Now that so many businesses are relocating to take advantage of more favorable business laws and lower taxes, they are faced with moving large stores of data which are highly sensitive and valuable to the company.
A data center migration is a huge undertaking. The equipment is expensive, and the data may be priceless to the company. In fact, protecting the integrity of the data could mean the difference between the company existing or not. If your data contains personal customer information and that information is stolen or hacked, your company can be sued right out of business.
Many financial institutions depend on their data centers to run their day-to-day businesses and could not survive without putting safeguards in place to backup their data and ensure their equipment stays operational. Moving their data is a great undertaking and no sane CEO would risk his company’s data with a fly-by-night moving company.
Get a Consultation
If you know someone who has had a positive experience moving their data center, getting a referral from that person is a great place to start. You can research nearby companies and check whether they are BBB rated and read the reviews. People are more inclined to complain when they have problems with businesses than they are to leave good reviews when they have positive ones. Ruling out the companies with bad reviews will narrow down your list and serve to verify any referrals you receive.
When you have a list of two or three companies, ask for a consultation and get quotes based on your budget. The project manager should review your equipment and make recommendations based on the condition of your equipment, your plans for growth, and suggestions for optimizing storage and performance. Part of the moving process will involve preparing the new location for your data and having the supporting network, wiring and cabling in place. You may need help obtaining services to support your system.
When you are planning a move is the time to consider whether you need equipment upgrades. If you have old, outdated equipment, it is easier to transfer the information and choose not to move that equipment than spend the money moving it and risk damaging it. Regardless, all data should be backed up prior to moving. Although the data center mover should be trained to take exceptional care packing and relocating your equipment, if the vehicle were to get in an accident during the move, there may be no way to recover information from a severely damaged server. You just cannot be too careful – better safe than sorry.
The chance for mishaps are precisely why you would never move a data center yourself nor trust someone without a track record.
While a data center move can be costly, for some businesses the benefits simply outweigh the problems they face with planning and executing a move, especially when it is across borders. Some metropolitan areas have become too expensive and impose too many regulations for many businesses…
