December 9, 2020December 9, 2020 by Matt Seaton

Why you’ll thank yourself for using a third party provider for data management

The total global volume of data is expected to reach 175 zettabytes within the next five years.

With the rise of SaaS and the Internet of Things (IoT), can companies continue to host their own data in-house? Or should they look to a third-party provider to manage their information?

This article examines third party data centres as the ideal solution to hosting critical business data.

We explain what a third party data management service is and how it differs from on-site hosting. We also outline the benefits of data centres and how colocation is the perfect choice to store your data safely.

Read on to discover the best way to manage your business data through a third-party provider.

Why the need for data management?

Data continues to play a critical role in business, from storing customer records to analysing big data through AI.

Yet all this data needs to be stored somewhere. It must remain safe, be accessible at all times, and comply with all necessary regulations.

Downtime in a world where the workplace never sleeps is unacceptable.

Databases, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), web sites—they all require uninterrupted data flow. Servers control this movement and offer authorised connections to read and update information. Misconfiguration or faulty hardware can decimate a business overnight if no one is there to help fix it.

It’s essential to not only have a system to manage business data, but also to ensure it remains available at all times.

Types of data storage

There are 3 recognised types of data storage solutions:

On-site or on-premises
Colocation services
Cloud storage

On-site or on-premises

On-site data gets stored inside of a local or wide area network within the company’s own premises. For small to medium-sized businesses, that means using servers located in a dedicated data room or closet.

Full responsibility for this hardware lies with the office or IT manager.

That includes organising the installation, security, and maintenance of each piece of hardware. Any outdated equipment must be replaced and managers are ultimately liable for any downtime.

Colocation services

Companies that need bigger or better data management solutions use colocation.

Colocation services store data on company-owned equipment, but then house this equipment off-site, in a purpose-built data centre facility. Instead of having to physically house and service their own servers, they use a data centre to host their hardware.

Data centre operators like Netwise offer a dedicated solution to store your company data.

Businesses can either purchase their own servers or let us order, configure, and install them on your behalf. They’re placed in server racks, which can be divided into segregated cabinets, or even provided on a per unit basis.

Data centres are fully secured, both digitally and physically. They’re also monitored for intrusions such as hacking attempts and DDoS attacks.

Cloud storage

Cloud storage lets you save information to an off-site location, held on large distributed systems owned an operated by a cloud service provider.

Cloud providers host, manage, secure, and maintain all the necessary hardware. They’re also responsible for the infrastructure that lets you access your data.

A cloud storage system often uses multiple clusters of servers to host data. They’re termed data buckets and companies use them to hold multiple digital objects like videos or back-up files.

What is a data management third party provider?

A third party provider is an external company that’s responsible for hosting your data.

Unlike on-site storage, they help to maintain and control your servers for you. Our world-class London data centres enable our clients to colocate their own servers and utilise our high-uptime utilities.

But what are the main differences between a third-party provider and managing data on your own premises?

On-site vs online data centres

Until quite recently, most businesses traditionally stored data in-house, on the servers they keep in their offices.

That required the purchase and installation of cabling, switches, a network cabinet, and the servers themselves. Not to mention licencing the right software.

For many years, Microsoft SBS enabled Windows PCs to store and share files over a company’s network. Back-ups were saved to costly tape drives and placed in a fire-proof safe.

So why did Microsoft Small Business Server come to its end of life in January 2020?

Online data management

With the rise of broadband and fibre internet, companies abandoned on-site methods in favour of online solutions.

Modern internet infrastructure enables the sharing of terabytes of data around the world, all at the speed of light. That global network now enables businesses to store and access large volumes of information via third-party data centres.

Low latency combined with robust security ensures a better service than hosting on-site. But the benefits don’t stop there.

Benefits of a third party data management provider

Unlike your business’s premises, data centres are designed to do one thing: host your critical data.

A data centre provider like Netwise can manage your company’s data by offering:

Multiple reliable power sources
Resilient, high-performance connectivity
DDoS mitigation services
Multi-unit to full rack colocation services
Dedicated and custom hosting
Access to software licencing

Data centres come equipped with UPS hardware to ensure systems stay up when the power goes down.

Security software continually monitors for intrusion attempts and attacks. And they can provide custom servers to match your exact requirements.

Colocation vs public cloud

What’s the difference between a cloud host and a colocation data centre?

The main issue is where your private data gets stored.

A public cloud host saves your sensitive information on servers all around the world. There are often no geographic constraints which can cause problems when protecting data. It’s also more difficult to set-up an environment that’s dedicated to a legacy system on the cloud.

With a colocation provider, everything’s kept on your own servers.

You know exactly where your hardware is at all times, which makes life easier for GDPR compliance etc. You also manage who accesses it and what’s stored there.

If you want full control over your data but don’t want the limitations of hosting it yourself, always choose the colocation option.

Host and manage all of your data with Netwise

This article has examined the issues faced when hosting and managing data within a local network.

Not only is it less expensive to use a third-party provider to manage your information, but it’s faster and safer too. That’s why companies of all sizes choose Netwise to hold their most important digital assets.

Netwise owns and operates private data centres in the heart of London to host your critical business systems.

Our London Central facility boasts 11,000 square feet of technical space, housing up to 200 racks. Our data centre buildings run on 100% renewable energy and they’re secured by 24/7 monitored security.

See how much you can save with our colocation services by using our colocation calculator. This step-by-step process lets you choose your power, space, connectivity, and port speed requirements. Then, when you’re ready, get in touch by contacting our team.

Don’t let your data get out of control. Use a third-party provider. Use Netwise.

December 8, 2020December 8, 2020 by Matt Seaton

London East Build Blog – Weeks 32 to 34

With the internal shell now complete, and with far fewer trades now on-site until the electrical works begin, we’ve been able to get various supplementary works underway across a number of key areas.

The last few weeks have proved to be an excellent springboard for getting things like access control integration started, with the first doors at NLE now online and interacting with our core systems at NLC.

Weekly overview

While final plans and schedules for the LV and HV electrical works continue, we’ve been able to press ahead on-site with a range of supplementary projects which have helped to drive forward general progress.

We’ve spent time on the main access control elements, which will secure the client entry points to the facility. This includes the frame installation of our turnstile, the integration of the main reception door onto the access control system, and the deployment of our lovely new Boon Edam speed gates.

Speedgates — The first of our three speedgate terminals fixed down to the floor in our entrance foyer, seen against the grey feature wall which runs the length of this area

Frontdoor — Here we see the front door access control systems being installed, which will also house control points for the main compound turnstile

Envelope — A quick look at some of the now fully-completed door systems, this one showing the entrance to one of our LV power rooms, and the ground floor lift entrance – this is being custom painted to match all other doors soon

Hardhat — With hard hat tours starting in early 2021, we’ve been getting the tour PPE kit on-site ready for use by our visitors

Alongside access control works, we’ve also now flood cabled the first data hall with its final lighting cables, which means we can begin to light the data halls with their overhead LED panels for the first time.

We’ve also had trades back on-site over the past few weeks to bring all doors to full completion, which includes the checking of tile stability around the frames, and adjusting all doors for their opening angles and closing speeds. Given the number of door systems installed, this is quite the undertaking.

Though not something pictured, our lift is now operational, and can move between floors. We’re now just waiting on some final integration work to be undertaken, which will bring that particular element of the project to a close.

The custom frame system we’ve had designed for our cooling plant and cold corridors arrived during this time, which we hope to begin installing in the next couple of weeks, on the lead up to Christmas.

What’s next?

Details are now finalised on much of the HV and LV front, meaning we’re close to having that stage of the project begin.

In the lead up to this, we’ll be continuing with lighting, access control, and the chequer plating of all client areas.

Another major job that will be undertaken both now and throughout the electrical installation works will be the integration of our new CREC system. This will include getting the coolers plumbed, powered and interconnected for their control systems, along with the installation of our custom-fabricated containment frame, which will blank off any cooler bays which are presently unoccupied, as well as providing a mounting location for the extraction louvres.

November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 by Matt Seaton

The importance of sustainable data centres in London

The internet is used by more than 4 billion people worldwide.

The UK makes up for 60.3 million of these internet users, Great Britain bringing in 46.6 million as of 2016. That’s 92.6 per cent of our nation’s population; and growing.

We in London spend large chunks of our days on the internet, amplified further at the moment by the current COVID-19 restrictions. Whether it’s viewing our feeds on social media, sending work emails, video conference calls, uploading files, sending messages, downloading information, or simply surfing the web, data centres in London are working rigorously to transfer this information from one sector to the next.

Simply put, it’s fair to say that the majority rely extremely heavily on the internet.

We spend a lot of our lives online, and yet the environmental impact caused by our heavy use of the internet is commonly overlooked.

As we increasingly become more digitalised, the internet continues to play a key role in our lives. As such, there comes a time in which we must address the effect the internet has on the environment. There’s no doubt the internet requires a massive amount of energy to operate, so how can we remedy the effects of our carbon footprint? Where do we begin to address these effects?

It all starts at the data centre.

The internet in tangible form – data centres

It’s easy to fall short in understanding just how the internet requires so much energy due to its “invisible” nature. Nevertheless, there are four main areas that drive the digital world; devices, networks, manufacturing, and data centres. The latter being of tangible form and largely contributing to the egregious energy consumption the internet partakes in.

Think of a data centre as you would a modern-day factory. They are physical facilities that function as large scale communication hubs and centralised computing facilities. These buildings can essentially be viewed as a collection of specialised computers, known as servers. These computers house a wide variety of things, including databases, websites, communication platforms, AI systems, and much more.

In short, data centres are the internet, materialized. They are the closest thing to the internet in physical form and they are one of two main components of the internet that contribute to having a very notable impact on the environment.

Why do data centres consume so much energy?

Think about data centres as you would your own personal computer. Your computer generates heat when in use. This heat is that energy. You know you’re generating a lot of heat when you hear the fans in your computer start to hum. Now imagine this but on a much, much larger scale. Millions of these specialised computers, known as servers, which are often many times more powerful (and power hungry) than your average home computer.

As a result, more than 4 billion individuals indirectly contribute to the IT sector’s energy consumption, which equates to 10 per cent of all energy consumption worldwide. This number is on continuously on the rise as we become more and more digital. It’s predicted that this number could increase to as much as 33 per cent by 2025.

Because of your indirect contribution to this consumption through use of your various digital services and platforms, a fair part of your carbon footprint comes from the operation of data centres. As an end-user, you have no input regarding what kind of energy your indirect data centre operators are purchasing and using.

So, what is there to do?

The future of internet sustainability

Thankfully, we’ve too found ourselves in a collective cultural transition into renewable energy and the IT sector has followed suit – in fact, it’s lead the way in pervasive use of renewables. As society has shifted to having more concern for our impact on the environment, corporations have also looked to shift towards sustainable energy.

Data centre operators have been racing towards a completely renewable internet for quite some time. Not only is this change great for the environment, it’s also advantageous from a financial standpoint; sustainable energy is consistent in its nature, and therefore holds great value for companies and investors.

‘Going green’ has become standard in terms of what business are looking for when choosing a data centre partner. Because of this, modern internet companies are now actively pursuing green, more sustainable providers to partner with on a long-term basis. Finding a truly sustainable data centre operator in the centre of a city like London can be tough, but they are

Sustainable data centres In London

We at Netwise want to be a part of the solution, in creating sustainable data centres to house critical business systems here in London. We do so currently as the UK’s leading colocation and data centre service provider, delivering end-user content on a global scale. We’ve been able to put together two sustainable data centres right in the heart of London, with our third centre in London East coming in 2021.

Our London Central facility uses 100 per cent renewable energy. We aim to be a part of the solution. We aim to keep London sustainable and set the standard for corporations to follow. This enables the reduction of carbon footprint concerns for you as an end-user, as we lead the way in reducing data centre power consumption in the capital.

London East is the next chapter in our journey. We’re taking note from our London Central facility, amping up to a facility with 256 racks, and of course remaining 100 per cent renewable in our purchase and consumption of energy.

Our mission is to provide world-class data centre facilities in enviable locations, while always operating on 100 per cent renewable energy. Our data centres are some of the greenest in all of Europe, powered by energy sourced from the wind, sun, and sea, ensuring you enjoy services with a reduced carbon footprint.

So we ask you, why not come and be part of the solution? Feel free to get in touch or schedule a tour at any of our facilities, or check out our blog for more detail on our upcoming data centre, London East.

London deserves this. London deserves sustainable systems to be put in place and so does the world. We cannot fall short and disregard the invisible nature of the internet. Together, let’s be part of the solution and never the problem.

November 17, 2020November 17, 2020 by Matt Seaton

London East Build Blog – Weeks 30 and 31

We’re very excited to show you another transformative fortnight of works on-site at NLE, as the internal envelope of our new data centre reaches full completion.

We’re now looking at a complete internal shell, giving us the physical structure we need to begin installing equipment and deploying electrical services.

Weekly overview

As you can see from the range of shots below, we’re now at a major turning point in this project. The internal shell has now been signed off as complete (with one final pass for minor snags pending), meaning we have the final internal structure of the building set and ready for the next phase of works that will take us into early 2021.

The facility is now presented with immaculate, high specification white spaces for all technical deployments, as well as our usual top tier front of house amenities, something our clients continue to take great advantage of at our London Central data centre.

Floor — A look at the flooring in Data Hall 3 as it moves across the space, towards completion

Doors — A look at the doors installed in the Build Room and Customer Breakout Area, showing a solid twin-leaf riser door set on the left, and the main room access door on the right, ajar

Equipment — Here we see a pair of UPS’s and their associated battery enclosures, along with a set of core network racks, which are being held in one of our LV rooms – with temporary dust bags / wraps still in place

Coolers — Here we see four CRECs in place on their custom plinths in Data Hall 1, which will cool the opening phase of this space, to be followed by a further four units when required

Exterior — A night time exterior shot, taken from the front compound, looking towards our warehouse and loading bay

As you can see in some of the shots of our new doors above, we’re using a fully integrated Paxton system, with the card readers forming part of the handle assembly. This not only keeps our facility access installation as neat and as clean as possible, but will also massively improve the time to onlining the system, as these readers operate wirelessly.

We’ve also been working on some addition access infrastructure, including our main entrance turnstile, and the pedestrian access gates which lead from reception into the technical side of the facility; more on this next time.

All of our lighting cable specifications are now with our manufacturer, who are going to be assembling these for us for compatibility with our Klik system. These are all being made to length, using the specialist Klik hardware, which will enable rapid installation to the overhead grid once it all arrives on-site. This will allow us to light all rooms using the overhead LED panels, and allow for the removal of all temporary site lighting.

We’re incredibly excited to have reached this point, as we now begin what will be the most critical phase of technical works – preparing to properly energise the facility. This is still a little way off of course, however we are now moving into the set of works that will enable this to happen.

What else has been happening?

After a lengthy wait while we got everything just right, we’re now also in a position to tease our new van, which will be the first of our new fleet – aptly named ‘001’.

Van — The side of our van features both our main logo, as well as an oversized matt finish logomark as an abstract background

Van — The rear of the van features a full Chapter 8 chevron kit, as well as more detailing on the door panels – amber light bar still to follow

This, coupled with our custom flight cases, makes inter-facility migrations and new deployments an absolute breeze.

Since our last instalment of the build blog, we’ve also seen new restrictions come into play with regards to the national response to COVID-19. We are of course following these guidelines closely, as we did during the first set of restrictions earlier this year, and will continue to do so.

As a result, we’ve now implemented Test and Trace QR codes at both of our sites, which should be used during normal check in procedures. This helps us to keep everyone safe, and to keep our facilities running without a hitch 24×7, as your businesses rely more heavily than ever before on remote services held within data centres.

What’s next?

With the envelope now complete, we will be moving onto electrical works in the very near future. This includes both internal LV work, and external HV work.

On the lead up to this next phase beginning, we will be undertaking a wide range of tasks to bring other aspects of the project either to completion, or to a stage that makes their completion post-electrical works much more straight forward.

November 16, 2020 by Matt Seaton

Do you need a colocation centre to store your business data?

Every year, businesses collectively spend trillions of dollars on IT products and services worldwide. In fact, the global forecast for the sector reached $3.46 trillion for this year, which is quite a staggering figure.

All over the world, businesses have to make the right decisions in IT management every year. So how can you make the correct cost-effective moves that will truly protect your business?

Most businesses have basic IT needs such as affordable server space and server hardware.

If you’re looking for more in-depth options to manage your business data, here’s how and why a colocation centre might be the best solution for your organisation.

What are colocation centres?

Colocation centres, or “co-lo” data centres, contain enterprise data servers at a remote location away from your own business premises. This is a purpose-built facility designed specifically to house business data systems and infrastructure.

Your own IT technicians are then able to visit the site for any maintenance or updates, or use the facility operators in-house technical team to assist you remotely.

The transfer process

Your service provider may supply you with the physical server hardware, or if you already have hardware in place, you can choose from a variety of service packages for the space you need.

To find how much infrastructure you require, you will need to consider a variety of factors, including the power requirements for each of your servers. Your provider can help you understand what specification service you’d need to support your systems.

During this process, you should evaluate how much space and resources you need, both now and in the future. You may also want to take this opportunity to immediately upscale or downscale, since you’re now entering into the process of bolstering your technical capacity.

Common issues in business data management

For many businesses, server space is a limited commodity on-premise. This is especially true for small businesses that typically have smaller operations.

IT resources simply grow in proportion to the scale of large businesses. No matter how much building capacity your business has now, more data in the future tends to mean more space will be required.

Physical space is just one of the issues that many businesses run into when growing their systems. Overall costs for data solutions can grossly overtax a business’s financial resources.

Colocation centres are uniquely designed to hit both of these major pain points for business.

In general, a colocation data centre helps businesses centralise their data management and scale the space to their needs. This offers more flexibility, reliability, and predictability to help you achieve your operational priorities.

Maintenance and flexibility

Colocation data centres often function like managed IT services. Because of this, data service providers can conduct regular maintenance on your behalf. This can be a big cost saver, and reduces stress on internal technical resources that can spend more time on core business functions. This also reduces the in-house personnel required to perform maintenance.

However, you also have the option to manage your own hardware maintenance through your internal IT department if you choose.

Reliability

Choosing to make use of an outsourced colocation service provider will always offer you increased security and reliability over going in-house.

Colocation server hosting can be an alternative to cloud storage. Many organisations that made the leap to cloud services when they began taking hold a few years ago are now moving back to physical colocation services. This is because they offer greater value for money, decentralise the control of data from the large US cloud service operators, and allow for far easier compliance when it comes to data domicile and security.

Being able to point to your own server hardware, and make physical changes to it, has major operational advantages.

Predictable expenses

Operating costs for data management can become expensive over time. When businesses choose to manage their own IT needs the expenses typically include:

Electricity to power servers
Maintenance and equipment
Security
Data recovery
General overhead costs

Fortunately, you can reduce these expenses when you choose a colocation data centre. One of the best advantages to outsourcing your IT management is that providers offer services at predictable, contracted rates.

Breaking down monthly costs

For example, a proper colocation plan will show you exactly how much space your services will occupy. These spaces are typically measured in “rack units,” also labelled as a “U.” Units will be the first expense in your data management plan, usually coming with a monthly rate for the space.

There are also predictable monthly rates for power flowing to your servers and your network bandwidth.

Some providers may also offer additional consulting or hardware resources that may be included in your service free of charge. However, some may come at additional cost.

At any rate, the necessary expenses for colocation data centres are largely predictable and simplified. This allows you to anticipate the costs by tailoring your service to the specific needs of your business.

Unlike traditional IT management, you don’t have to worry about surprise costs. You simply pay for exactly what you need.

Find better business data solutions

The best advantage to colocation data centres is the fact that you can customize your service to the needs of your business.

Whatever your data management goals are, we’re here to help you achieve them with colocation solutions.

If you’d like to discuss your business data solutions, please get in touch with us by email, chat, or phone. We have some of the top award-winning locations in London to provide the safest environment for your data.