(March 11, 2024) IT professionals understand the critical importance of a well-managed, highly available data center. They know why hyperscale data centers are carefully organized, monitored, and maintained. The neat rows of server cabinets and meticulous cable management maximize efficiency and streamline troubleshooting. Advanced cooling technologies maintain the environmental conditions needed to maximize performance.
While it’s easy to understand all this in theory, it’s difficult to achieve in practice. In most small to midsize organizations, IT teams must do what they can within tight space and a limited budget. Unplanned outages, data loss, and security threats are constant worries.
Colocation and managed hosting services help relieve these headaches. Here’s a look at how these services address some of today’s data center challenges.
IT Talent Shortage
The persistent IT talent shortage is a top concern for data centers. In a recent survey by the Uptime Institute, 54 percent of data center operators said hiring and retaining staff were their biggest challenges. Many organizations are unable to achieve their IT objectives due to the tech talent gap.
Solution: Managed Hosting. In this model, a managed services provider (MSP) delivers essential infrastructure and assumes responsibility for most maintenance and management functions. Organizations can choose whether to place their hardware in a colocation facility or rent servers and infrastructure in a dedicated hosting model. Either way, they offload much of the cost and complexity of operating a data center.
Physical Security
All hardware and software must be protected against cyber threats, but data centers must also worry about physical security. It starts with access control. Data centers must prevent unauthorized access and log who comes and goes. However, many organizations maintain their data center in their office space, with the same access controls as the rest of the facility. Physical security also extends to climate controls, fire suppression, and other protections that are sorely lacking in many server rooms.
Solution: Colocation. Colocation facilities have multiple layers of physical security, including automatic door locks, card readers, and video surveillance. They also have advanced air and liquid cooling, backup power sources, and other systems to protect IT equipment and ensure the highest levels of resilience.
Scalability
Demand for data center services is increasing rapidly. Organizations need to support growing numbers of remote and mobile workers and support AI and other advanced applications. These factors, coupled with growing data volumes, are pushing data center capacity to the limit. However, many organizations lack the physical space and IT resources to expand their data center operations.
Solution: Colocation: By hosting their equipment in a colocation facility, organizations can scale their operations quickly and efficiently. Colocation facilities are more than just data center “white space.” They have the power, cooling, networking, and other resources in place to support rapid deployment of IT equipment. Organizations can use colocation services as an extension of their in-house data center, or fully outsource their data center environment.
Innovation
To stay competitive, organizations must take advantage of innovative IT solutions that increase productivity and enhance the customer experience. However, many IT teams struggle to keep up with day-to-day maintenance tasks. They lack the time, resources, and skill sets to evaluate, implement, and manage new solutions.
Solution: Managed Hosting: The expertise bundled into managed hosting solutions helps organizations become more innovative. The managed hosting provider takes over routine maintenance, enabling IT staff to complete strategic projects. Some facilities offer private cloud services that make it possible to turn up IT workloads quickly.
How Mainstream Can Help
Mainstream offers private cloud, virtualization, and colocation solutions that can be bundled with our managed services. Our customizable service plans include hardware installation and proactive maintenance, power and cooling, network connectivity, security, and data protection. Let us help you overcome your data center challenges while enhancing the performance, reliability, and security of your IT environment.
ABOUT MAINSTREAM TECHNOLOGIES
Mainstream Technologies delivers a full range of technology services in Arkansas and the surrounding region including managed technology services and consulting, custom software development, and cybersecurity services. We also offer industry-leading data center services in our Little Rock facilities. Established in 1996, Mainstream has earned a reputation for delivering quality, reliable, and professional technology services for public and private-sector customers across the United States.
Jeff Pracht
IT Business Development Manager
(479) 715-8629 Office
(501) 529-0008 Mobile
