How to select a data center relocation partner?
Technologies evolve to become more efficient, secure and reliable. Organizational demands for delivery must scale to become global. Many enterprises must embark on a digital transformation journey to stay competitive. This may entail a hybrid of migrating workloads to the cloud, relocating to a colocation data center and maintaining certain workloads at an on-premise data center.
Most companies do not have all of the tools, talent and experience necessary to execute a large move successfully and safely. Even when a company does have the internal capabilities, it is likely that in-house PMO, IT and DC Ops teams do not have the available bandwidth required as they are focused on the demands of their core job roles and responsibilities.
So, for those of you facing the prospect of helming an organization-altering data center relocation/migration, one of the most critical decisions is who should guide you and your organization as you embark on this journey into the future.
Hence, picking the right partner becomes crucial for the success of the whole IT relocation process.
So, what should you focus on while searching for an office IT relocation service provider?
1. Experience
A well-established service provider will be able to offer diverse but overlapping skills such as consultancy across cloud architecture and migration, security, telecom, and network support, project management, logistics, and smart hands.
Look for the right mix of process, tools, and technology; the move planning should be structured as a staged approach that flows through phase-wise activities such as site survey and assessment, strategy/planning, equipment procurement and move execution.
A move plan must consider the following: documentation and equipment preparation (Inventory, Hardware mapping, Cable-Port Matrixes, Labeling), logistics planning as well as post-move support for quality assurance to trouble-shoot/resolve issues with client stakeholders to ensure 100% satisfaction.
2. Security and Safety
In the IT landscape, safety is usually synonymous with cybersecurity, but in a relocation procedure, along with cybersecurity, one must also keep the physical safety of the people, intellectual property and IT hardware in mind.
A data center relocation is the sum total of many big and small move phases. An organization-wide relocation requires considerable movement of racks and high-value IT hardware, housing even more valuable intellectual property and software. For the safety and success of the move, IT equipment must be moved with professional server lifts, move-handling equipment, specialized air-ride-equipped vehicles and experienced IT technicians and movers staff.
3. Scalability and Flexibility
Ultimately, your move is all about growth. To keep your organization future-ready and forward-moving, opt for an IT relocation firm that offers a broader spectrum of services. You might need just data center relocation services now, but a working relationship with a 360-degree service provider could match your needs as you scale up. A Data Center service provider with expertise across the entire IT lifecycle will give you the best option to transition to long-term IT support or managed services.
Whether you plan to undertake the data center move yourself or outsource a partial or the whole process to a partner, it is important to stay involved at every stage. Data Center relocation projects open up your established systems, data, and application to outsiders, and it is vital to stay in control of who and how the equipment and data are handled. Every successful project is underpinned with a strong communication plan across all stakeholders and a heavy focus and effort on the planning process.
In our next blog, we will talk about some of the common problems – and their solutions – that can crop up during a DC relocation.
https://milestone.tech/the-extended-guide-to-data-center-relocation-1/
https://milestone.tech/the-extended-guide-to-data-center-relocation-part-iii/
