After a long, drawn-out winter here in New England that some thought would never end, we can finally (and thankfully) say that summer is here. Time for the beach, family vacations and simply enjoying the warm weather. I’m sure that everyone reading this is just as excited as I am to enjoy the sunny outdoors for as long as it will last.
Despite the excitement to get away from work, you have to make sure that your data center partner doesn’t feel the same way. While we don’t mean to suggest that you require them to never take a vacation – that would make for some very sad data center employees and probably make it a tough job to fill – one thing they should never take a vacation from is servicing you, their client.
You should constantly feel like they have you in their best interests – that they’re making sure your systems and equipment are running smoothly, and that they’re constantly sharing new ideas with you.
In fact, there are several things that should continue to be topics of discussion, even after the papers are signed, the data and information stored and things are humming along the way they should:
Growth: Are you continuing to grow? Are you running out of capacity, or does your partner have the space to support that growth? Are they proactively monitoring your company’s usage with this in mind? Continuing to have an open discussion about this and what needs to be done to support growth and expansion is critical.
Troubleshooting: Is your partner available at any and all times, even when you might be experiencing something that can be solved fairly simply? Can they help you fix whatever the problem is, whenever it occurs?
Sustainability/Green Initiatives: The tools and programs used to make a data center green are constantly evolving. As new options are invented and added by your partner, you should know about them so you can weigh whether they’re right for your company.
Redundancy: It is important that your critical data, applications and information be protected with as much redundancy as possible. If your partner is adding new facilities or geographies, you should know and be able to take advantage of them as needed to support your own expansion.
Security: New security threats are being uncovered each and every day. Despite your partner’s reassurance that they have everything under control, sharing that information with you, so you can share with your team, helps to build a closer relationship.
The bottom line is that there should simply be no vacation from providing great customer service, no matter what time of year it is; whether you’re a new client or an old one.
So enjoy the summer, but just make sure your partner doesn’t take an extended break over these next few summer months.
