n|Frame Blog

Should you build your own data center or consider server colocation services with an expert?

Submitted by: Bob Alcorn on Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Posted in: Data Center Services | Bob Alcorn
Keywords: Indianapolis Data Centers | Indianapolis Server Colocation Services | Indianapolis Server Storage | Indianapolis Dedicated Servers Hosting

Executives and technology professionals alike are constantly weighing the pros and cons (risk vs. reward) of building an internal data center or outsourcing server colocation to an outside expert. Twitter and Facebook recently announced that they are each building their own data centers. Reportedly, Facebook will own and operate a total of more than 300,000 square-feet of dedicated server storage space with 35 full time employees.

What are these companies trying to accomplish – and at what cost? According to Facebook, it is making the investment in its data center to gain more control over its IT infrastructure, scale its network as the business grows and reduce system downtime. Similarly, Twitter is trying to add elasticity to its network infrastructure to allow it to absorb unpredicted traffic spikes which have brought its systems to a grinding halt in the recent past.

Both Facebook and Twitter have legitimate reasons for building their own data centers. When you have 300,000 new users a day like Twitter or 500 million users like Facebook, you have to be bullet proof. But, if you aren’t quite that big and you can’t afford the multi-million dollar construction and operational costs associated with building and running a data center, finding a trusted vendor partner for dedicated server hosting may make more sense.

n|Frame is one of Indiana’s largest data centers offering dedicated server colocation, hosting and storage from our Indianapolis facility. We provide our clients with all of the control, elasticity, security and 24/7 monitoring and support that Facebook and Twitter are trying to achieve internally – but we do it for a fraction of the cost through an affordable monthly service fee. Our server collocation services include space, power, a controlled environment and around-the-clock on-site staffed security in our impressive 40,000 square-foot Indianapolis data center. In additional to server collocation, we also offer a variety of managed IT services for our clients that want to outsource the maintenance of their entire network infrastructure.

Contact us if you’d like to schedule a complimentary technology assessment to help you determine if building a data center or outsourcing your server colocation, hosting and storage is right for your organization.