Data Center Quandary: Build or Buy

Build or Buy You’ve heard of “rich guy problems?” Here’s a rich company problem… do we build a multi-million dollar facility… or take up space in a data center?

Reality is, though, all organizations face this question on some level. You may not build an entire facility, but you still need a computer room… is it something you invest in onsite… or do you go the co-location route?

Let’s take a look at a few of the considerations – whether to build or buy…

What kind of business do you want to be?

If its construction, then by all means… build. Going through the exercise of zoning and lining up utilities is child’s play in comparison to the work it takes to get a facility up and running.

What’s your timing?

Whether you’re building a site (at least a year proposition) or conducting a buildout at your facility, it takes time to build your own center. Do you have it? If you do, you may find that the site you build could serve you quite nicely. But the reality is, most don’t have the time or resources (human or finacial) to build.

Do you know what you need?

When we buy a house, we know the amount of space we need… maybe we have a spouse, 2.3 kids, and a dog to ruin your carpets. So you can buy (or build) a house and feel pretty comfortable that the space will serve you well for the foreseeable future. Not so with data centers. Build too small and you will eventually have to build again… build too big and you’ll be spending a lot of money to cool a very large building with an empty floor.

How committed are you?

To design, maintain, and oversee a data center it takes very specialized professionals. Are you ready to take on that type of staff (and the accompanying paychecks) if you stay in house?

Do you have the money?

So we come back to rich people problems… what do you spend your millions of dollars on? A facility that keeps your system as safe and available as a data center like SecureData can? If not, drop me an email, I’d love to tell you about how we can help. if you’ve got too many rich guy problems, also drop me a note… I’d love to go to your country club with you!