Per Green Computing norms, data centers more than seven years old are considered to be out of date. But in practice, the average lifespan of a data center is nine years. That’s a good thing to know when you’re considering data center construction and how soon you’ll have to upgrade your new data center.

Another critical aspect of data center construction you need to consider is site selection. This simply determines where your new data center is going to be built. That may seem less significant than the equipment and components used in your data center, but there are a lot of factors to be considered when it comes to site selection.

To figure out how to choose the right location for your data center construction, keep reading.

Avoid Flood Plains

When constructing a data center for any purpose, you probably have two main concerns: keeping costs low and keeping downtime to a minimum. To make sure you honor both of those priorities, the first thing to avoid is building a data center within a flood plain.

Obviously, water and electronics do not mix well and experiencing a flood can not only cause significant downtime but also result in very costly damage. Not only that, but it costs more money to insure a data center built in a flood plain. You want to make the most of the money you invest, not spend more of it than necessary by building in a bad area. Keep this in mind when choosing a site to build on.

Build in Utah

Many organizations build their data centers in rural western deserts. There are many reasons for this, the cheapest of which is that natural disasters (like floods) are far less likely to occur in desert areas. But this is not the only reason why big companies are flocking to Utah to build their data centers.

Besides having the optimal desert environment, Utah’s energy costs are among the lowest in the entire country. This is a significant advantage because each data center uses an enormous amount of energy every year. The less you pay for that energy, the better for your bottom line.

There is also a very large, skilled workforce in Utah. This is another significant advantage any time you are building a new physical branch of your business.

Building a data center in Utah might seem like the ideal scenario for everybody, but it isn’t necessarily. If your organization doesn’t already have multiple locations, or if it doesn’t operate anywhere near Utah, it might not be an economically viable option to build there. A more critical concern is whether the data center services you need are located nearby. Utah has many companies offering services. However, if you have already found a data center service that you trust in your area, it can be more beneficial to stay close to home.

Balance Isolation with Practicality

Businesses like to build their data centers in isolated desert areas. Not just because the calm weather is agreeable to data center uptime, but also because rural, isolated areas are less likely to become targets of vandalism, robbery, and other forms of sabotage. As long as everything goes well, generally speaking, the farther you are from civilization the better.

Of course, that assumes everything goes well most of the time. An obvious problem with building a data center in the middle of nowhere is that you will be limiting yourself to the opportunities and services available. Simply not having an office supply store within a hundred miles can be a serious inconvenience. But imagine needing emergency services and not having a fire station or hospital anywhere nearby?
Because of this, you should try to find a location that is secluded enough to maximize security, but still within safe driving range of necessary services.

Keep Workers in Mind

Any time you build a new branch for your business, you need to keep the local population in mind. Your data center will need employees to thrive, and employees need things like safe neighborhoods, good schools, and grocery stores. The better suited a given area is for families and individuals, the better employees you’ll be able to find.

For mission critical support solutions, including best-in-class data center construction services, reach out to LDP today.