Data security is a sensitive area in business. Managing and protecting your business's data is important. Not just confined to private commerce, but government bodies seek similar, if not higher standards of security due to the sensitive information that they maintain. Some businesses are prepared to risk their business data with data centre operations that are abroad. Wouldn't it provide the business owners with greater peace of mind if their data were protected by a local data centre? Australia's own Macquarie Telecom has won several awards and boasts clients such as ASIO and the federal government. By outsourcing their data centre operations, they are able to focus more on the business operations that are of a higher priority for the business. Below are some considerations for business managers that are looking at investing in external data centre operations.
Should businesses store their business data onsite or offsite?
This really comes down to the management ability to secure the data for the business. The business will need to consider the cost factor both internally and externally. For smaller businesses, it would usually be more cost effective to outsource their data storage to an external infrastructure for the following reasons.
Ability to save on space
For businesses that are outside of the city, rental space may not be much of an issue. However, if the business is located within the central business district in popular cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, then the cost in the office space may be quite high. In locations where each square metre could cost you hundreds more per month, you will need to weigh up the options between having a business data centre on site or whether to outsource it to a dedicated data centre.
Ability to save money with purchasing a server
Purchasing dedicated servers can be expensive. The additional fees that come with managing the servers and the dedicated software for security and the operational costs can become a significant expense to the business. Furthermore, if this isn't managed well, it can become a bottleneck for the business. A fully outsourced solution may be the ideal solution for the business.
Save money from hiring someone to manage the server
The salary cost with hiring someone to manage your servers on and off-site can go into the tens or hundreds of thousands easily. It is dependent on the needs of the business.
Save money on the overheads
If you have a server-based on-site, then you will need to dedicate funds to the operational overheads. These will include the rental location, telephony and electricity fees. Business owners must remember that the data servers will always need to be on. So they will need to forecast the fees that the business can sustain to manage this solution onsite.
Save money by not requiring a full service management solution
If you or your business personnel already have skills with managing the servers, you may only need to outsource the server to a data centre. This will reduce the any external management fees that you need pay to other specialists, as you will be maintaining the server operations management internally.
Have confidence that your business data is being protected
The two vital areas when managing data and seeking a credible outsourced supplier is how well their security infrastructure is and how well they backup the data.
The overall benefit is productivity
The less you need to worry about your server's data security and operations, the more the business can focus on what is most important. For commercial businesses, they will have the confidence to focus on sales and that any data that is being accessed from these server locations will always be accessible. It enhances the overall value to the business.
There is a need for businesses to outsource to maximise their full operational capacity. Should they proceed down this path, they need to partner with data centres that will provide them with the confidence to enhance their business operations and overall value.
