techxact's blog

What is the main challenge of building today’s data centers?

The main challenge in data centers today is that challenges are not being handled by the right people. Unfortunately the challenges today are mostly being addressed by vendors, which is not the ideal pursuit for the IT industry. R&D has become mainstream for profitability and business gains. What we see in the market today is not necessarily according to the industry’s best practices and standards. Even the standards are neither comprehensive nor up-to-date enough!

Importance of data center training

Training has become a norm in many enterprises, though it still has not caught up with the rush running down the veins of European or American enterprises. It’s popularity originates from 3 sources: 1) clients’ demand for certificates, 2) employee strive for career development, and 3) vendor’s strategy to establish their product knowledge therefore loyalty within organizations (their prospective clients).

Do you even need to build a data center?

The answer could be as “yes” as a “no”! This all goes back to the business and ROI modelling, business continuity planning at the strategic level, the impact analysis, cost, budget, time, resources, growth plans, trends, throughput and storage requirements, heat density, location, local rules and regulations, etc…all plays a role in defining the opportunity-cost, risks, value, and ultimately the decision.

Where is the best place to build a datacenter?

In your own backyard, if you are thinking of “cloud”! 5 floors under ground but above the sea level if you are thinking defense! At the corner of your office’s parking, in a container if you are thinking DR or mobility and so on… There is really no one prescription for this. Location is a derivative of a thorough techno-commercial analysis of the business needs. In many implementations it might be last priority on the list, while in many others it is “the” priority in the data center projects.

What are some of the unique factors that need to be taken into consideration when building datacenters?

Dust, moisture, electricity, security, ISPs, heat, local codes and guidelines…the list goes on. We can’t think of any region in the world that is not unique to itself. Actually if you dig a bit deeper you will note that every organization has its set of physical, moral and strategic limitations and flexibilities that are unique to it.

How easy is it to set up state-of-the-art data centers worldwide?

Easy enough and hard enough at the same time. We strongly believe that biggest barrier to setting up state-of-the-art data centers in almost anywhere in the world, due to our experience, is lack of data center education and industry-specific skillsets. That's why we are investing so much on education and consider it our mission to elevate the knowledge and the know-how of the individuals in charge of data center project as well as the consultants, integrators, suppliers and the stakeholders.