Q1: How important is data centre location?
The cost of rack space in Docklands is up to five times greater than that of data centres outside London – so is it really worth paying more? The key to getting the right data centre location is to balance the cost of rack space with the cost and availability of connectivity. In Docklands, connectivity is more widely available through multiple Telco transit options, providing competitive cost. Alternative locations may offer less expensive rack space but more limited connectivity options, which may prove to be more expensive and which may limit key resilience requirements, such as SAN replication. However, it is also essential to consider all the risks: Docklands data centres are at serious threat of ‘terror attacks’ and, indeed, have already been targeted. Therefore, it is essential that a Docklands-based service provision offers full data mirroring to an out-of-London site with reliable connectivity in order to deliver complete resilience.

Q2: How easy is it to move between data centres?
Whilst many ISPs offer data centres, they only offer their own Internet connectivity into the environment. This means the client is tied to a specific IP address range; should the client wish to move as a result of poor performance or at the end of a contract, it becomes complex and expensive to provision a new range of IP addresses. ISVs that opt for ‘carrier-free’ data centres that support connectivity from a variety of Telcos will have a more flexible business model.

Q3: How secure is the data?
Data centres offer far greater levels of data security than on premise systems – buildings are well ventilated, fire proof and secured with leading edge technology. Providers that have achieved ISO27001 data security standards and those that are willing for an ISV to undertake penetration tests are highly confident in their data security.

Q4: How long will data be saved?
ISVs looking to secure their customers’ corporate data need to ensure that the managed service provider has the ability to meet a diverse range of operational requirements. Whilst some organisations will be happy with a simple four to five day rolling backup, others will want to ensure financial data is retained for several months, whilst others will want to be able to access Word documents deleted up to a year ago. If the SaaS model is to be successful, ISVs need to ensure they sign up with a supplier that has the flexibility to secure data on a customer by customer basis and meet diverse service levels.

Q5: Is hosting really an option for a small organisation?
For an ISV, the SaaS model provides a new opportunity to compete with the larger competitors. Indeed, cloud computing is rapidly becoming the dominant model for software delivery – those that don’t adopt this approach risk rapidly going out of business. A ‘white label’ cloud computing solution enables ISVs to offer customers access to a technology infrastructure that a FTSE 100 company would aspire to achieve, taking the organisation into a far broader competitive marketplace.

Q6: Are all Data Centres virtualised?
Whilst increasing numbers of data centre providers are investing in virtual technology, the majority of current centres are still based on physical solutions. ISVs need to specify exact computing requirements in advance because trying to upgrade in a physical environment requires long term planning and a significant investment. However, leveraging virtual technology will enable a data centre provider to offer upgrades overnight, as required. For ISVs looking to migrate a customer base from on premise to SaaS over time, the ability to provide a solution which can flexibly scale up in line with customer demand is critical. A virtualised data centre option is not just one that uses virtual technologies such as VMware. ISVs need to look for flexible providers that can migrate customers between data centres, without interruption, as required – such as; in response to new risks within one data centre location or untenable price changes.

Q7: How resilient is the DR strategy?
One of the other benefits of a virtual data centre is that it enables the provider simply to mirror the data into a secondary site rather than having to replicate the entire environment. To ensure comprehensive disaster recovery is in place, look for a provider that offers a regular Disaster Recovery rehearsal option to demonstrate how quickly systems can be up and running in the event of a problem at the primary data centre. Furthermore, in the smoke and mirrors world of ISP connectivity, companies will often buy connectivity from different ISPs to get resilience, only to find that under various inter-ISP agreements, the lines all come from one source, undermining the strategy completely! Look for a provider with ‘RIPE’ accreditation to demonstrate IP Address and connectivity independence. They will also need to demonstrate their proactive approach and expertise, whilst also being ISP agnostic in order to deliver full connectivity resilience.

Q8: Are all data centre contracts on auto-renewal?
Growing numbers of organisations that have made the move to managed services are being caught out by auto-renew contracts which allow cancellation only in the last quarter of what is typically a three year deal. Failure to cancel during the period will result in the organisation finding itself committed to an extension of the contract.

Q9: Why is the application not performing well in a data centre?
ISVs typically assume that the application will perform as well, if not better, in a data centre environment. But there are many factors to be taken into account, including the connectivity: ISVs should look for a free performance test before signing up to a deal. This is a complex marketplace that requires providers to have an in-depth understanding to deliver communications bandwidth that is both adequate and resilient. In choosing your provider ask if their managed services provide a ‘one stop shop’, if you want to avoid the ever present risk of data centre and comms provider passing the buck between them.

Q10: Do SaaS applications require a different design? Expertise in building networks and tailoring software for cloud computing will transform application performance, whilst a provider offering a broad skill set, including operating systems and software, enables ISVs to outsource more of the core requirements. To double-check a provider’s capabilities, ask whether or not a contractual ‘get-out’ for non performance is available.

About the author, Keith Bates is chairman of managed services provider ESG