Data Centres

Since 2001, iXConsulting has been at the forefront of the data centre real estate industry. As a sub-sector of the real estate market, data centres require specialised expertise to understand the ever-changing and complex demand and supply characteristics. We create competitive advantage through our understanding of this technical real estate, whether it be for investment, development or occupational clients.

Site search and selection

Working with you, identified floor space requirements can be used to assess the appropriate option for data centre provision, ranging from refurbishment of an existing facility, to buying or building a new data centre; to outsourcing the solution to a third party.

Using a profile generated by the assessment model, the service will implement a comprehensive search to identify and filter the real estate options available for your identified immediate and future data centre needs.

Benchmark analysis

A list of alternatives is measured against an established benchmark ideal using a scoring process. This unique system allows the decision making criterion to be quantified and an accurate short list produced. The analysis allows a weighting of criteria, giving total flexibility to the client to personalise their own data centre search and match a real estate solution.

Reporting

The outcome of the search is a client consulting report presenting the prioritised list of data centre options. The report delivers a score sheet for each option, clearly identifying their strengths and weaknesses against the benchmark.

Consulting

Working with your team, the search can be adjusted and the benchmark inputs refined to clearly demonstrate how the weighting of each decision making criterion impacts upon the search and shortlisting process, until a clear and defined solution has been identified.

Acquisition

Once a solution has been selected, we work closely with you to ensure that the acquisition process completes smoothly to agreed timescales and, above all, to deliver the idea data centre solution.

 

And if you are not sure as to which data centre solution is right for your company, with our partners we can help identify a way forward.

Business requirements and drivers

This could include key worker interviews and a total business review to give an examination of your market, reach customers, growth strategy, service or product delivery, and any major process changes being considered. This would help to confirm the key business drivers going forward and highlight those affecting future data centre provision.

IT requirements and drivers

A review your IT strategy coupled with the business drivers generated, ensures that the two are complementary. In particular, this stage highlights inconsistencies between the two, and shows where the IT strategy may need developing to meet business drivers. This will include consideration of application strategy.

IT infrastructure and technology drivers

A review of IT infrastructure drivers will confirm their affect on data centre provision strategy. This can include requirements for networking, availability and business continuity/disaster recovery. This can include the impact of technologies such as server platforms (PC Server, midrange, and mainframe), high availability infrastructure, virtualisation, blade technology, storage systems, and backup devices including libraries on future data centre requirements.

Review current data centre  provision

This could include a review of your own assessment of your data centres as well as a visit and audit to examine them from the point of view of location, specification, security, operational satisfaction, expansion, and potential to meet your business needs.