It’s been another blustery, snowy winter here in the Northeast. So far, we’re nearly 20″ over the average in snowfall, and that was even before the storm that hit us over this past weekend.
With every winter storm, we see a number of areas lose power or Internet/phone service due to downed lines. Right now, there are still thousands of homes and businesses on Cape Cod without power, and another storm looming for tomorrow.
Weather related outages can cause severe impact on businesses who rely on data and services that they run on their local networks; when customers or remote employees can’t get to that data, it can cause major problems, including the loss of revenue. The Internet has been a boon to businesses who now can offer their services globally 24×7, but when those services go down due to power or Internet outages, it can be problematic.
Businesses who run servers that need to be accessed 24×7 may often benefit from colocating those servers in a datacenter, such as the one we operate in Providence, RI. Many datacenters (ours included) will offer clients multiple power sources, as well as multiple upstream connections for guaranteed uptime and connectivity.
Our datacenter, for instance, is located on one of the main power grids in Providence which also serves the Providence Place Mall and a number of area hospitals. This helps to ensure maximum power availability, but if for any reason that power were to go out (which we haven’t seen in nearly 15 years) we also have a dedicated backup generator as well as Uninterruptible Power Supplies which we provide to all of our clients. If for any reason inclement weather were to take down the power to that complex, our client servers would still be powered through backup methods.
Internet access is another key concern for server uptime. Dedicated servers in our datacenter have access to multiple carrier upstreams through our network; in the event one (or more) of those carriers has an issue due to severe weather, our clients’ servers will still be accessible through our other carriers. Our facility is also carrier neutral, so our clients can bring in their own additional connection if they wish to help maximize their uptime.
We maintain a smaller colocation datacenter in Fall River as well, which also has the benefit of a dedicated backup power generator and UPS units as well.
Even when bad weather hits, and brings along the usual potential for outages, clients who need maximum uptime will benefit from housing their servers in a dedicated datacenter. Just because your local office might be closed due to inclement weather doesn’t mean your business has to shut down. If your company needs 100% uptime for it’s servers, you should definitely consider the benefits of colocating those servers in a datacenter.
If you have questions about how colocating your servers can help increase your uptime (and potentially decrease your costs), feel free to call us at 508-646-0030, email us directly at sales@meganet.net, or just click on the “Request a Free Consultation” button to the right, and we’ll be happy to see how we can help your business!
