Insight Type: Blog

Why managed service providers put their faith in Datum

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Why our colocation?

Service providers need a data centre on which they can rely to effectively deliver their solutions, support their clients and grow their businesses. Datum is the ideal platform for services providers wanting to help their clients on the journey towards hybrid solutions. Our reliable colocation was built to support providers to better deliver their services, allowing them to align their priorities with those of their clients for mutual trust and client satisfaction.

A secure facility and a strong foundation for clients’ IT

Datum originated in the service provider world, so we understand how IT service providers operate and what they need. We know they rely on attracting new clients (whilst retaining existing client relationships) and building a strong reputation based on trusted partner status. And we know that helping their clients to embrace and profit from new technologies is at the core of everything they do. That’s why our service provider clients appreciate our service-enhanced data centre and colocation as a strong foundation for their services – contract flexibility allows them to move workloads across cloud and legacy platforms without restrictive penalties, and we make it easy for IT service providers to retain comprehensive access controls over their clients’ infrastructure.

Partnering with us gives providers of managed services the flexibility to scale operations in line with expansion strategies and offer bespoke solutions to their clients, safe in the knowledge that they are partnered with a state-of-the-art colocation facility they can confidently recommend to their client base. And because we understand the importance of transparency and reliability, our managed service clients can rest assured that their clients’ data is in the safest of hands.

Our service provider clients benefit from:

  • Reliable, reactive and responsive service that reflects well on them and instils confidence in clients
  • Scalable capacity for evolving requirements. We make it easy for clients to flex up or down based on changing requirements. Furthermore, our charges are transparent – no hidden costs and no rigid contracts
  • Detailed insight into ongoing energy usage and operational status to be shared with clients for complete peace of mind
  • Dedicated client service manager for comprehensive client focus, flexibility and quick response
  • Carrier-neutral connectivity providing them with options to deliver the optimal mix of resilience and cost
  • Robust environment for cloud and managed hosting backed by our 100% availability SLA and industry accreditations – a great foundation onto which IT service providers can overlay their services to facilitate a ‘one top shop’ solution

Referral and resell opportunities of Datum’s accredited colocation services

Our managed service clients receive competitive commission for referring opportunities to Datum and leading with Datum as part of their client solutions – service providers who make referrals that culminate in a contractual agreement can choose between priming the contract, a first year sale-based commission, or a regular monthly commission for the life of the contract. Their relationship with us also gives them the opportunity to extend their offering to include our secure and resilient colocation, thus strengthening their proposition by expanding their solution.

Through-sell opportunities through the partner network

As a pure play and specialist colocation provider, Datum’s focus remains on supporting our clients with a secure and resilient data centre service. Whilst we focus on this core remit, our partner network offers additional wraparound services where clients require a little more help from pre-planning to transition and beyond. We turn to our partner network when our clients require additional services in the development of innovative, hybrid solutions, which can develop a lucrative stream of enquiries.

Become part of our partner network

If you would be interested in offering your clients access to Datum’s resilient and highly secure colocation (with all the benefits that brings for you and your clients), whilst benefiting from support requests from Datum’s growing client base as part of our partner network, why not get in touch to speak to a member of our team?

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Service-enhanced colocation: more than a property transaction

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Colo to the rescue

In the evolving landscape of IT infrastructure management, companies face escalating challenges in meeting their data centre needs. For small to medium-sized businesses, accessing the benefits of high-performance, world-class data centre facilities was historically out of reach. However, advancements in colocation services have bridged the gap, providing a lifeline to firms seeking to optimise their operations without incurring the substantial investments requisite for internal data centre builds.

Colocation has emerged as a pivotal strategy, one which allows companies to reap the rewards of shared data centre functionalities. By sharing space in a specialised facility, businesses can leverage the cutting-edge technologies, high-level security, and robust connectivity that a colocation provider like Datum offers.

The decision to entrust core IT infrastructure to a third-party data centre demands a critical evaluation of the service provision surrounding the physical location. It’s not merely a property transaction; it’s an integration of services and technologies tailored to enhance every facet of a business’s IT operations.

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Unpacking the essentials of service-enhanced colocation

At the foundation of service-enhanced colocation is a commitment to extending the benefits of physical colocation to the realm of proactive client service and support. Our ‘service-first’ model is centered around an empathetic understanding of our clients’ perspectives – our business model was developed from experiencing colocation from the client side, and from knowing all too well what it is like to be kept in the dark.

Beyond infrastructure provision

Beyond simply leasing space within a data centre (enclave-style and operating in relative isolation), service-enhanced colocation transcends the mere provision of space; it’s a commitment to providing an ecosystem where each client enjoys not only a secure portion of the facility but also a suite of responsive, on-call support functions.

Trained service and engineering personnel are integral elements of the service-enhanced model. They extend the hand of partnership, offering technical insights, and administrative support. This collaborative approach ensures that clients remain thoroughly informed and empowered to manage their IT assets proactively.

Proactive service management

Central to the service-enhanced colocation framework is the concept of managing data centres, not just maintaining them. Regular, proactive maintenance, performed discretely in the background, shields clients from potential disruptions that could emanate from operational anomalies.

Furthermore, clients can be continuously updated on the status and performance of their assets through detailed reports and ongoing, real-time communication. This level of transparency and engagement is a departure from the conventional service models, allowing for a level of performance oversight that contributes to long-term strategic IT planning for the client.

Enabling business continuity

Imagine the scenario. It’s your peak trading season when revenue generation is key to ensuring survival for the rest of the year. Your network goes down. No warning. The Sales Director, the CFO, the CEO are all screaming. You call the data centre which does not pick up. You leave a voice mail. You have no-one to talk to. You have no idea what caused the issue. You have no idea when it will be sorted. You have no idea if anyone even knows there is an issue. The very stuff of nightmares.

It might be an extreme example, but it can happen. And it serves to illustrate the difference between simply leasing data centre space or entering into a service-enhanced colocation agreement. In the domain of service-enhanced colocation, such crises are pre-empted and expertly managed, ensuring that IT infrastructure is an enabler, not a liability.

Measuring the true value of service-enhanced colocation

By engaging a provider that integrates comprehensive service strategies into its colocation offering, businesses are equipped to manage their IT infrastructure as a dynamic and strategic asset.

Scalability and flexibility

A service-enhanced colocation model provides a level of scalability that is crucial for companies experiencing growth or contraction phases. This agility ensures that IT resources adjust in lockstep with organisational demands, avoiding overinvestment in infrastructure that may lie idle in less busy periods.

With the ability to scale server capacity rapidly, as well as to leverage cloud connectivity options within a sophisticated data centre environment, businesses can remain adaptable in a market increasingly defined by unpredictable dynamics.

Cost and resource optimisation

Service-enhanced colocation, when structured to complement operational processes, can yield significant cost efficiencies. The outsourced model reduces the financial burdens associated with building, maintaining, repairing, and upgrading infrastructure.

By redirecting a substantial portion of the IT budget from capital expenses to predictable operational ones, businesses can free resources for investment in core competencies and growth initiatives. And our focus on maintaining the operational efficiency of our data centres contributes to a stable, cost-optimised service structure.

Looking ahead: the strategic imperative of service-enhanced colocation

As businesses confront a future fraught with technological advancements and increasingly complex IT demands, the ability to adapt, scale, and maintain resilient IT environments is not merely a competitive differentiator – it’s a strategic imperative.

Beyond housing hardware - unlocking IT potential

Datum’s forward-looking approach to service-enhanced colocation paves the way for a new standard in data centre service delivery. It champions an ethos of collaboration, transparency, and relentless service enhancement that raises the bar for the entire industry. In this paradigm, it’s not just about housing your infrastructure; it’s about empowering you to leverage your IT assets to their full potential, secure in the knowledge that you’re supported by a partner that treats your business’s success as its own.

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What’s in a data centre tour?

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More than a walk around the halls, that's for sure!

If your prospective data centre provider offers you a tour – we’d encourage you to take it. While virtual tours, photographs and specification sheets have their place, nothing beats a facility visit.

Really get under the skin of your potential colocation provider

Many argue (and we would agree) that a data centre is a business-critical asset for its tenants. A data centre tour gives you the chance to observe, probe and question each element of the site. Comprehensive due diligence – and the reassurance this brings – is possible only when you can see for yourself the measures and processes that have been put in place to ensure the integrity of core factors such as security, resilience and connectivity.

Maybe the question of “What’s in a data centre tour?” should really be considered alongside the answer you need to give after your visit: “Am I 100% happy to trust my business to this provider?”

Let’s take a closer look at the key factors that we consider important for you to examine as part of your on-site data centre evaluations.

Security

Physical security measures – those which manage access to the facility and movement around it – should be apparent from the moment you arrive at the data centre. Features to look out for are anti-climb perimeter fences, electronic locks, turnstiles, virtual tripwires and mantraps. Look for a layered approach that delivers multi-factor authentication, and ensures the site continues to be secure even if one or more of the layers are breached.

How is your access to the facility managed? Some facilities, for example, will employ front-of-house security personnel. Consider, though, that such arrangements might actually be a security vulnerability, bringing heightened risk of human error and susceptibility to social engineering. A robust alternative would be a remote control room with 24-hour CCTV monitoring.

If you or your customers are required to manage sensitive or regulated data, what options are available to help with your compliance obligations? Dedicated, caged areas for example, ensure that even the facility’s staff are kept at arm’s length from your servers and infrastructure.

Data centres worth considering will also hold accreditations related to security; the best-known international benchmark for information security management is ISO27001 – and is certainly one that you should enquire about. Accreditations outside of this will also reveal a lot about the organisation’s approach to management and compliance in general, indicative as they are of how much they are prepared to invest to run their operations with due care and attention.

You may also want to look for certifications like the NSI Gold scheme, for example, or the presence of SIA-approved personnel.

Resilience and availability

Specifically, the measures in place to keep the data centre running with power – and within environmental parameters (cooling). During your tour, ask about the diversity of power distribution. As you may expect, terms such as “N+1 UPS redundancy” will become part of the conversation – be sure to understand the meaning behind such configurations. A good standard of power resilience to look for would be a diversely fed dual parallel pair. Such a configuration might typically feature separate pairs of N+N UPS systems – with each pair fed by independent power strings – with one feed to your rack from each pair. This “2(N+N)” arrangement gives you fully protected power to your equipment across a range of catastrophic power failure scenarios.

You might also ask about where power for the data centre comes from. The answer will likely be in one of two ways: through a spur or a ring. A ring usually means you are part of the main regional grid supply, whereas a spur branches off from the ring. Ring-fed supplies offer greater redundancy than a spur because mains power can travel to your site infrastructure from two independent substations – you can lose the supply on one side, but remain unaffected due to supply from the other side of the ring. This is why critical infrastructure sites are built on rings.

Mains or data centre infrastructure power failures happen – and during an outage, your uptime will depend on your colocation provider’s UPS units and generator sets. Find out how much time is available on their batteries and fuel supply to keep your business up and running. Keep in mind that some outages last longer than a few hours: what contingency plans does the operator have in those circumstances, and does it meet your business continuity requirements?

Turning to cooling within the data centre halls, look for evidence that hot or cold aisle containment systems and high capacity units with a minimum of N+1 redundancy are in place. Establish as well, the quality of the air conditioning units themselves: are they high-capacity units with built-in redundancy via failover components and pipework? Check as well on the power supply to this critical infrastructure – ideally it will benefit from a facility that can deliver a true dual power supply.

Connectivity

Talk of resilience and diversity is equally important when considering the other lifeblood of your operation within a data centre: connectivity to the outside world. If you find a carrier neutral data centre with a range of network providers and connectivity options on site, you’ll benefit from lower latency and higher performance services across a wider geographical area. You’ll also have the advantage of greater resilience as a result of the diversity of connections to and from the facility.

What’s more, establishing and maintaining a point-of-presence in a data centre is a big investment for a network provider. If their due diligence has deemed a facility worthy of that investment, it’s a good sign your buy-in is sound, too.

Location

Beyond the wider considerations of location, a data centre tour is the ideal opportunity for a dry run of one of those times (we all have them) when a late night visit is required to replace an item of failed hardware. What transport options are available? How long does it take you to get there? What process would you need to follow to gain access? Is on-site parking adequate (consider that you may be transporting bulky items of equipment, and a trek from the nearest public transport hub might not be ideal).

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

When measuring up any provider’s green credentials, look for the detail beyond the eco messaging. Although renewables are a good indicator that some consideration has been made, ask the provider what they’re doing to control energy use “behind the meter” – this is where some real efficiency inroads can be made. Metering power usage (renewable or not) allows data centres to make data driven decisions about which areas of their facility are running inefficiently, and shows they’re serious about reducing their carbon footprint. Can they show you evidence of innovative approaches such as battery storage technology to further help manage power consumption intelligently?

Part of your conversation should also be to ask about their Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) – a measurement of power effectiveness calculated by dividing the total power consumption of the data centre by the amount used specifically by IT equipment within the facility. A lower PUE is regarded as preferable, with 1.0 being considered the best.

Personnel

What you don’t get from a virtual tour, is one-to-one, in-person experience of the people that run the data centre. Since they’re likely at some point to be an extension of your own team – whether as a pair of steady remote hands during an outage, or as experts you can rely on when planning infrastructure and future developments in your deployment – what could be more important than meeting and measuring the people that you will be trusting to support your business?

How easy was it to arrange the tour? How was your experience of the people that took you around the facility? Could they answer your questions? Did they get back to you with specific information that you requested? Fundamentally, are they your kind of people – do they share your way of working?

Even if you’re looking for a more hands-off relationship with your provider, there’s value in understanding the quality and accessibility of their support up front. And if your requirements around security and availability demand a level of direct access to staff and management within the data centre environment, check how easily this can be provided. And whether or not you’re looking for a sector-specific service like PCI-compliant colocation, there are obvious benefits to working with a data centre operator that understands the common data centre needs in your industry – both from a service-level and commercial standpoint – and how they can help you meet them.

Want to find out more?

If you’d like to visit one of our data centre locations in the south east or Manchester, we’d welcome the chance to show you around our facilities. You can book a personalised tour, or get in touch with one of our team to cover off any questions you might have.

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Data centre resilience - what to look for when selecting a 'resilient' data centre

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The importance of resilience

Resilience in the context of data centres relates to the ability of a data centre to remain operational and recover quickly from unexpected events, such as natural disasters, power outages, cyber-attacks, and other disruptions. So, essentially, it’s of the utmost importance. But how do you measure the resilience of a data centre facility?

The data centre tier system

One clear marker of a data centre’s resilience is its tier classification, which describes the level of availability and reliability of a data centre’s infrastructure. The tier system was created by the Uptime Institute, a global data centre authority, to provide a common language and set of standards for evaluating data centre resiliency. The tier system ranges from Tier 1 to Tier 4, with each tier representing a progressively higher level of availability and redundancy:

  • Tier 1: a single path for power and cooling (the lowest level of resilience).
  • Tier 2: some level of redundancy, with at least one backup power and cooling source.
  • Tier 3: multiple sources of power and cooling and designed to allow maintenance or upgrades without disrupting service.
  • Tier 4: the highest level of redundancy, with multiple sources of power and cooling that are fully fault tolerant.

But, beyond the numbers, what should you be looking for?

Redundant power and cooling systems ...

…to ensure continuous operations in the event of a power outage or other disruptions, such as:

  • Dual power feeds from separate power grids or power substations to ensure that power is available even if one feed fails.
  • Backup generators to provide power in the event of a power outage.
  • A Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system to provide immediate backup power in the event of a power outage, allowing critical systems to remain operational until backup generators can be activated.
  • Redundant cooling systems such as backup air conditioning units or chillers, to ensure that the temperature remains within acceptable limits in the event of a cooling system failure.
  • Hot aisle/cold aisle design to optimise airflow and cooling efficiency. This design separates hot and cold airflows and directs cool air to the front of the racks where the servers draw in air.
  • Environmental monitoring to detect and alert staff to potential cooling or power issues.

Multiple network connections

…connections from different providers to ensure high availability and connectivity:

  • Carrier diversity and network redundancy: no single point of failure in the event that one carrier experiences an outage or network issue.
  • Geographical diversity: having network providers with geographically diverse routes can help ensure that a single natural disaster or other unexpected event doesn’t affect all of the network connections.
  • Network monitoring: to detect potential network issues before they affect connectivity (and identify and isolate issues when they do occur).
  • Load balancing: to distribute traffic across multiple network connections so no single network connection becomes overloaded.

Strong physical and cyber security measures ...

… to protect against threats such as cyber-attacks, theft, and vandalism.

Comprehensive disaster recovery plans ...

… including strategies to recover critical IT systems and data in the event of a disaster. A disaster recovery plan typically includes procedures and technologies for restoring critical systems, applications, and data in a timely manner, with minimal data loss and downtime. The goal is to ensure that business operations can be resumed as quickly as possible after a disaster, with minimal impact on productivity, revenue, and customer service, including:

  • Backup and recovery solutions: these include backup systems and software that allow data to be backed up and stored offsite, so that it can be quickly restored in the event of a disaster.
  • High availability solutions: including technologies such as clustering, load balancing, and failover, which allow critical systems and applications to be automatically switched to a redundant system in the event of a failure.
  • Hot, warm, and cold sites: alternative locations for data centre operations that are equipped with redundant systems, power and cooling infrastructure, and network connectivity, allowing for quick recovery in the event of a disaster.

And more

Beyond these key elements, it’s important to see evidence of:

  • a data centre regularly testing and validating its disaster recovery plan to ensure that it can effectively protect against potential disasters and minimise downtime;
  • the ability to scale up or down quickly and efficiently to meet changing business requirements and demand;
  • a proactive maintenance programme to identify and address potential issues before they become major problems.

With so many factors to take into account, the only way to really get a view on the resilience of a data centre is take a tour of the facility and speak to the people to whom you are entrusting your business-critical IT and workloads. If you’re looking for London edge or Manchester-based data centre footprint, get in touch or arrange a tour of our colocation data centres.

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The end of an era: why legacy server rooms can't handle today's tech demands

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The trouble with legacy server rooms

Traditional server rooms and small-scale data centre operations often struggle to satisfy the explosive demand for data processing and storage in today’s swiftly transforming IT and tech landscape. Not surprisingly, therefore, an unprecedented number of companies are migrating their business-critical IT systems and workloads to off-premise data centres.

The data deluge

For IT professionals, the writing is on the wall – legacy infrastructure is buckling and something has to be done to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. According to the Uptime Institute’s ‘Global Data Center Survey’ in 2023, the majority of enterprise IT is now off premise. This shift is fuelled through the need for greater scalability, enhanced security, and cost efficiency. By leveraging external data centres, businesses gain the agility to swiftly adapt to market changes whilst freeing up valuable resources to focus on innovation and growth. The shift not only underscores a growing trust in third-party solutions but also signals a strategic move towards a more flexible and resilient operational model.

Here at Datum, we aren’t surprised at this shift in perspectives, and this very much reflects the conversations we’ve been having with clients and potential clients. They consistently tell us that whether it’s the Internet of Things, social media, personal devices using data, augmented reality or even AI – the sheer volume of data now being created is putting huge strain on any set up with limited capacity. In short, the constant churn of data is overwhelming yesteryear’s infrastructure and is putting businesses that are holding on to traditional server rooms and legacy data centres at a serious competitive disadvantage.

Colocation as the solution

The move towards more capacious, efficient data centres brings with it a wealth of benefits, notably:

  • Scalability: Modern data centres offer the ability for businesses to grow unencumbered by the physical limitations of on-premise server rooms.
  • Efficiency: The new breed of data centres boasts advancements in cooling and power usage, translating into a reduced carbon footprint and better corporate responsibility.
  • Cost-effectiveness: While the initial investment may seem intimidating, the long-term savings and benefits far outweigh legacy system maintenance costs.

Colocation data centres are ready-made to handle the flood of data demands, offering resilience, efficiency, and flexibility that legacy systems can only dream of.

Time to make the move?

With this trio of major benefits on offer, you’d think that most businesses would have already made the move to colocation, or are planning to. But interestingly, even though they can see the benefits of moving off premise, many organisations are yet to make the move, worried about making the wrong choice of provider. If this applies to your organisation, it’s well worth talking to us about how we can help you make a successful transition to colocation. As well as our first-rate infrastructure, we provide full scalability, access to a network of trusted partners offering the services needed to augment and complement our colocation offering, in-house engineering services and bespoke service management to support you in developing the colocation solution that’s perfect for your needs.

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Five reasons for choosing off premise data centres for effective data management

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The importance of data

Data is no longer just another asset, but an integral part of business worldwide – it drives decision-making processes that impact the growth and success of businesses. The challenge, however, lies in understanding the nuances of data management and governance. As our dependence on data increases, and with every click, swipe and tap on our devices being recorded and stored, there is a growing need to establish sound data management practices.

Gone are the days where bulky hard drives were our only option for storing large amounts of data – cloud-based storage solutions offer convenience, scalability and cost-effectiveness, and storage devices have become more compact and efficient. These improvements have not only made our lives easier but have also revolutionised the way we work with data. But effective data storage and management is still a significant consideration for businesses as the data available to organisations grows at a staggering rate – one of the many reasons to put your faith in an off premise data centre.

#1: Enhanced security – secure your data with confidence

An off premise data centre provides multi-layered security protocols that include firewalls, intrusion identification and prevention systems, multifactor authentication, video surveillance systems, and 24/7 monitoring. With the highest levels of security protocols in place, your company can be sure of far higher security levels than you could achieve in-house.

#2: Disaster recovery

Off premise data centres provide protection against the loss or corruption of vital business data by ensuring a robust data recovery plan, even in extreme situations. With off-premise data storage, companies can easily retrieve data, minimising downtime and reducing business disruption.

#3: Scalability for competitive edge

Scalability is crucial for organisations that deal with massive amounts of unstructured data that can be problematic to store effectively using traditional storage systems. Off premise data centres allow companies to scale their data storage requirements quickly and efficiently, with flexible pricing models.

#4: Better connectivity

Connectivity is vital in today’s digital age. Off premise data centres provide better connectivity options compared to on premise data storage, and this can improve the efficiency and accessibility of data storage and retrieval processes. Data centres can also provide access to a variety of cloud-based services that can enhance data analysis capabilities, improve data retrieval processes, and increase overall data security.

#5: Reduced costs

Maintaining an on premise data centre is a significant expense for organisations of all sizes. Migrating off premise decreases both capital expenditures and operating expenses, helping companies redirect funds to more critical business needs.

Want to find out more?

More and more companies of all sizes are realising the benefits of off premise solutions to focus on their core activities, secure their data through specialised facilities and reduce the cost and complexity of managing their own data centres. If this is something you’ve been considering, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We have currently expanding our London edge (Farnborough) and Manchester data centres to accommodate growing demand.

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Unleashing the power of private cloud

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With the growing dependency on technology comes the need for more powerful and reliable computing infrastructure.

Cloud computing has revolutionised the way organisations approach their IT infrastructure development. One of the buzzwords in cloud computing is ‘private cloud’ – not only do private clouds provide greater control and customisation, but they also offer better performance and scalability options. Most importantly, private clouds provide additional layers of security, which is critical for businesses that handle sensitive data and applications. By embracing private cloud computing, IT managers can empower their organisations to run more efficiently and effectively, providing greater flexibility and cost-effectiveness.

Greater control and customisation

Private clouds are isolated and dedicated to a single organisation, providing them with greater control and customisation options. Organisations can configure their private clouds to meet specific requirements for data security, compliance and governance. IT managers have full control over the management of their private cloud, ensuring that they can monitor and manage their resources more effectively and efficiently.

Enhanced security

Security is paramount when it comes to computing infrastructure. With private cloud environments, organisations can implement the security policies they would like to enforce. IT teams can deploy security measures to protect their servers and data, which is a critical need for companies handling sensitive data. Private clouds provide a secure environment to run critical applications, reducing the risks of cyber threats and other potential security breaches, and they can be configured to provide network isolation, ensuring that an organisation’s workloads and data are completely separated from other entities. This reduces the risk of cross-tenant interference or attacks.

Improved performance

Private clouds offer more significant performance improvements compared to the public cloud. The infrastructure is dedicated solely to the organisation, providing the necessary resources to handle heavy workloads and applications with ease. Additionally, private clouds allow organisations to deploy advanced hardware configurations within their servers that can’t be offered by public cloud providers. Data and resources are physically closer to the organisation’s data centre or facilities.

Cost effectiveness

Private clouds provide greater cost-effectiveness compared to public cloud services. Private cloud infrastructure is designed to provide resources solely to the organisation; this ensures that there is no cost-sharing with other organisations or third-party cloud service providers. Moreover, organisations can plan for long-term growth and budget more efficiently, as there are no surprises in pricing plans or hidden fees.

Scalability and availability

Private clouds offer organisations better scalability and availability compared to public clouds. Since private clouds provide only single-tenant infrastructure, organisations can scale their infrastructure as required without worrying about resource availability. Additionally, private clouds allow IT managers to deploy running replicas over multiple data centres, providing geographic redundancy to guarantee service availability.

Regulatory compliance and data privacy

Private clouds are well-suited for industries and organisations that must adhere to strict regulatory compliance requirements, such as healthcare, finance or government. Organisations can implement security measures and policies that align with these regulations. Additionally, private clouds ensure that sensitive data remains on-premises or within a data centre controlled by the organisation, enhancing data privacy and reducing the risk of data exposure.

Hybrid cloud integration

Private clouds can be integrated with public cloud services to create hybrid cloud environments, giving organisations flexibility to leverage the benefits of both private and public clouds, and bare metal, as needed. This allows organisations to benefit from strengths of each platform while maintaining a cohesive and connected infrastructure environment.

Interested in private cloud?

Our flexible colocation, combined with secure cloud connections, facilitate the robust and resilient solutions our clients are looking for. To find out more yourself, get in touch with a member of our team.

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Cloud hosting support – what to look for

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There’s a lot to consider when choosing a cloud provider. You will be trusting your chosen partner with your business-critical data, so the relationship needs to be solid.

Whilst uptime and performance are obvious important considerations, levels and standard of support should be looked at too.

Having access to high-quality support and lines of communication with engineers in the data centre environment can be critical in order to solve performance and availability problems within the shortest possible times, especially if you don’t have the time, resources or in-house expertise to manage a complex cloud environment effectively.

SLAs and quality of service

Before you sign a contract with your chosen provider, make sure that they have been clear on the support process. What are the SLAs? How long are you likely to have to wait for help? Will the business know and understand your cloud environment? It can be frustrating to have to explain the ins and outs of your business to an unfamiliar support person in a time of crisis.

This is where the smaller cloud providers often have the advantage. Because they are smaller, they often work on a more one-to-one basis with their customers so it’s more likely that you’ll have conversations with the same key consultants every time you get in touch for assistance.

How does the on-boarding process work?

Try to find out what sort of help will be available to you during the migration process. Many IaaS solutions are very much self-service, which is perfect if you have the in-house skills available to set-up and managed your cloud platform, but if you’re not 100% comfortable or familiar with this degree of control, you should look for a provider that offers extra support during the on-boarding process.

What will it all cost?

Is support included? Some cloud providers charge a significant premium for support on top of their core service costs, whereas others include support in the original price tag. Make sure you’re clear on how this will work, and what the costs will be so that you can work out what the implications are for TCO and ROI.

At Teledata we work hard to ensure that every customer gets a level of support to suit their individual business needs and deliver a smooth transition to the cloud. If a customer is a first-time cloud user and needs additional support to get up and running, we’ll help them get to grips with our tools and understand how our cloud can underpin their business objectives. This translates into happier and more successful customers in the long run.

If you put in the legwork and research first and find a cloud partner that can really help you drive your business forward, you will benefit in the long run from bespoke, tailored and quality advice and support from a partner that truly understands your business and your growth strategies. Look for a cloud partner, rather than a supplier to create a strong working relationship that will stand the test of time.

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The importance of regional internet exchanges

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Reducing latency, improving resilience, introducing efficiencies and fostering local collaboration and innovation for the good of the internet

– regional internet exchanges, sometimes known as Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), play a fundamental role for good in the global internet infrastructure.

Let’s explore how regional internet exchanges can help local tech communities and, as a result, benefit the broader business and user groups they serve.

1. Reduced latency

One of the key goals of a regional peering exchange is to get traffic from point to point in as efficient a manner as possible. Network operators with access to local peering can interconnect their networks at a single location within a region or city. The distance that data needs to travel to reach its destination is reduced, resulting in lower latency and faster response times for online services.

We’ve seen this first-hand at our MCR1 facility in Manchester, which is home to a LINX Manchester Point of Presence (PoP). Established as part of a drive by LINX to keep traffic local and decentralise the UK’s internet infrastructure, this particular IXP gave ISPs easy access to a peering point that saves their traffic from having to loop around London.

2. Lower costs

ISPs can reduce their operational costs by peering at local exchanges because they can offload some of their internet connectivity at their doorstep – avoiding expensive long-haul IP transit fees for example.

3. Increased resilience

By establishing multiple points of presence and connecting through local peering exchanges, networks become more resilient. If one network connection or link goes down, traffic can be rerouted through alternative paths, reducing the risk of widespread internet outages.

4. Efficient use of bandwidth

Peering exchanges facilitate efficient use of bandwidth by allowing networks to exchange traffic directly rather than sending it through upstream transit providers. This optimises the use of available capacity and can help prevent network congestion during peak usage times.

5. Enhanced content delivery

Content providers like CDNs and streaming services benefit from local peering exchanges by establishing points of presence within or near these exchange points. This enables them to cache and distribute content more effectively to users in a specific region, ensuring faster content delivery. Indeed, the presence of IX Manchester at our MCR1 facility was a key selling point for PixelMax, where low latency was critical to the delivery of their Metaverse applications.

6. Promotes local internet development

Local peering exchanges can be transformative for a region – an aspect of community and (in the case of LINX for example) a membership-owned basis encourages interworking between local organisations and the fostering of a healthy tech scene. Although providers will be expected to compete with one another, cooperation, collaboration and investment for the good of the internet in a city lends itself to wider ranging benefits such as economic development and job creation in the area.

7. Improved network quality

With more direct connections and shorter routing paths, network quality and reliability are enhanced. This is especially important for IoT and real-time applications like VoIP, online gaming, and video conferencing, where low latency and stable connections are essential.

8. Security and privacy

Local peering exchanges can offer better control over data traffic, reducing reliance on distant and potentially less secure international links. This can enhance the privacy and security of local internet communications.

More information

For more information about LINX Manchester and the benefits of peering with a regional internet exchange at a Datum facility, get in touch with our team.

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Data centres and colocation - enablers of digital transformation

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In recent years, digital transformation has become a critical component of enterprise growth strategies.

Organisations must adopt new business models enabled by technology, and staying competitive requires a relentless focus on innovation. However, the journey to digital transformation requires a high level of infrastructure agility, scalability, and security that many enterprises struggle to achieve.

Data centres and colocation are enablers of digital transformation and an essential component of the digital transformation landscape. We furnish businesses with the necessary infrastructure, security, and accessibility they need to tackle the ever-changing tech environment. IT managers can take advantage of our facilities to streamline costs, improve agility, and enhance the value proposition offered by their business.

Infrastructure agility

Digital transformation requires agility, which means being able to respond to changes in the business environment quickly. However, traditional in-house data centre infrastructure is often rigid and inflexible, which makes it challenging for enterprises to scale their IT infrastructure sufficiently rapidly. By working with us, enterprises can leverage our infrastructure and add capacity to their IT footprint faster than if they were to build their own data centre. We also offer a range of interconnectivity options, such as cloud connectivity and carrier-neutral connectivity, which further enable infrastructure agility.

Improved security

Digitalisation has increased the amount of sensitive data that organisations must handle, making them targets for cyber-attacks. As a result, security is a cornerstone of digital transformation. Security measures such as multi-factor authentication, video surveillance, and biometric access control systems, as well as our strict physical security measures like gated building access, secured cages, and round-the-clock monitoring ensure that infrastructure remains secure.

Scalability

Digital transformation requires the ability to rapidly scale computing and storage resources to meet business needs. By leveraging our infrastructure, enterprises can increase their capacity quickly and scale their IT resources up or down as needed.

Reduced costs

Building and maintaining a data centre and all its associated infrastructure can be an expensive proposition. Much of this is related to the need for expensive real estate, power, and cooling requirements. Our colo provides an economical alternative, with a shared infrastructure that reduces costs by spreading them across multiple tenants. IT managers can leverage this advantage to improve their budgets and invest in other critical digital transformation initiatives.

Reduced complexity

The data centre environment is becoming more complex every day. There are more applications, more systems, more users, and more data, which require more IT infrastructure. It’s tough for most organisations to achieve the agility, scalability, and security required to support their digital transformation projects because of the complexity of their infrastructure. Our purpose-built infrastructure and network of service providers facilitates complex solutions and reduces IT complexity for our clients.

Competitive advantage

Digital transformation requires businesses to leverage cutting-edge technology to provide unique value propositions to their customers. However, it’s challenging for most organisations to allocate sufficient resources for developing and deploying innovative products and services. We are a valuable resource for innovation as we provide access to advanced IT infrastructure, as well as the managed IT services that support the development and implementation of innovative solutions.

Interested in finding out more?

Future success is about utilising new technology to create a strong digital core to power businesses while leveraging data to create new streams of revenue. By embracing the benefits of data centres and colocation, businesses can pave the way to future growth and success.

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