How to Choose the Right Data Center in Chicago for Your Business Needs

Finding the right data center provider is every bit as important as finding the right employee. That means it’s definitely worth taking as much time as necessary to find the best match for you. With that in mind, here is a straightforward guide on how to choose the right data center in Chicago for your business needs.

Factors to consider when choosing a data center

Here are the top 7 factors to consider when choosing a data center.

Location: The geographical location impacts latency, disaster risk, and accessibility. A data center should be in a region with a low risk of natural disasters (like earthquakes or floods) and close enough for physical access if needed.

Security: Both physical and digital security are essential. Facilities should have surveillance, access controls, and perimeter protection, along with strong cybersecurity protocols like firewalls, intrusion detection, and regular vulnerability assessments.

Compliance: Ensure the data center meets the regulations, standards, and laws relevant to your industry and location(s). This not only protects you from sanctions but also reflects a commitment to best practices in security and data handling.

Reliability: The baseline standard of reliability is the “five nines” or 99.999% uptime. This should be backed by a contractually enforceable guarantee. Providers should also demonstrate responsiveness through robust Service Level Agreements (SLA).

Scalability: The facility should accommodate future growth. This means it should offer scalable power, cooling, and rack space. These are essential for upgrading services without relocating.

Connectivity: A good data center offers multiple high-speed connections to various internet service providers (ISPs). This ensures redundancy and low latency, critical for performance and business continuity.

Cost: Evaluate the total cost of ownership, including setup, bandwidth, power, and ongoing operational costs. Balance affordability with the quality and features required.

How to evaluate data center providers

Applying the following process will make it easier to evaluate data center providers fairly.

Assemble stakeholders: Finding a new data center provider is likely to require input from different parts of the business. Determine who needs to be involved and in what capacity. Then, agree on communication channels.

Define requirements: Clearly outline your organization’s technical, security, compliance, and scalability needs. Include uptime expectations, power and cooling capacities, support levels, and regulatory requirements.

Create an evaluation framework: Develop a standardized checklist or scorecard with weighted criteria such as location, reliability, security measures, network connectivity, certifications, and cost. This helps ensure consistent evaluation across providers.

Research providers: Identify potential providers through industry referrals, online research, and reviews. Ensure they offer services aligned with your requirements and have a proven track record.

Request information: Issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Information (RFI) to shortlisted providers. Ask detailed questions about infrastructure, redundancy, SLAs, pricing models, support availability, and compliance certifications.

Assess technical capabilities: Evaluate the provider’s hardware, redundancy (power, cooling, connectivity), disaster recovery options, and ability to scale with your needs. Review their incident response and support processes.

Review costs and contract terms: Examine all financial aspects, including hidden costs, contract terms, and SLA penalties. Balance cost against the value and features provided.

Make a shortlist: Use your evaluation framework to score each provider objectively. Shortlist the providers who best meet your technical, business, and budgetary requirements.

Schedule a consultation: Meet with representatives from your short-listed providers. Take the opportunity to discuss your needs, wants, and budget. Ask the providers to explain, specifically, how they can support your business.

Conduct a site visit: If possible, visit the data center facilities to verify physical security, cleanliness, maintenance standards, and operational practices. This provides insight beyond what documents and presentations offer.

Top data centers in Chicago

Here is an overview of DataBank’s four data centers in Chicago.

ORD1 – Downtown Chicago Loop

Located in the heart of Chicago’s Financial District, ORD1 offers roughly 10,130 sq ft of raised-floor space and a 1 MW critical IT load. It features 18+ onsite carriers and is designed for low-latency connectivity and dense infrastructure, including 10 kW+ air-cooled and 25 kW+ liquid-cooled cabinet densities.

ORD2 – Downtown Chicago Metro

Also in the downtown area, ORD2 offers about 11,470 sq ft of raised-floor space and 2 MW of critical IT load. It supports a 2N power design and N+1 cooling, with cloud on-ramps and multiple fiber / interconnect options. This makes it suitable for enterprises needing robust yet relatively compact downtown infrastructure.

ORD3 – Suburban Mount Prospect

Situated less than 30 minutes from O’Hare Airport, ORD3 offers approximately 28,950 sq ft of raised-floor space and 2.7 MW of critical load. This facility supports higher-density workloads (10 kW+ air, 25 kW+ liquid). It offers a campus environment with ample connectivity and a slightly lower-cost suburban presence.

ORD4 – Oak Brook Tri-State Facility

Located about 30 minutes from downtown Chicago, ORD4 is the largest of the four, with 77,510 sq ft of raised floor and 8.75 MW of critical IT load. It features an N+1 power design, supports high-density racks, and has 14 onsite carriers with direct cloud on-ramps. The facility is therefore ideal for large-scale, compute-intensive, or hybrid IT deployments.