The phrase, “new normal” has been tossed around so much that it’s felt as though it’s lost a little meaning. None of the last year was normal, but with the vaccine rollout, there is a renewed hope for a little more stability after a year of constant pivoting and regrouping to adjust to new rules and recommendations. While the pandemic isn’t exactly over, we are seeing that the workforce is starting to attempt a return to whatever our new normal looks like now, and colocation can pick up the slack.
Now that we’re over a year into a global pandemic, it’s a little easier to stomach looking back at how dramatically the world has changed over the last 14 months. One of the biggest things we’ve picked up on is that the pandemic may have a lasting impact on the future of your workforce—and by extension your IT and where you might choose to store it.
Many organizations put a band-aid on larger problems to make it through the pandemic, but now that we’ve made it to the other side, it’s time to look into real solutions for your mission-critical IT. Enter colocation. Colocation helps you maintain flexibility, reliability and security – now or in the future.
Making up for lost time—Don’t lose any more!
Some industries were more or less put on hold during the pandemic. Manufacturers saw interruptions based on supply chain issues, causing them to lose significant profit in time lost and the inability to make anything without proper components.
Another hiccup that can devastate manufacturers is unplanned downtime. Depending on the number of automated processes and sensors, downtime could range from annoying to costing massive deals. As you’re already making up for lost productivity during the pandemic, it’s important to know that your IT is reliable and not going to go down. Keeping the lights on and production up is something a colocation provider would be happy to help you with, letting you get back to pre-pandemic productivity without worrying about whether or not you’ll be able to meet targets.
Increased Demand for Space
Some industries actually began to flourish during the pandemic, but that growth came with its own set of challenges. SaaS companies and essential services like banks needed to drastically scale up their mobile offerings and IT Infrastructure. When many organizations kept their IT on-premises, they quickly ran into constraints based on how much physical space they had and the size of the team maintaining it.
Organizations often consider moving into a colocation facility due to the scalability and flexibility they offer. If you find that you need another rack or an expanded cage, that’s very easy to install. If you’re looking at any sort of growth post-pandemic, that’s easy to navigate with a trusted colocation partner. Simply stated, colocation is a great insurance policy for your organization’s current and future IT performance.
The Continued Threat of Dispersed Workforces
The remote workforce has been the elephant in the room for the last year with questions circulating about when we will all go back to the office—or if we will go back at all. With many organizations caught somewhere in the middle, with employees coming back to the office part time, while still maintaining their remote setup a few days a week, it’s important to note that a partially-remote workforce is still a remote workforce and your company has a responsibility to both its employees and its customers to maintain the integrity of its data security, no matter where their team continues to work.
You can educate your employees on endpoint security all you want, but that’s not the only place from which threat actors can infiltrate your network. Your IT was probably managed with a skeleton crew to reduce exposure during the pandemic, making it more susceptible to attack, simply because there were fewer eyes on it. Colocation facilities are a great way to ensure a high level of both physical and network security with remote hands assistance and on-site experts there to help catch minor issues before they become massive problems.
What Do I Need in a Colocation Provider?
If the pandemic has you feeling motivated to future-proof your organization against whatever curveball life throws us next, finding a reliable, trustworthy colocation partner is a fantastic step in the right direction. Here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping around:
- When touring a data center, pay close attention to their physical security. Security devices like biometric scanners, man traps and PIN pads should be prominent features.
- Ask about their network and their plans for failover should a disaster strike or a carrier hotel goes down. Geographic redundancy and plans for failover that don’t rely on carrier hotels are critical to the success of your partnership with a colocation provider.
- Find out what compliance certifications they possess. This makes your life easier because they may be able to help you prove compliance to an auditor down the road. Even if a data center’s certifications aren’t pertinent to your organization, they may matter to the customers and industries you serve.
- Are they prepared to help you in the event of a disaster? While many disasters are preventable through a data center provider, there is always the possibility that the next attack is too complex to outsmart. Ask about their disaster recovery services and options to keep you up and running if the unthinkable happens.
- When in doubt, ask for examples of how other customers have found success with them as a data center provider. Any company worth its salt would provide a handful of examples of real-world customers that have trusted them—and that should paint a clear picture of why you should too.
LightEdge’s Hardened Facilities are Ready for Whatever Comes Next
At LightEdge, we know every organization is unique and has dealt with its own unique set of challenges over the course of the pandemic. Many of you have been deeply affected and are relieved to have reached a point where we can even begin discussing the new normal. LightEdge’s colocation offerings have the potential to future-proof your organization’s mission-critical systems and keep you always up and always on, no matter what comes our way next.
If any of this resonated with you and you’re ready to jump into the world of post-pandemic colocation for the future of your IT, feel free to give us a call today. Our experts are standing by and are ready to answer your most burning colocation questions. Let’s work together to address the IT concerns that keep you up at night.
