Colo eBook Final3

8/3/2019 Colo eBook Final3

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A Colocation Buyers Guide:AWhat You Should Know Before Making a Colocation Decision

887.843.7627 | [email protected] | www.internap.com | 08/11

This eBook will help you:

Learn the benets of a colocation solution Decide if you are a good t for colocation

Find out what executives say about ROI Discover questions to ask a prospective provider


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Internap |A Colocation Buyers Guide |Return to Table of Contents .................................................................................... [ 2 ]

887.843.7627 | [email protected] | www.internap.com

Table of Contents

Section One: Does This Sound Like You?

Section Two: What Is Colocation and What are

the Drivers?

Section Three: Whats In It or Me?The Benets o Colocation

Section Four: One Size Doesnt Always Fit All

Section Five: Strategic ConsiderationsBeore You Buy

Section Six: Show Me the MoneyExpected ROI

Section Seven: Getting Started: InterviewQuestions or YourProspective Provider

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Does ThisSound Like

You?

Although they come in dierent favors, small

businesses, and enterprises alike still ace

challenges managing their IT Inrastructure. At

each stage o a company liecycle, a new hurdle

presents itsel. Do you nd yoursel in any o theollowing situations?


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SMB

As a new startupyou began housing

a server in your

spare closet. As

operations grew,

you added equipment but now

you are reaching capacity. There

isnt enough space to handle the

amount o equipment you needto house, not to mention the

cooling and power capacity you

need to run increasingly complex

Inrastructure. Plus, security isnt

exactly up to par. Your equipment

and data are at risk and you need

more room to grow.

Medium to Large

BusinessBusiness is booming.Your application usage

is through the roo and

your customers cant

get enough o your

product. Everything

seems to be humming along. But

behind the scenes, your Inrastructureis pushing maximum density. You

dont have the space or additional

equipment. Climbing utility bills and

a non-redundant system are pushing

you to your breaking point. How do

you meet your customers demands

without disrupting service? Do

you add on to your current space,

continue to risk network outages or

move everything to a larger acility?

Enterprise

At this stage youhave the hardware,

capital and manpower

you need and are

considering building

your own data center

acility, but you have

doubts about the

long-term ROI. Thecost o building out

a acility is one thing,

but what about the monthly operating

expenses? Plus, data center design

is also becoming more and more

complex due to the ever-changing

requirements o hardware. Can you

really manage it all and is it worth it?

If you nd yourself in any of the above scenarios, read on. A colocationprovider that can handle your needs may be just what you are looking for.


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Colocation is a physical acilities option or your

IT Inrastructure. Under a colocation scenario,

your IT assets are placed in a service providers

acility (next to or co-located with the assets

o other organizations), giving you the ability to

take advantage o shared power Inrastructure,

HVAC systems, physical security and redundant

architecture. You essentially lease space or your

IT assets while maintaining ownership and control

o those assets. This option allows your company

to expand quickly, bypassing the time it takes to

design and construct a new data center, while

conserving capital.

What isColocation &

What are theDrivers?
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According to Ino-Tech Research Group, 64% o organizations engage in some

orm o data center colocation services. In addition, Gartner has observed more

and more enterprises enlisting colocation services, and the research rm has

identied several reasons behind this trend.*

First, because organizations are moregeographically distributed, they dontnecessarily have an optimal centrallocation in which to locate a datacenter and Web systems.

Second, traditional ocebuildings dont alwaysmeet the cooling, power and weight requirements to house denseand heavy hardware, and retrotting them is too expensive. Also,these buildings rarely allow or the lockdown security measures thatcompanies want or their server rooms.

Third, colocation gives companies that are consolidating or outgrowing theirinternal data centers a cost-eective alternative to building new acilities.

164%of Organizations Engage

in Some Form of Data

Center Colocation

Services

2

34

*Source: Focus Research Group Colocation Services Buyers Guide 887.843.7627 | [email protected] | www.internap.com

And, nally, remote lights-out managementtechnology makes administering remote systemseasier, allowing IT staers to even reboot serversremotely.


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Whats In itor Me?

The Benetso Colocation

Colocation oers many benets that meet many

businesses short lists including, improving their

reliability, perormance, eliminating costs and more.

Improve Reliability & AvailabilityImprove Efficiency & Performance

Reduce and Eliminate Costs

Easily ScalableReduce RiskMeet Compliance Needs


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The average costs of building a datacenter are between $1000 and $1500per square foot.*

Reduce and Eliminate CostsAnother reason businesses choose to colocate

is the cost savings. In many cases, taking

advantage o a multi-tenant acility can bemore cost eective than building out your

own data center acility, not to mention the

ongoing operating costs o management and

maintenance.

Improve Reliability/AvailabilityThe improvement o reliability and

availability is a huge plus or businesses

looking to colocate. For example, theability to provide reliable and redundant

power Inrastructure is key to business

uptime. In act, colocation providers are

able to oer uptime guarantees on power

and are willing to pay down to the minute

as stated in their Service Level Agreement

(SLA). In the world o online business,

even a second o downtime matters,making the reliability and availability o data

center services a big draw or customers.

Improve Efciency/PerformanceData center acilities are designed with

eciency and perormance in mind, rom

the raised foor to deliver cool air, to thewhite rootops that refect the suns heat.

Temperatures are monitored and maintained

to the degree to keep equipment running

optimally, extending the lie o hardware.

And with carrier neutral IP connectivity as

an option, perormance to the end user is

improved.

Five 9s?

Three 9s?Whats theDifference?

Availability is usually

expressed as a percentage of

uptime in a given year. Manyproviders will state their

availability as percentage

such as 99.999 or 99.9. The

difference? Two fewer nines

means an average of 86

seconds more downtime

every day, or 43 minutes

more downtime every month.

$1500 per Square Foot

*Source: Data Center Knowledge Data Center Economics: Build vs. Buy
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ScalabilityWith most data centers having ample

room to grow and the capacity or higher

density rack congurations, businesses

can benet rom scalability. The ability

to quickly add more physical space

or increase densities as needed is key

to keeping up with growing business

demands.

Risk MitigationA colocation data center acility oerssecurity eatures comparable to a highly

controlled access government building.

On-site security, video surveillance and

even biometric ngerprint scanners are

standard security procedures to protect

customer equipment and data.

Compliance andRegulatory RequirementsIn the digital inormation age, many

companies are required to abide by

certain compliance and regulatory policies.

Since data center acilities and colocation

providers have already done the heavy liting

to comply with regulatory requirements, you

can save time and money.

Auditing Standards Update

For years, you may have heard providers reer to something

called SAS 70. SAS 70 is an auditing standard designed to

provide assurance to customers who use service providers ortasks that impact bottom-line nancials. Introduced in 1992, SAS

70 was originally written as a nancial auditing ramework to veriy

that service providers ollowed adequate controls and processes,

thereby minimizing risk to the client company.

Over the years, SAS 70 has been applied to numerous business

areas including data centers and managed hosting services,

where the service provider did not have a direct nancial impact.

Last year, the Auditing Standards Board o the American Institute

o Certied Public Accountants (AICPA ) announced new

requirements or reporting on controls at all service organizations,

replacing the SAS 70 Standard. These are contained within three

Service Organization Control (SOC) reporting options.

SOC 1 reports, which are governed using the SSAE 16

ramework, ocus solely on service organization controls that

are likely to be relevant to an audit o a user entitys nancial

statements.

SOC 2 and SOC 3 reports address controls at the service

organization related to non-nancial objectives (i.e., Security

and Availability or Data Centers).

These new standards provide non-nancial service providers a

way to report on controls to their clients that better align with the

processes and metrics important to data center operations.
mailto:[email protected]://www.internap.com/http://www.internap.com/colocation-provider-facility-overview/scalable-power-density/http://www.internap.com/colocation-provider-facility-overview/new-auditing-standard/http://www.internap.com/colocation-provider-facility-overview/new-auditing-standard/http://www.internap.com/colocation-provider-facility-overview/scalable-power-density/http://www.internap.com/mailto:[email protected]


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One SizeDoesnt

AlwaysFit All

Outsourcing the responsibilities around

your IT Inrastructure with colocation

can provide the traditional benets o

lowering costs and re-directing resources;

however, like many organizations, you

may be asking, Is it a t or me? To make

an inormed decision, ask yoursel the

questions on the ollowing pages.


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Control

Is your organization willing to relinquish some control overthe facilities that house and/or the assets that dene your ITInfrastructure?

Yes.I the answer to the initial question is yes, the ollowing corequestions can help you determine whether colocation or anotherservice like managed hosting is best or you.

No.I your answer is no, then there is no need to proceed. The internalmindset must be receptive to the idea and the potential benetsthat colocation and other services oer. In order to capitalize on the

inherent value o these solutions, you must be willing to accept thetranser o responsibilities and allow the service provider the ability toexecute them.

Hardware Ownership

Do you currently own or have the plans to obtain all of therequired IT hardware assets you need to grow your business?

Yes.I the answer is yes, your best solution is likely to be colocation. Youwill benet greatly rom a physical acility that oers space, power,redundancy and security under a more cost-eective structure.Savings associated with personnel and management should still beconsidered.

No.I the answer is no, then proceed to the next question.

Availability of Capital

If your organization continues to grow and requires additionalor new IT hardware assets, do you have access to or awillingness to devote capital expenditures to this effort?

Yes.I the answer is yes, then proceed to the next question.

No.I the answer is no, colocation can still be a good option or youtoday, however in the uture you may want to revaluate your needs.Down the road i you nd you arent willing to invest in additionalassets, then you will likely be best served by another solution suchas managed hosting. With managed hosting, the solution provider

is responsible or acquiring the necessary hardware, the costsbecome re-categorized as monthly operating expenses and capitalexpenditures are avoided. You may also consider a partner that canprovide a fexible IT platorm which can serve you today, as well asover the lie o your business.

Availability of Personnel

Do you have the personnel necessary to operate your ITdeployment today?

Yes.I the answer is yes, then your organization should take advantage othe colocation option.

No.I the answer is no, then your organization should take advantageo a managed hosting solution. The hosting service provider willallocate the appropriate level o personnel with the requisite skillsand certications who best t the needs and demands o your IT

Inrastructure. It is their responsibility to identiy, hire and train (and re-train) the personnel needed to manage the Inrastructure.


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StrategicConsiderations

Beore You Buy

Choosing a colocation provider is a

strategic business decision that evolves

rom thoughtul consideration. It is

important to know what to look or and

the right questions to ask.


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Scalability

It is critical or colocation customers to

measure the data center providers ability to

support their evolving computing and networkrequirements as their businesses grow. The

ability to scale eciently and on-demand

by deploying higher density congurations

within your existing ootprint impacts not

only your solutions Return on Investment

(ROI), but also your companys bottom line.

To make the best colocation decision, you

must nd a provider who is implementing

new acility design elements and integrating

proven technologies that increase power

and cooling capacities to support much

higher density rack congurations. A scalable

data center environment that provides

or fexible deployment o higher density

solutions in an on-demand model will give

you the opportunity to grow within the same

acility and extend your longevity, ultimately

improving ROI or your colocated solutions.

Reliability and Resiliency

A reliable colocation partner will have N+1

design providing redundancy in power

and cooling Inrastructure, which meansmaximum system uptime. You should also

look or a provider that oers a well dened

SLA and supports 100% uptime. Make sure

to careully review the SLA o any colocation

provider you are thinking o, and nd out how

much they pay i you experience downtime

and i they oer proactive credits. Ater all,

your business depends on the uptime your

colocation partner provides.

Security and Protection

Physical security is an important component

in deciding where to house your mission

critical data. A colocation provider shouldoer comprehensive security, beyond the

guard, ensuring your inormation is protected

at all times. Biometric security, card readers,

keypad or electronic locks as well as digital

camera placement should be a part o any

data center acility you choose.

In addition, a data center must have controlsin place that comply with SAS 70 audits

and other industry recognized standards.

Advanced systems should be in place that

continuously report electrical and mechanical

Inrastructure health to NOCs and on-site

sta. By making sure these processes exist,

you can ensure better perormance o your

equipment.

Did You Know? N+1N+1 means having enough equipment

for what you need plus one additionalfor added resiliency.
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Technical Support

Make sure that your provider has the data

center and the support centers staed 24/7.

Technicians should be reachable by e-mail

and phone in the event o any problem. Avoid

automated e-mail attendants, and make

sure your tickets are immediately sent to a

human being who is physically looking at

your equipment to determine the nature o

your problem. Talk to the Tier-II engineers,

and raise some hypothetical questions aboutwhat you might experience to see how they

respond. Finally, contact reerences that can

attest to how the provider responded in a

ailed situation.

Carrier Diversity

Network perormance issues can have a

tangible nancial impact to your bottom

line. Since high speed is so important to

your online customer, a delay o even a ew

milliseconds can have a direct impact on

customer loyalty and revenue. Partnering with

multiple high-speed Internet access providers

allows a colocation provider to add diversity.

In the event one Internet provider ails,

another can pick up the slack. Ask potentialcolocation partners how many carriers eed

into their acility and how they optimize and

route trac to ensure network speed and

ongoing connectivity.

Customer Amenities

Because your technicians and sta will be

spending a signicant amount o time on-

site, a data center should be more than just

a place to house equipment. A premium

acility will oer urnished customer lounges

and conerence areas enabling you to host

a meeting or just take a break. You will also

want to look or staging areas so your sta

can set up equipment beore bringing it on

the data center foor. Finally, ensure there isoce space to work, send emails or just take

a call.

Did You Know?Leading data centers now offer power capacities of

up to 12KW per rack.12KW+


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Show Me theMoney

Expected ROI

More than 200 CEOs, business owners

and IT decision makers were surveyed on

their expected ROI timeline or a colocation

solution. Read on to nd out when they believe

colocation will pay o or their business.

*Source: Colocation Trends Report by Hosting.com


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55%o organizations that established ashopping list o services aligned with their business

needs were more likely to experience colocation

success.*

62%o organizations conducted sitevisits to vendor locations beore entering into an

agreement, which results in a more successul

colocation arrangement.*

64%o organizations engaged in acolocation agreement have a dedicated vendor

resource responsible or managing their services.*

GettingStarted:

InterviewQuestions

or YourProspectiveProvider*Source: Ino-Tech Colocation Strategy Storyboard


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Determining if colocation is right for your business is onepiece of the puzzle, but nding the right partner is a wholeother ballgame. Use the list of interview questions belowto help you identify a colocation provider and solution that

meets your business needs.

How close to your companys oce building is the providersacility? Is it within driving distance so that your companys ITsta can easily get to the building? Does your business needa acility thats close to a major airport?

I your company has oces in several locations, can youconsider a acility in a less expensive real-estate market? Is theprovider geographically diverse? Do they have acilities in other

cities or abroad?

Is the providers colocation acility in a place with ew naturalthreats, such as hurricanes? I so, what kind o precautionshas the provider taken to protect the data center (and yourbusiness) rom these threats? Are they structurally sound?A provider in Caliornia, or instance, should have seismicallyengineered each acility to withstand earthquakes.

What kind o security is in place? Are there biometricscanners, on-site security and video surveillance?

Is the provider carrier-neutral, or is it carrier-specic?A carrier-neutral colocation provider will let your companyconnect to a variety o carriers networks, while a carrier-specic provider will lock you in to just one carrier.

Does the provider oer a wide array o value-added services?Are services like cloud or managed hosting available in case

your needs change in the uture? What about remote servicesor managed installations?

How strong is the SLA? What is the level o availability?Does the provider oer proactive credits or SLAviolations?

Is the acility audited by a third party? Is it SAS 70compliant or is there a SOC 2 report available? How otenis the acility audited?

Is this a premium provider or a cost leader? Are youwilling to sacrice perormance and support or pricereductions? Are there any hidden ees outside o theagreement?

How scalable is the acility? Is there enough space togrow? Do they oer high density congurations?

Is there technical support available when you need it andwhat level engineer will you speak to when you call theNetwork Operations Center (NOC)?

How comortable is the work environment or yourtechnicians? Are there customer lounges or work space?

Is the provider green? Are they looking or ways toaddress sensitivity to the environment?

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Internap Colocation

Designed with the uture in mind, Internaps

premium data centers sit on the edge o the

most robust network backbone available. Our

secure SAS 70 Type II acilities, conveniently

located in major metropolitan areas, eature

N+1 redundancy or both power and cooling,

maximizing your network availability. Backed

by unsurpassed customer service, our acilities

include state-o-the-art technology. In act,41% o our data center Inrastructure has been

constructed within the last three years. In 2010,

we delivered ve 9s o uptime availability or our

Colocation and Perormance IP solutions.

About Internap

Transorm your IT Inrastructure into a

competitive advantage with IT IQ rom Internap,

intelligent IT Inrastructure solutions that

enable our customers to ocus on their core

business, improve service levels and lower

the cost o IT operations. Our enterprise IP,

CDN, colocation, managed hosting and cloud

solutions are dierentiated by unparalleled levels

o perormance, availability and support. OnlyInternap combines the superior perormance

o our Managed Internet Route Optimizer

which leverages multiple network connections or

perormance with the rock-solid reliability o our

100% network uptime guarantee. Since 1996,

thousands o enterprises have entrusted Internap

with the delivery and protection o their onlineapplications.

Contact us to learn how Internap can solve

your IT challenges.

877.843.7627

[email protected]

www.internap.com2011 Internap Network Services Corporation.

All rights reserved. Internap and P-NAP are registered trademarks o Internap.All other trademarks and brands are the property o their respective owners 08/11

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Colo eBook Final3