Colocation Selection
With so many hosting companies offering variations on colocation facilities, finding the right partner for your business can be time consuming and confusing.
Migration Solutions was commissioned by a large insurance company to find a suitable colocation partner. The company needed to move from their existing data centre and needed guidance on how to choose a partner. With the help of Migration Solutions the business requirements were defined and appropriate colocation providers identified. Those selected for tender were based on the company's requirements and their ability to meet them, one of which was the need to be within one hour of any selected colocation facility.
A robust invitation to tender (ITT) was drawn up based on the client's business requirements and Migration Solutions' experience. When the ITT's had been issued, Migration Solutions was able to answer the more technical queries that came from the potential colocation providers and those that related to the defined requirements. This ensured that all those invited to tender could complete their response to the best of their ability.
Once the responses had been received, they were weighted against specific criteria and a short list of candidates produced. Further questioning of the service providers was needed to clarify several points relating to power, data connectivity and operational practice. Areas of weakness in Service Level Agreements, and Operations Level Agreements, essential when choosing a colocation provider, were highlighted and discussed with the client, along with the strengths of each respondent.
Moving to a colocation facility involves a great deal of expense and there is usually a 3, 5 or 7 year tie-in. It was essential that our client was happy not with just the robustness of the facility, but that the client was confident that their operational practices and company ethos matched their own high standards. Through the involvement of Migration Solutions as their partner of choice in the rigorous selection process, our client was able to fully satisfy their selection criteria and find a colocation company that they can work successfully with over the many years of the agreement.