More than ever, we realise how important it is for us to be in control of our data centres, technology and team of experts – not just for our own business continuity but for the sake of the customers who rely on our services.
Cloud providers that aren’t in control open themselves up to vulnerabilities when faced with disruption. It’s harder to remain resilient and protect your business from the unprecedented when you rely on outsourced infrastructure and staff.
What does lack of control look like?
Outsourcing is a common business practice nowadays and in some contexts makes a lot of sense. After all, outsourcing can help businesses keep costs down, reduce risk and eliminate the need for training and upskilling.
However, we believe that control is critical in our business. Providing cloud service support and maintenance to a high standard requires ongoing investment, both in terms of the IT infrastructure itself and the people who build, deliver and maintain it.
We also understand that if we were to hire contractors to deliver services, we’d increase the risk to our customers. For instance, if a migration project were to overrun, for whatever reason, contractors might have to abandon the project prior to completion.
“We’ve been able to stay open because we’ve invested in our data centres.”
The same goes for data centres.
We know that using third party data centres would mean relinquishing control; we’d have to rely on the owner or the landlord to maintain it to a high calibre. Also, what’s to stop them from closing and using the real estate for other, more lucrative purposes?
What does control look like?
So, how do you know if your cloud provider is in control?
In short, a cloud provider that manages everything in-house – from migration and maintenance to recovery and security – is in control.
Data centres
Blue Chip owns and runs its two software-defined data centres.
“We invest in the power, networking, infrastructure – the whole thing,” explains Chris Smith, Director of Sales & Marketing at Blue Chip. The automation and orchestration software the Blue Chip team has developed also enables the systems to be delivered remotely.
“Everything from the data migration to the transition into our infrastructure and cloud was done remotely from home on behalf of the customers.”
“We’ve been able to stay open because we’ve invested in our data centres,” says Smith. “For instance, when we were delivering systems over the Easter weekend, neither the customers nor the engineers needed to be on site in our data centres.
“Everything from the data migration to the transition into our infrastructure and cloud was done remotely from home on behalf of the customers.”
Technical expertise
Blue Chip employs 230 people, from maintenance engineers to security personnel. We choose not to outsource; instead, we invest in our staff to ensure that we stay at the forefront of innovation and change within our industry.
“As we’re in control of every aspect, we’re able to continue to operate even in the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in today,” Smith adds. “We’re still delivering customers into our data centre completely remotely.”
Is my cloud provider in control? Checklist :
- Do they own their data centre(s)? ☐
- Are their data centres software-defined? ☐
- Do they employ in-house teams? ☐
- Do they have ISO22301 for business continuity? ☐
- Do they serve multiple verticals? ☐
- Are they able to operate remotely? ☐