3 Ways to Ensure Your Data Center Move Will Be a Success

by Stephanie Faris on Monday, July 14 6:00

To keep moving forward, businesses must occasionally move their data to a new facility. Whether a data center move is a result of outgrowing an existing facility or a desire to relocate to a new geographical location, the process is complex. Multiple parties will be involved in the months before and after the move and success will rely on communication between each of these parties.

If a data center move is in your business's future, there are a few things you can do to make sure things go as smoothly as possible. Here are three things you can do to make your next data center move go as smoothly as possible.

Plan Carefully

Many businesses make the mistake of leveraging existing project management staff to oversee data center moves, if they have a project manager at all. But project managers who traditionally work with app development staff and business users likely know very little about the various components that go into housing a business's vital data. This can lead server management staff to be frustrated, as they're forced to deal with a project manager that doesn't understand the challenges of their profession.

If possible, choose a project manager who has previously worked with data center relocations. Ideally, your project manager will have a history of successfully managing these moves. This expertise can save your business money in the long run. You don't have to take on a full-time employee for this task. A contract employee can be brought in to hire managing your data center move, working with your on-site employees to get the business information necessary to oversee the project.

Test, Test, Test

Prior to your move, you should conduct extensive testing to ensure all of your existing applications will work in the new environment. Chances are your existing applications have been in place for a while, functioning seamlessly each day. Even your IT department may not be aware of every piece that ties into your applications. Too often, hardware is moved to a new location without testing being a part of the process. Business users don't realize what is no longer working until the first day back to work after the big move, leading to systems potentially being down for weeks while back-end repairs are made.

Even with the best of intentions, things can go wrong. Either have a backup plan to keep your business operational if your crucial apps fail or have staff on call over the weekend of the move to work around the clock to get apps operational if things don't work after the move.

Ask for Help

A project manager isn't the only contractor who can help you out. There are businesses that specialize in handling data center relocations for businesses. With years of experience, these firms can come in and work directly with your business to ensure your valuable data and equipment is moved from one location to another without incident. These professional teams will help make a move as seamless as possible, leaving employees and customers unaware that a change has even taken place.