As the number of online-exclusive businesses continues to rise and adoption of cloud-based technologies rapidly increases, there is now more demand than ever for measurable data centre guidelines. As the first of its kind, the DCA will work to define the different levels of data centres and establish standards for the industry to follow.
Taking into consideration the site’s security, cooling design and fault management, each data centre will be certified by a ‘Type’ ranging from 1.0 to 4.0 as follows:
• DCA Certified Type 1.0 - Non dedicated site (e.g. office server room) with limited redundant components with best practice data centre management
• DCA Certified Type 2.0 Data Centre - redundant power, cooling and connectivity components with best practice data centre management
• DCA Certified Type 3.0 Data Centre - concurrently maintainable infrastructure with best practice data centre management
• DCA Certified Type 4.0 Data Centre - fault tolerant infrastructure with best practice data centre management
From its own three monitored data centre in Manchester, London and Southampton; Daisy provides hosting, co-location and cloud-based services for as much data as the customer wishes to store. This can include internal data, websites and IT infrastructure.
Andrew Lockwood, Daisy Group’s Commercial Director for Data says: “We are delighted to be involved in such an important industry organisation. Daisy originally started as a traditional lines and calls business, and that is what we became renowned for, but as technology has progressed we know the future lies with data. Our aim is to be just as successful in the data industry and we hope that being a founding member of the DCA will help us achieve that.”
Lockwood continued: “Every condition must be considered – from the correct temperature of the room, to the accessibility of the hosting room itself. And for e-commerce businesses especially, their website is their business. They need to be able to trust their data centre. By providing security and conditions of a recognised standard, the DCA will offer businesses reassurance that their data is in safe hands.”
Simon Campbell-Whyte, DCA Executive Director said: "We extend a huge welcome to Daisy Group and are delighted to have them on-board as both a founding and Partner member. All our members are encouraged to, and do actively contribute towards our standards development through editorial contribution, event participation and continual PR and we look forward to Daisy Group being an integral part of this continual programme.”