How to minimise downtime during a data centre relocation

The decision to relocate your IT infrastructure to a Data Centre is just the beginning of a complex process. One requiring careful planning and execution, especially in terms of how to minimise downtime during a data centre relocation.

We appreciate that any business downtime is extremely costly to your organisation, which is why when working with Data Installation & Supplies (DIS) for the relocation, we adopt a strategy to promote a smooth transition, with minimal downtime.

The way we achieve this is with meticulous planning and preparation, assessing the risks and having a robust strategy in place, with the focus being on several key areas that will be discussed within this post…

What’s important to know is that with the correct approach a successful data centre move is easily achievable, by letting us take control of the process, we keep business continuity, minimal downtime and safeguarding your infrastructure as the highest priorities, to support you towards achieving the benefits you’ll get from migrating your IT infrastructure…

Key areas to minimise downtime during a data centre relocation:

Comprehensive planning and risk assessment:

The first and foremost point will be to communicate efficiently with key personnel throughout the process. With key emphasis to deliver a successful relocation and probably the foundation element lying with correct planning…

Starting with conducting a detailed assessment of your infrastructure. Identifying any potential risks, before compiling a comprehensive report and catalogue including a relocation plan that outlines every step of the process, responsibilities, risk mitigation, minimises downtime and sets realistic timelines, before scheduling the relocation, where we will fully manage the project, safeguarding the migration and meticulously coordinating every aspect.

Devise a robust migration strategy:

We’ll create a detailed inventory of all hardware, software and data, prior to planning for the sequence in which systems will be relocated, prioritising critical systems and services, again with minimal downtime and risk mitigation the driving factors.

Redundancy and backups:

Before initiating the relocation, we ensure that we have a robust backup and/or redundancy plan in position. We’ll perform complete backups of all your data, with verification of their integrity, with the possibility of temporary redundancies, (i.e. cloud-based services) which maintain critical operations during the relocation.

Out-of-hours deployment:

Where possible we advise conducting the relocation outside of your peak operations, traditionally evenings or weekends to minimise the operational impact of the migration, allowing for a smooth transition.

Post relocation:

Upon completion of the relocation continuous monitoring and support is crucial to be assured that all aspects are performing efficiently and as expected, we always provide a proactive approach to resolve any issues.

As you can see to minimise downtime during a data centre relocation meticulous planning, expertise and communication is key.

At DIS, we conduct in-depth risk assessments, with robust backup solutions and rigorous testing to mitigate the risks.

With careful execution and vigilant post-relocation monitoring we can achieve a seamless transition for your organisation to support business continuity and lay a strong foundation for enhanced performance and future scalability.

By prioritising these steps, it not only safeguards against potential disruptions, but also positions your organisation for long-term success and resilience.

To utilise the support of DIS in your data centre relocation please contact us on 01274 869 099 or info@disnorth.com, or fill out our contact form here.

Our experienced team of engineers will be happy to discuss your organisations requirements.