Currently, manufacturing is one of the largest industries that require more stored data than any other sector. Manufacturers need the most sophisticated, up-to-date servers to support this as well as all their automated processes.
Should anything happen to their servers, it could be potentially devastating, resulting in delays in production, lost revenue or sales and missed deadlines. So let’s dive in and see how data centers address these issues and more.
Manufacturing and Data Needs
When you consider keeping your servers on-site in your office, you run into unanticipated issues like limitations in scalability and missed security risks — detrimental when every minute of production time counts.
Even if you carefully plan out the best way to host your servers on location, there can always be something overlooked. Consider just some of the following criteria you need to effectively run your servers on site:
- Need to have a physical space locked down
- Reserve space for necessary server support equipment such as powering and cooling systems
- Evaluate and protect against all physical and virtual security risks
- Plan for weather-proofing and disaster recovery
- Security and compliance (SOC, HIPAA, PCI)
- Ensure you have backup power to keep your servers going
Consider, too, scalability needs if you need to add more servers. If you’re limited in real estate, you may have to look to buy more space — and all the hardware to keep the new servers going. Moving your servers to a data center can save you a lot of time and headaches.
Benefits of Colocation for Manufacturers
1. Scalability
Manufacturers utilize the most state-of-the-art technology with machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT. They require high-powered servers that are able to handle this sophisticated technology, which calls for scalability to assure that bandwidth is always available to keep these high-powered servers going.
With colocation, you’re able to scale easily since you don’t have to worry about the limitations of your office’s physical space.
2. Fixed Expenses
We’re willing to bet that your costs are fairly variable with your current setup. Have you measured the costs associated with keeping your servers safe, cool and functioning? The price of self-management? Additionally, consider the expenses that come with server maintenance and updates over time.
Colocation changes all of that.
Imagine, now you can budget knowing the fixed-monthly costs for your server management. You can finally invest in more self-interest initiatives like automation, IoT and research and development. That sounds like a win-win.
3. Redundancy
Servers are the heart of many manufacturing businesses. No doubt costs are measured closely with each minute of operating time. What amount are you willing to lose if your servers go down for 15 minutes, an hour or even a day?
Redundancy is critical to manufacturing, especially for disaster recovery planning. As mentioned above, every minute counts. Any downtime can result in a staggering loss of money. We offer a Tier III data center, which means 99.982 percent uptime with up to 95 minutes of downtime annually with N+1 redundancy.
4. Security
The world depends on you. After all, the manufacturing industry is at the forefront of the leading technology of the future — and that means a lot of complex, sensitive data. Can you rely on your security to protect it?
Our data centers are built with compliance in mind, boasting state-of-the-art security with 24/7 video surveillance, reinforced doors and walls, mantraps, pin code and video authorization. Think of it like robust body armor for your servers.
Host Your Servers With Us
We understand your needs — our data centers are built for them. We invite you to schedule a tour so you can see for yourself.
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