If you’re pursuing a strategy of implementing data centers near your user base(s), then there’s a lot to be said in favor of using a Chicago data center. Here is a quick guide to what you need to know.
Implementing a Chicago data center offers businesses several strategic advantages. Probably the most obvious one is Chicago’s strategic location at the heart of the Midwest. This makes it a central hub for business activities. It therefore facilitates efficient connectivity, allowing businesses to establish and maintain robust networks.
Furthermore, Chicago has excellent infrastructure. Businesses can benefit from diverse connectivity options, enhancing their ability to interconnect and communicate with partners, clients, and other stakeholders. Similarly, the city’s well-developed transportation infrastructure promotes accessibility. It therefore ensures that businesses can easily manage and maintain their data center operations.
As a final point, Chicago benefits from a moderate to cool climate with minimal risk of serious weather hazards. This means there is less pressure on cooling systems and less risk of severe weather causing disruptions.
Here are the six key points to check when looking for a Chicago data center facility.
Security and compliance: It is essential to check that a Chicago data center facility has robust physical and digital security. It can also be very useful if the data center supports relevant data security standards and frameworks. At a minimum, it’s helpful if it is compliant with the major ones such as PCI/DSS.
Energy efficiency and climate control: Although there are, technically, separate factors, they are closely related. The more energy-efficient a Chicago data center is, the less cooling it will need. This makes it more energy efficient. It’s also advisable to check the facility’s main and backup sources of power and its sustainability position.
Networking options: Being a major telecommunications hub, Chicago boasts an extensive and diverse network infrastructure including robust fiber-optic networks and high-speed connectivity options. Data centers in the region often provide carrier-neutral services. This means businesses have the flexibility to select the most suitable network provider(s) for their particular needs.
Location: In some cases, your location options will be largely pre-determined. For example, if it’s important to you to be as close as possible to your users, then you’ll need to be where your users are. Likewise, if you want the best network connectivity, you need to be near the best network hubs. If, however, you have more flexibility, it’s worthwhile to investigate your options thoroughly as your location will very much influence your costs.
Customization: One of the main reasons why businesses opt for real-world data centers (as opposed to the public cloud) is the options for customization. You should expect to be able to customize your use of data center infrastructure no matter what data center you choose. Some data centers will, however, offer more customization offers than others. Likewise, some data centers will have more support for scalability than others.
Adaptability: Adaptability does not just mean scalability, although this is a part of it. It has a broader sense. Essentially, it means looking at the data center’s overall ability to accommodate your organization as it develops (literally and figuratively). So, for example, this would include having a diverse range of service offerings and being willing to adopt new technologies promptly.
If you’re looking to implement a Chicago data center, evaluating the vendor is at least as important as evaluating the data center facility. It really is fair to say that a data center facility is only as good as the vendor that manages it.
The facility’s tier rating is an obvious place to start. Tier ratings are awarded by the Uptime Institute. They run from 1 to 4 with higher numbers indicating higher reliability. You should also check the vendor’s service guarantees and cross-reference them with their historical performance data.
If all looks good, then you can move on to check customer references serve as a practical indicator of the provider’s performance. They offer an external perspective on service quality. You should, however, aim to inspect the vendor first-hand if at all possible. In other words, take a tour of their facility and talk directly to their staff.
You should quiz a potential Chicago data center vendor thoroughly on their ability to handle incident management, business continuity, and disaster recovery. It’s also advisable to check what value-added services they can offer both now and in the future. For example, can they help with maintenance and/or repairs?
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