Data is the new oil which means that data is a highly valuable asset for companies. Hence, there are many things that need to be considered when building or choosing the correct data center partner.

In this era of digital economy, data is a highly valuable asset for companies. The term "data is the new oil" reflects on the importance and how valuable data is, especially for businessmen.

Even though it is intangible, do you know that data requires "housing" as well'? The data flow and processing or any other activities take place in a server system. In order to work optimally, the server needs to be stored in a place that is secure and appropriate, which are called data centers.

A data center’s downtime can prove to be consequential even though it only happens in a short time. For example, the transaction value of all e-commerce in Indonesia within a month is up to IDR 13 trillion (source), which means that the value of transactions happening every minute is IDR 300 million. This number is the minimum loss that must be borne by businesses if they face downtime for one minute. Therefore, a data center is proven to be a crucial aspect in businesses, especially the digital enabled ones. Hence, there are many things that need to be considered when building or choosing the correct data center partner.

When it comes to ownership of a data center, businesses have two options, they are to build their own data center (in-house) or to rent a data center (colocation service). What are the things that need to be considered?

Amount of investment

Like building and owning a house, businesses that decide to have an in-house data center have full authority. The authority reaches out to access settings and technical implementation. However, building, managing and maintaining a data center independently would need a big investment, let alone when the business owner targets the best tier or quality of data center. Not only at the time of building, the maintenance of in-house data centers also incurs a huge amount ofcost. Every year, the maintenance of an in-house data center needs 5% of the cost of initial building (source).

From the infrastructure aspect, A good data center needs a dedicated building or often called purposely built data center that must be disaster-proof, can hold floor weight at least 1,500 kg/m2, and has fire protection which is pursuant to current standards. Meanwhile in daily operation, the most important thing a data center must have is sufficient air conditioning and electricity availability , as well as other equipments such as UPS and generators.

Managing complicated and least to say, expensive data center infrastructure is often not within the core business of a company. Thus, an alternative which is colocation can bridge this matter. Operational costs to rent a data center would be much less thanthe cost needed to build an in-house data center. Additionally, the renter does not need to worry about maintenance anymore since the data center is managed by competent and trained professionals. Therefore, the company’s IT team can focus their time and energy on innovating and developing products to facilitate their business performance.

Effects on business development

According toGartner, a global research & consultation institution, reveals that currently 10% of businesses plan to close their data center, and this number is predicted to rise up to 80% in 2025. A survey conducted by Uptime Institute in 2015 also says that colocation data center service is developing rapidly. This is because many companies decided to close their in-house data center and migrate to colocation instead
The choice of colocating will be very helpful for businesses who are planning to develop their business. Huge costs which are initially allocated to build their own in-house data center can be shifted to other operational needs. Meanwhile , their IT team which was previously tasked to manage the data center can be back to focus on developing the company’s business.

This matter is emphasized by Titus Jonathan , as Group Head IT Infrastructure Management of one the leading banks in Indonesiawhich is a customer of DCI Indonesia (a data center service provider in Indonesia). He stated that he previously managed an in-house data center and then shifted to use colocation services from DCI, and felt that colocation makes total operational cost more predictable, capacity expansion is more flexible, and the borne risk is smaller. Data centers with optimal availability plays an important role for the operation of a bank to provide the best service so that it can increase satisfaction and trust of customers.

Key benefits of leasing versus building a data center

Leasing a data center
- An operational expenditure model with costs that are easy to predict and that increase at a consistent rate over the life of the data center
- Additional capacity can be brought on quickly and only as-needed\\, shielding you from having to build out extra capacity that might not be of use
- Better access to space and power through the colocation provider's purchasing power
- Data center is run by experienced professionals with more experience and expertise in the practice of running an efficient and highly available data center facility
- An ecosystem of partners in the same facility that can be leveraged with extremely low latency via cross connect

Building a data center
- Complete control over operating environment from who can access the facility to the temperature that it runs at
- Very low risk of losing your lease and being forced to leave the facility
- Ability to leverage and share existing space\\, giving IT staff the ability to work in close proximity to the data center floor for a low cost
Source: Forrester Research, Inc.*

DCI Indonesia (DCI) as a data center service provider in Indonesia has implemented world-class operational standard and premium service and has the first and the largest facility in Indonesia. DCI is the first data center in Indonesia and Southeast Asia that has obtained Tier IV certification from Uptime Institute. DCI guarantees a service availability (Service Level Agreement) of 99.999% or only five minutes of downtime in a year. This is part of DCI’s commitment to give the best data center service and to maintain uptime availability of 100% for its customers from various industries, such as banking, insurance, telecommunication, cloud computing, digital payment, logistics and manufacture.

If you want to know more about DCI Indonesia, you can reach out to sales@dci-indonesia for more information

Pada era ekonomi digital seperti saat ini, data merupakan aset yang sangat berharga bagi perusahaan. Istilah "data is the new oil" seolah menjadi sebuah kesepakatan baru mengenai betapa berharganya data, khususnya bagi pelaku bisnis.

Walaupun tak terlihat wujudnya, tahukah Anda bahwa data yang sehari-hari kita nikmati dalam berbagai bentuk layanan digital ini memerlukan sebuah 'rumah'? Masuk dan keluarnya sebuah data, pengolahan data ataupun segala aktivitas data terjadi di dalam sistem server. Agar dapat bekerja secara maksimal, server tersebut perlu disimpan di tempat yang aman dan memadai.

Matinya sebuah data center (downtime), dapat mengakibatkan kerugian yang besar meskipun hanya terjadi dalam waktu yang sangat singkat. Sebagai gambaran, nilai transaksi seluruh e-commerce di Indonesia dalam satu bulan mencapai Rp13 Triliun (source). Hal tersebut berarti transaksi yang terjadi setiap menit adalah Rp300 Juta. Jumlah tersebut adalah minimal kerugian yang harus ditanggung pelaku bisnis jika mengalami downtime selama satu menit. Oleh sebab itu, data center sebagai pusat penyimpanan server menjadi hal yang sangat krusial. Dengan demikian, ada banyak hal yang perlu dipertimbangkan ketika membangun atau memilih partner data center yang tepat.

Ketika dihadapkan dengan kepemilikan data center, pelaku bisnis memiliki dua pilihan yaitu membangun data center sendiri (in-house) atau menyewa data center (layanan colocation). Apa saja sih yang perlu dipertimbangkan?

Besaran investasi

Ibarat membangun dan memiliki sebuah rumah, pemilik bisnis yang memutuskan untuk memiliki in-house data center memiliki kewenangan yang penuh. Kewenangan tersebut dapat berwujud pengaturan akses, hingga penerapan standar dan teknis. Namun, membangun, mengelola dan merawat data center secara mandiri memerlukan investasi yang besar, apalagi jika pemilik bisnis menargetkan tier atau kualitas data center yang terbaik. Tak hanya pada saat pembangunan, perawatan in-house data center juga membutuhkan biaya yang tidak sedikit. Setiap tahunnya, perawatan in-house data center membutuhkan biaya 5% dari biaya pembangunan awal (source).

Dari segi infrastruktur, data center yang baik memerlukan gedung khusus atau sering disebut purposely built data center yang harus tahan bencana, dapat menahan beban lantai minimal 1.500kg/m2, serta memiliki fire protection yang sesuai dengan standar. Sementara dalam pengoperasian sehari-hari, hal terpenting yang harus dimiliki sebuah data center adalah pendingin ruangan yang memadai serta ketersediaan listrik berikut dengan peralatan lainnya seperti UPS dan generator. Hal ini tentunya juga harus dikelola oleh SDM yang berpengalaman.

Mengelola infrastruktur data center yang rumit dan berbiaya tinggi seringkali tidak menjadi core business suatu perusahaan. Maka, alternatif colocation data center dapat menjembatani hal ini. Biaya operasional untuk menyewa data center tidak sebesar yang diperlukan untuk mendirikan in-house data center. Selain itu, penyewa juga tidak perlu lagi pusing memikirkan perawatan karena telah dikelola oleh tenaga profesional yang kompeten dan terlatih. Dengan demikian, tim IT perusahaan dapat fokus mengerahkan waktu dan energinya untuk berinovasi dan mengembangkan produk untuk menunjang performa bisnis. Selain itu, kebutuhan akan penambahan kapasitas, baik space maupun listrik, dapat dilakukan dengan cepat ketika menyewa data center.

Efek terhadap perkembangan bisnis

Sebuah data yang dikeluarkan oleh Gartner, lembaga riset & konsultasi global, mengungkapkan bahwa saat ini 10% dari pelaku bisnis memiliki rencana untuk menutup data center-nya. Angka ini diprediksikan akan meroket hingga 80% pada 2025. Survei yang dilakukan Uptime Institute pada 2015 juga mengatakan bahwa layanan colocation data center berkembang pesat. Hal ini disebabkan karena banyak perusahaan yang memutuskan untuk menutup in-house data center dan bermigrasi menggunakan colocation data center.

Pilihan menggunakan colocation data center akan sangat membantu pelaku bisnis yang tengah berencana untuk mengembangkan bisnisnya. Biaya besar yang semula dialokasikan untuk mendirikan in-house data center dapat dialihkan untuk kebutuhan operasional lainnya. Adapun tim IT yang sebelumnya dikerahkan untuk mengelola data center dapat kembali fokus mengembangkan bisnis perusahaan.

Hal ini diperjelas oleh Titus Jonathan sebagai Group Head IT Infrastructure Management salah satu bank buku IV yang menjadi pelanggan DCI Indonesia (penyedia layanan data center di Indonesia). Beliau menyatakan bahwa sebelumnya mengelola in-house data center dan kemudian beralih menggunakan layanan colocation DCI dan telah merasakan jika colocation membuat total cost operation lebih terprediksi, capacity expansion lebih leluasa, serta resiko yang ditanggung lebih minim. Data center dengan availability system yang maksimal sangat berperan vital bagi operasional sebuah bank untuk memberikan layanan yang terbaik sehingga mampu menaikkan kepuasan serta tingkat kepercayaan pelanggan.

Key benefits of leasing versus building a data center

Leasing a data center
- A predictable and operational expenditure model with costs that are easy to predict and that increase at a consistent rate over the life of the data center
- Additional capacity can be brought on quickly and only as-needed\\, shielding you from having to build out extra capacity that might not be used for many years
- Better access to space and power through the colocation provider's purchasing power
- Data center is run by experienced professionals with more experience and expertise in the practice of running an efficient and highly available data center facility
- An ecosystem of partners in the same facility that can be leveraged with extremely low latency via cross connect

Building a data center
- Complete control over operating environment from who can access the facility to the temperature that it runs at
- Very low risk of losing your lease and being forced to leave the facility
- Ability to leverage and share existing space\\, giving IT staff the ability to work in close proximity to the data center floor for a low cost
Source: Forrester Research, Inc.*

DCI Indonesia (DCI) sebagai penyedia layanan data center di Indonesia telah menerapkan standar operasi dan layanan premium kelas dunia serta memiliki fasilitas terbesar pertama di Indonesia. DCI adalah data center pertama di Indonesia dan Asia Tenggara yang telah mendapatkan sertifikasi Tier IV dari Uptime Institute. DCI mampu memberikan jaminan ketersediaan layanan (Service Level Agreement) sebesar 99,999% atau hanya lima menit downtime dalam satu tahun. Hal tersebut merupakan bentuk komitmen DCI untuk memberikan layanan data center terbaik dan menjaga uptime availability 100% para pelanggannya yang berasal dari berbagai industri, seperti perbankan, asuransi, telekomunikasi, cloud computing, pembayaran digital, logistik hingga manufaktur.

Jika ingin mengetahui lebih lanjut mengenai layanan data center DCI Indonesia, Anda dapat menghubungi sales@dci-indonesia.