Points to ponder when building a datacentre

Tuesday September 7, 2010



SIMPLE SOLUTION: A Sun Microsystems datacentre in Santa Clara. Rather than building datacentres all over the region, local businesses should opt for remote access solutions such as VPN to enable employees, partners and customers in other countries to access the datacentre in Malaysia. - AP

By K. RAMAN

RECENTLY, one of our customers was faced with a dilemma. His is a growing business and while Malaysia remains the headquarters with key corporate functions, it is his operations in Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam that are growing. Should he build datacentres in each market? Or should he look at outsourcing his datacentre needs in each market?

It is not an uncommon dilemma for Malaysian-based regional businesses. Scalability, cost-efficiencies and management are their top three key considerations. I would add flexibility and speed of implementation to the decision-making process as well.

On the lowest end of the cost spectrum, businesses will just scale up their datacentres in Malaysia and rent fat pipes to connect to their operations outside of the country.

At the other end of the cost spectrum, there will be those who will build a datacentre in each city to support each market. This may not make economic sense. Beside the costs of building and deploying datacentres, they account for a sizable portion of real estate footprint and energy bills.

Both options, in the long term, are not cost-effective and will not scale well to support the growing business needs.

A simple solution is to use remote access solutions such as VPN (virtual private networks) that enable your employees, partners and customers in other countries to access the datacentre in Malaysia without introducing additional infrastructure.

Furthermore, there is an emerging trend towards building a datacentre that offers on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources to support growing business needs from different regions quickly and when required.

This model is a possible long-term strategy, if properly managed, as it can offer high computing resources at lower costs, help IT attain efficiencies, and maintain flexibility and agility.

The first steps

To start, you will need to determine the requirements that cover the entire computing spectrum: Infrastructure, systems, applications and services.

With your needs in mind, begin to define the architecture blueprint needed to meet these requirements. You will then need to meet with various vendors and solutions providers to evaluate technologies and products for building these hardware and software stacks in the architecture blueprint.

We always advise our customers to implement reference architecture to validate key design areas in the architecture blueprint. This reference architecture will also help to examine how well your blueprint meets the requirements. And where there are gaps, refine the blueprint, if applicable.

Once you have determined the right blueprint, the next step is to adopt a phased implementation approach adhering to the architecture, using the right tools and technologies.

In undertaking this entire process, there are three key considerations to bear: 1. Design considerations: You should develop a design that is efficient, flexible, agile, scalable and manageable; 2. Business alignment: Both IT and lines of businesses will need to discuss and concur how the datacentre can meet and support the current and future business goals; and, 3. Execution strategy: Have the right people and processes to build the datacentre that meets both the technical and business considerations while using the most appropriate technologies.

The execution process is critical in building a datacentre. You will need to work through the associated risks involved and clearly identify the requirements and resources needed to implement each architecture component.

Engaging the right resources, whether in-house or with an outsourced party, to work on each component is important.

In-house vs. outsourced

Should you staff up your in-house IT resources or outsource your IT needs? The choice will depend on a few factors such as your company's requirements as well as the in-house skill set and the cost for outsourcing.

Based on experience and observations, I would argue that a combination of in-house and outsourced resources will yield the desired results as this combination gives the "best-of-breed" skills and experiences needed for successful implementation.

The onus is on in-house resources to be involved in key project stages and to have a strong understanding of the design and implementation plan to drive the project forward.

The in-house resources will ensure that the datacentre is built in accordance with the architecture blueprint and will leverage on outsourced resources to carry out tasks in an efficient and effective manner.

Outsourced resources are services experts who can transform your selected products and technology into meaningful business results, minimise the risks associated with complex IT projects by utilising their technical and project management expertise, as well as help you to save time and money by implementing technology using global best practices.

Importantly, for the long run, outsourced services experts can help you optimise your datacentre.

K. Raman is regional managing director (Asean) of Oracle Corporation's Asia Pacific division. The multinational computer technology corporation specialises in developing and marketing enterprise software products.


source: http://techcentral.my/columns/industryviews/story.aspx?file=/2010/9/7/it_col_industryviews/20100907162405&sec=IT_Columns_IndustryViews