laid fibre networks. Industrial estates in areas such as Milton Keynes are connected by high speed fibre links and sit on the fibre backbone. Milton Keynes data centres can therefore benefit from a latency of just 5 milliseconds, comparing favourably with London rivals.

Perception four:

All data centres can offer 24/7 access to its facilities. If a server goes down at 1am, I can always go straight in and sort it out, can't I? After all, London is the city that never sleeps.
Reality: Many data centres have very slow access procedures or may be beset by planning restrictions which limit or even prohibit, night-time and weekend access. This is in addition to offering unpredictable service from third party contracted-in staff. So what happens if you need access in an emergency? Most businesses will need to maintain an uninterrupted service, so check with your data centre provider that you’ll have access when you need it and whether they employ and train their own staff.

Perception five:
Staff managing the physical security of the building are as highly specialised as those looking after the IT security and maintenance.
Reality: Many data centres will simply put IT staff in security guards' uniforms and expect them to perform physical security tasks in rotation with their IT support roles. Not only is this poor management of skilled human resources but also a crucial vulnerability in the safety and security of the building. Security staff should be as equally professional as the IT staff and sourced from a separate team with the appropriately trained skill set for the job.


Conclusion
Rather than basing your decision on a set of assumptions, seeing the site with your own eyes before any contract is signed will help ensure you don’t get tied into a deal you might regret.  A data centre that values you as a customer and appreciates your business should offer a personal guided tour as a matter of course, and this is the only way to get a true picture of whether the data centre is a right fit for your business.