Are you keeping your data on site? Or, as with so many companies these days, is your data outgrowing your capacity to store and access it? Data storage and maintenance can be hugely expensive, so many companies look to outsource their data storage to a dedicated data center. Here are five things that you need to look for when choosing a data center:

Reliability

Nothing is more important to your business then constant, reliable access to your data. This means you shouldn’t give a second glance to any data center that doesn’t have a robust backup system for keeping everything reliably accessible.

Security

There are several ways that the data center you are looking at should be providing you with assured security. Digital security is of the utmost importance in the age of the hacker, of course. But an emphasis on digital security can distract from the crucial importance of physical security.

How does your data center server stay cool? Are they using containerized immersion? If they are not using an immersion cooling system, what system are they using for the computer rack server, and is it sufficient? Overheating is a serious issue that can destroy your data.

Flexibility

What kind of scalability does your data center offer? Is there room for it to grow as your data storage needs grow? As it grows, what is going to happen to speeds? Do they have a plan for how to increase server performance? You need to make sure that your data center is ready to expand and will be capable of taking on more from you should you need it. It’s also important that they have a plan in place to adapt speed and accessibility as sizes change.

Infrastructure

What kind of servers are they using? How are those servers configured? How are the networks configured? These are important questions to be asking as you consider any particular data center. In addition to these types of infrastructure considerations, you should also be looking at the building itself. Is it up to code for fire, earthquake, tornado, or other disaster? Is the physical security of the center assured by limiting access to the servers and computer racks?

Redundancy

Servers occasionally go down. This is simply a fact of life. Not only do servers go down, but disasters happen, as well, and it’s important that your data center be prepared for any of them. What’s going to happen in any of these scenarios? Make sure you discuss this with the data center before you choose it.

These are just a few of the important considerations you need to be looking at as you decide which datacenter is the right one for keeping your important information safe and accessible. Take the time to choose your data center carefully, and you won’t have cause to regret it later.