Once it was standard for organisations to own and operate their own data centers. But a number of factors are making businesses think twice about whether they always need to own their own facilities. Virtualisation, various forms of cloud computing and changes to the ways companies run IT projects are all having an impact.
How much does it cost to build a data center?
The cost of a data center depends, of course, on how big you want it to be. According to IT consultant Ian Bitterlin the cost of a power connection can be up to £100,000 per megawatt, while the cost of a fibre connection could be as high as £250,000 per kilometre.
The costs will vary depending on the level of resilience built into it, as more resillient data centers have more equipment to reduce the chance of failure. Bitterlin said kitting out a data center can cost £17,000 per KW for a Tier 2 site, £21,000 per KW for a Tier 3 site and £28,000 for a Tier 4 site. And on top of this, of course, you have to buy or rent the building.
How much does it cost to build a data center?
The cost of a data center depends, of course, on how big you want it to be. According to IT consultant Ian Bitterlin the cost of a power connection can be up to £100,000 per megawatt, while the cost of a fibre connection could be as high as £250,000 per kilometre.
The costs will vary depending on the level of resilience built into it, as more resillient data centers have more equipment to reduce the chance of failure. Bitterlin said kitting out a data center can cost £17,000 per KW for a Tier 2 site, £21,000 per KW for a Tier 3 site and £28,000 for a Tier 4 site. And on top of this, of course, you have to buy or rent the building.
Building and operating data centers appeals to organisations that need to keep a tight control over their data: for example Surrey County Council (SCC) recently replaced its 31-year-old data center, which had been tucked away in the basement of the local county hall.
Surrey County Council's information, management and technology manager, Paul Jennings, told ZDNet that he considered several options, including cloud, to help cut costs, but decided to build a brand new £3.1m data center with enough capacity for the council and other partners.
Jennings said that he doesn't feel ready to trust cloud providers with certain data that falls under the council's remit, such as data on children and adults in social care.
"Certainly we would be quite nervous about social care data spun up in the cloud," said Jennings.
Surrey County Council's information, management and technology manager, Paul Jennings, told ZDNet that he considered several options, including cloud, to help cut costs, but decided to build a brand new £3.1m data center with enough capacity for the council and other partners.
Jennings said that he doesn't feel ready to trust cloud providers with certain data that falls under the council's remit, such as data on children and adults in social care.
"Certainly we would be quite nervous about social care data spun up in the cloud," said Jennings.
