A Data Center Move can cause tension and worry for a business organization. It can disrupt your business operations and can even lead to loss of data.

This can hurt the business detrimentally. So if you are planning a move, take into account elements of planning for a successful migration.

The reasons for moving a data center are many. The facilities may need to be upgraded. There may be less expensive options available, encouraging the move. The original data center may have turned redundant and the move is essential for ensuring continuity in business. The move can be due your business being taken over by another entity and the need for having only one data center.

After weighing the pros and cons of such a Data Center Move, it is imperative for drawing up a comprehensive plan for ensuring successful migration. This is critical as the plan needs to be executed diligently. Most breakdowns occur when there is a mismatch in the IS requirements and the facilities at the new center identified. One critical component could be the Data Center Power facilities which may not match the requirements of the equipments leading to breakdown of services.

There a few guidelines to be followed to ensure a successful move. Guideline No 1: Adopt the team approach. Form a team of experts from different disciplines. The disciplines will be human resources, real estate managers, IT, application specialists and network specialists. This team should be headed by a project manager. Guideline No 2: Make an assessment of the factors needed to ensure successful migration; this will help the team to avoid potential pitfalls and focus on important issues. Guideline No 3: Plan the requirements for the new data center. Guideline No 4: Draw up a list of equipment you already have; an inventory list. Check out what you have and what you need. Guideline No 5: Prepare a floor space design for the new center and make an assessment of your requirements vis-Ã -vis space availability. Guideline No 6: Draw up a detailed step-by-step plan for the actual execution of the move. Guideline No 7: Get an audit done after the Data Centre Move has been completed Guideline No 8: Compare the results with your original plan detailing the benefits of the exercise.

A Data Center move has to be executed with precision and coordination between the functional departments in the organization. To assist you, you can also take help of experts who can execute a successful migration, saving you of the headaches of such moves.