Over the years, the data center industry has continued to evolve and has become a critical part of our world today. Beginning in the 1940s, as large computer rooms were often deployed for military and government purposes, costs were expensive due to the complexity of the computer systems. Roughly 40 years later, entering the era of the microcomputer boom, computers began to be more readily deployed throughout businesses. This led to the birth of what we now refer to as the common server. Companies began to house these servers in a dedicated location within their own facilities to support their business needs.
With the dotcom explosion that took place between 1997 and 2000, businesses began deploying new systems supported by the internet. These changes led companies to house servers off-site as their demands increased. Technology is ever-changing, and so are the processes and requirements that go into site selection.
Identifying a new location for a data center is not only a critical decision, it can have extreme consequences for all departments. Having a process in place for the site selection team is imperative for success. The process should be viewed as the foundation of every project and every team will build off it.