With more data distribution and greater demand for IT consumerization, organizations now need more hardware, resources and data center bandwidth. Furthermore, the impact of the cloud is shaping the design of the modern data center. Recently, IDC pointed out that total spending on IT infrastructure products (server, enterprise storage, and Ethernet switches) for deployment in cloud environments will increase by 18.2% in 2017 to reach $44.2 billion.
Today, data is a critical asset for virtually any business — and the need to house and maintain an ever-increasing amount of digital assets is growing exponentially. With impacts around cloud, virtualization, and the growth around data – organizations are asking some big questions around the capacity of their existing infrastructure. When an organization is faced with the need to expand or modernize their data center, they must choose to either build a new facility, retrofitting existing data center space or find a partner for colocation.
As with everything, a major consideration is cost. In this whitepaper from CenturyLink, we learn how a strong case can be made that choosing the right service provider which can lower total cost of ownership, including moving capital expense to operating expense.
Seeing the big, data center, picture
As enterprises look ahead to modernizing current data centers or building out, determining future needs can be difficult. A significant capital investment today has repercussions that last for years. With this in mind – let’s look at the big picture when it comes to understanding data center expansions.
- Challenge. The demand on data centers is expanding constantly, while IT organizations face limited budgets and space, business growth and ever-changing requirements.
- What’s at Stake. To modernize and meet demands, IT must make one of three choices: build a new facility, retrofit existing space, or contract with a trusted provider.
- The Solution. IT and business must come together to determine future growth and evaluate the total cost of ownership that comes with each choice.
Why Build or Buy?
As you examine your own business, it’s very important to understand what’s actually causing data center growth.
- Outgrowing current capacity
- Outdated equipment
- Global expansion
- Market trends — Enabling mobility and Internet of Things (IoT)
- Mergers & acquisitions
- Spinoff enterprises
- The move to Big Data and Analytics
- Disaster recovery
When you look at the use-cases driving your organization, it’s absolutely critical to involve the data center; as it houses the critical data supporting your business. This is why your data center should work for you, and not cause you headaches. Remember, unless data centers are the core of your business, they shouldn’t require so much commitment. Partnering with a trusted provider to help with your data center needs will free up time and capital that’s better spent on moving your business forward.
Download this whitepaper todayto learn more about working with a data center platform which allows you to focus more on your business; and less on your data center. Selecting the right data center partner not only enables your organization, it also allows you to be more agile, free up capital, empower your IT, and mitigate business risk.
