Why You Should Consider Doing a Tour of Your Prospective Data Center

So, you’re looking to invest in the services of a managed cloud hosting provider, and you know that there’s going to be a lot of questions you need answered. On top of learning about what a cloud hosting provider can do for your company and which package and system is going to be the right choice for you, it never hurts to take those questions a  step further. f you want to be absolutely certain that you can trust your hired services, you need to make sure their equipment is up to par.

That’s why you should consider doing a tour of your prospective data center, before signing a contract.

Why Visit the Data Center

Even though your data is going to soon be managed in the cloud, that cloud still has to exist in a physical space somewhere. A data center is a place where a network of servers is kept. These servers handle a lot of data (in this case, your company’s data) and keep it safe, secure, and accessible for whenever you need it. Of course, some data centers are better at doing this job than others.

By visiting the actual data center, you can have a first-hand look at these servers. Just like the same way you would check out a building before signing a lease or scoping out a restaurant before choosing to sit down, it’s very similar.

What You Should Be Looking Out For

When you go on a tour of the data center, there are a few things you want to be paying attention to. One is you want to see the overall conditions of the center. If it looks pretty dusty, there are wires all over the place, and you can feel the intense heat coming off the machines, then those are all big red flags.

You want to make sure this data center is secure, has a cooling system that you can feel, and that it seems to be organized and well maintained. If this is where your data is going to be stored, it’s important that things are in a good place.

Wowrack offers potential clients tours of our data centers, so you can feel certain about signing on with us. Contact us today to schedule a visit.

What You Should Ask and Think About During and After Your Visit

While you’re visiting your prospective data center, you’re going to want to ask some questions about the place, so you can know information beyond what you can just see with your eyes.

• What’s this data center’s network capacity?
• Is the location of the data center in a place that’s prone to storms natural disasters?
• Does it have a generator or some other kind of backup solution if the power goes out?
• What were some challenges this data center has faced and how did they recover?
• How’s the physical security of the building?
• In addition to 24/7 management, is there in-house support in case something goes wrong?
• Is the data center facility free of any law-suits/financially secure?

When inquiring about the services of a managed hosting provider, ask them if you can take a tour of their data centers. If that’s not something they offer, move on to the next candidate.