Cloud? Data Center? How To Distinguish Services For Your Client's IT "Baby"

By Brian Vandegrift, Executive Vice President of Sales & Innovation, Venyu

Let’s face it, when it comes to your client’s applications, data and network, for many IT professionals, it’s their baby. They’ve helped it grow by carefully adding new devices; made sure it’s well protected from harm with the necessary security; made certain that it’s properly fed with the right power and ensured it’s comfortable with the right cooling. They’re not about to hand over control of their network and its applications to just any facility — Correct?

From an emotional perspective, outsourcing network operations is no different than sending your son or daughter off to college. Hardware, applications and processing power is leaving the wiring closet nest, and your client is trusting the care and well-being of it all to an unknown entity. Before they send them along, they need to make sure they’ve found the right home.

Letting a portion of IT responsibilities (i.e., their “baby”) go typically starts by interviewing data center or cloud providers. However, many times the consumer of these services is not entirely sure about what they are looking for. While it’s true that IT professionals know all the industry buzz words, sometimes they don’t know exactly how to map their specific needs to a provider’s service. This is often where cloud and data center confusion sets in.

While it’s important to note that the cloud is comprised of many data centers, it’s also important to remember that its data center foundation has a host of separate services to offer. When a client or prospect is seeking any outsourced IT services, it’s imperative to explain the differences and similarities between the cloud and data center offerings in order to make an informed decision. Here is a quick checklist to help match the best IT needs to outsourced services:

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