Today, the challenge facing CIOs is how to take advantage of disruptive technologies, resilient data centres and edge computing sites in order to develop an infrastructure strategy that encompasses faster technology refreshes and greater digital services than we have experienced before. The 2020 State of the CIO Executive Summary by IDG reports 89% of IT leaders ‘believe the CIO increasingly needs to rely on trusted advisors to help navigate emerging technologies, processes and methodologies.¹’

The 2019 Harvey Nash & KPMG’s CIO Survey, entitled, ‘A Changing Perspective’ also highlights that only 26% of technology leaders in 2019 felt “very well” prepared for cyber-attacks, a decline of 3% on figures 5 years ago². It’s clear that with the help of a secure and reliable colocation provider or data centre partner, you can alleviate many of these risks.

At Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo exploring the top industry trends for 2020, Research Vice President Brian Burke stated that ‘edge computing will come to be a dominant factor across virtually all industries and use cases as the edge is empowered with increasingly more sophisticated and specialized compute resources and more data storage.’ As data increases exponentially, the importance of mitigating any outage risks becomes more prevalent.

However, there is a significant opportunity for forward thinking CIOs implementing best-in-class strategies to increase revenue. As Gartner also forecasted that digitally trustworthy companies will generate 20% more online profit compared to those which are not³.

London remains one of the most strategic international technology hubs. Forbes elucidates on research provided by Forrester predicting that the edge cloud service market will grow by at least 50% this year⁴. Independent colocation facilities such as IP House form an important conduit of near-edge services for CIOs, leading their companies towards the next phase of edge transformation.

We believe there are five key factors that CIOs should consider when looking for a colocation provider to help them get closer to users at the edge: –

#1. Location

Location is often the most important criteria when selecting a data centre to host your critical IT infrastructure. Cost vs QoS, accessibility, network latency and factors such as scalability and capacity are just a some of the areas that may directly impact CIOs ability to deliver digital services in the future.

IP House is in the heart of Europe’s data hub, E14 – London. For years connectivity providers have built their networks and services around the home of rich connectivity links in this prominent district. As the termination point and gateway to transatlantic links, it has long been the choice for service providers who understand the technologies and infrastructure underpinning the global network and routing of traffic across the world.

#2. Customer Service & Technical Advisory

At IP House we respond to our customer’s needs day or night without exception. Our customers receive a response to queries or requests within 1 hour of initial contact being received. IP House provides a variety of communication protocols with alternative back-up options.

Our technical advisory team work closely with our clients to determine their data centre strategy, both for their immediate requirements and predicted future scope. Our business ethos is founded on customer service and satisfaction, as such our client testimonials and online reviews reflect our dedicated approach. We understand the importance of rapid response and that your services are both critical to you and those that are dependent on the uptime of your equipment.

#3. Uptime | Reliability

Data centres must achieve unprecedented availability to meet the demands of business requirements. IP House is an EN50600 Accredited, designed and built to Tier III standards, with N+1 configurations throughout all critical systems, including Power, Cooling and Networks. Our facility provides 99.98% uptime and is constructed by industry-leading vendors and their ultra-reliable systems. With multiple redundancy layers and critical backup infrastructure, we take away the worries of staying online and maintaining uptime.

IT monitoring helps to detect and diagnose problems before they cause major issues, reducing costly downtime in the process. Our data centre is highly connected, and we have full visibility of all critical systems through a single pane solution, using Schneider Electrics, AI-enabled EcoStruxureTM IT.

#4. Security

IP House’s high security level is defined by our purpose-built design and layout, which benefits from the omission of windows to reduce the potential risk of intrusion. Access into the data centre is restricted to authorised personnel only.

Our advanced security system comprises; 24-hour surveillance, remote monitoring, anti-intrusion measures, remote monitoring, multiple man-traps and a multi-factor access procedure with control points at every ingress and egress point. The data centre is protected by extensive CCTV throughout with ANPR tracking, intelligent motion detection and also incorporates Grade III intruder protection with perimeter detection with anti-climb deterrent.

#5. Connectivity

The data centre has been established for over 20 years and has a rich fibre network running throughout the facility. Availability of the world’s leading Tier I carriers ensures you can connect to the farthest reaches on the globe, whilst ultra-low latency connectivity routes to prominent Exchanges and Peering points, together with Direct Cloud, connect to all major Service providers are available from multiple providers. Network diversity can also be configured to further protect your connectivity.

Our flexible network backbone delivers high capacities in greater densities. Pre-terminated HT RapidNet solutions provide a combination of fibre and copper connections within a single U-Space, giving our customers more room for their equipment and cabling management. This future proofed solution can also deliver 100GB speeds through elite quality fibre and termination modules.

Today, IP House provides a safe, secure, resilient and reliable colocation facility within the heart of London, right on the edge of London’s financial district. The facility is purpose built to house companies’ critical infrastructure, incorporating all the necessary redundancies so that CIOs can rest assure that their business will remain online and be accessible at all times.We have also partnered with an esteemed group of industry leading vendors to provide ultra-resilient, highly reliable service offerings for our customers.

To help CIO’s further in the decision making process, IP House has created a complementary Ebook discussing the Top 15 Points to Consider before choosing a colocation data centre in which to securely house your IT and network assets. Download it here today.