Choosing a data centre solution that's right for you

When it comes to colocating your IT infrastructure, choosing the right data centre solution is an important decision to get right. There are an increasing number of options to choose from, but not all options are created equal. When data centres aren’t your core business, it can be a mine field of information. So how do you find the right information to make a decision that’s right for you?

When it comes to selecting a colocation solution that’s right for your business, comparing apples with apples is crucial. Solutions vary by data centre provider, and although they may appear the same, they often aren’t.

We have included some key considerations to help you weigh up your options and make an informed decision that's best suited to you;

kVA is not kW – Some solutions are sold as kVa and others kW. Comparing kilovolt-ampere (kVA) with kilowatts (kW) are not comparable. Make sure you ask the question, because the difference matters. kW is the globally standardised unit measurement for real power while kVA is a unit measurement of apparent power that can be as low as 0.8 of a kW.

EXAMPLE: When we provide you a 2kW rack, you get 2kW of actual power to that rack. When a competitor sells you a 2kVA rack, that doesn’t equate to 2kW of power, it’s ~1.6 kW. Always ask because the difference matters.

Only pay for power that you use – At NEXTDC, 100% of your contracted power is available. However some data centres will automatically upgrade you to the next level of billable power when you hit 80% usage. So your 2kVA (~1.6kW) needs to be upgraded once you’ve used 1.6kVA (~1.28kW). When evaluating your requirements vs what you receive, this is a level of detail worth knowing up front. 2Kw Vs 1.28kVa?

Additionally, we don’t force power upgrades. If your power usage is consistently over-subscribed, our objective is to work with you to establish the right step forward. To ensure you are always aware of your power usage, we enable you to monitor your usage in real time in our ONEDC data centre management portal which is provided free of charge with every NEXTDC solution.

What is the uptime guarantee in your SLA? – Can your business afford to be unavailable to your customers even 1% of the time? It’s important you understand your service guarantee when your brand and revenue stream is at risk. NEXTDC offers an industry leading 100% uptime guarantee for power, security and connectivity to your rack. Our facilities are built and independently certified as being the only data centres in the market to guarantee that level of resiliency, making NEXTDC the best positioned provider in the market to deliver your business a 100% service guarantee.

Is your data centre solution independently assessed and certified? – Many claim to be best-in-class, but how do you know if this has been validated? The truth is that there is only one globally recognised company that independently assesses and certifies data centres to the highest global standards, and that is Uptime Institute. As the Trademark owner for Tier certification, with a 25-year history as the global leader in third-party verification of data centre quality, Uptime are the pinnacle of data centre standards. In order to deliver a 100% SLA, our facilities must be built to the highest quality, as such we invest in adhering the highest standards globally. We have built Australia’s only Uptime Tier IV certified data centre network, and thereby verified as being fully fault-tolerant and able to withstand all individual equipment failures or distribution path interruptions. If your data centre isn’t Uptime Institute certified, it isn’t best-in-class. If your data centre partner can’t demonstrate who independently assessed and certified the quality of their data centres, they likely aren’t built to world-class standards.