RFP Questions Guideline For Data Center Buyers

RFP Questions Guideline For Data Center Buyers Rev: 00W0052015 1 P a g e

This guideline document is a supporting download for our webinar titled 5 RFP Questions Data Center Buyers Must Ask a Provider and can help data center buyers with some additional questions for their next RFP. The guideline was developed by our Solutions Engineering team and may not cover all areas considered for data center colocation services. If you need any additional help on your RFP or have any questions, please feel free to connect with us at www.ragingwire.com and our solutions experts will contact you. To develop your request for proposal (RFP) core questions, start by involving everyone within your organization, partners, and customers that will be impacted by the data center. Also, make sure your questions are fully reviewed and organized before they make it into the final RFP. You may rephrase your questions as necessary so that they are meaningful, understandable, and yet specific. Don t be too vague in your questions. Sometime, questions supported by helpful details and background may be helpful for the providers to ensure that they get you the most accurate information. The RFP should be the start of a great conversation; be prepared for a data center provider to ask follow-up questions. Asking the right questions in an RFP will help you reach a smarter decision faster. Good Luck! All of our webinars can be found on RagingWire s website http://www.ragingwire.com/resources/webinars 2 P a g e

1 Company background and information 1.1 Please provide a brief company overview, with information about products, services, and your partners. What is your typical client profile? 1.2 Where is your corporate headquarters? How many employees? 1.3 Where are your current data center facilities? Include available/maximum IT load capacity for each facility 1.4 What are your future plans for growth? 1.5 Provide company financial information. Do you have access to additional capital for future growth or other needs? 1.6 Provide your organizational chart. 2 Site location and facility specifications 2.1 What is the name of the proposed data center facility, address and location? 2.2 What is this facility s proximity to the nearest major metropolitan area? 2.3 What is the natural risk assessment- history? How is the data center facility being proposed built/designed/protected to events related to earthquake, flooding, hurricane, tornado, and lightning strike probabilities? 2.4 Please provide facility size and floor space available now and future expansion capacity 2.5 What is the total power/energy capacity of the data center facility? 2.6 What floor space is available now and how much data center space is available for future? 2.7 What is the ceiling height of the data center floor space? Do you have raised floor space available in this facility? 2.8 What is the Tier rating for the proposed facility as certified by the Uptime Institute? If different, please explain 2.9 Which personnel will be physically present at the data center facility? 3 P a g e

3 Facility security and safety 3.1 How is visitor access to the data center handled? Describe how access to the data center is secured (i.e. badge access, biometrics, etc.)? Is access 24x7? Is data center facility monitoring 24x7? 3.2 Is fire suppression and smoke detection present? Describe system 3.3 To ensure there are no delays with service flow, describe your plan for complex challenges in the event of any major disruption such as natural disaster, large scale power outages, or terrorist attacks. Do you have a proactive business continuity plan? 4 Power and cooling 4.1 How is power & cooling distributed? What is the maximum kw per rack you can support from a power and cooling perspective? How is this achieved? 4.2 What is the over-all watt density the facility was constructed to support? Is there future expansion capability in the power and cooling systems? 4.3 What is the cooling design redundancy? N, N+1 or other? 4.4 Is there Humidity Control? How is humidity controlled for humidification & dehumidification (if applicable)? 4.5 What is the facilities utility voltage (e.g. 12kVA, 69kVA )? Describe the infrastructure topology for utility power 4.6 In what configuration is your UPS system designed? What Redundancy system has been employed in the design for the UPS power (single, isolated, or other) 4.7 How often are your generators tested? Load banked? Amount of fuel run time stored on-site? 4.8 Do you use battery or fly-wheel technology to hold the power during power transition? How many minutes of run time is provided by the system at full IT load capacity? 4.9 How often are the electrical and mechanical systems at the facility tested? 4 P a g e

5 Network and connectivity 5.1 Is the data center facility carrier neutral for network providers? (Please list all providers currently in use at the facility by type, i.e. dark fiber, lit fiber, basic Internet, etc.) 5.2 Do you have diverse entrances into the data center? How is this facility connected to other data centers offered by network provider? 5.3 Which fiber route is closest to the data center facility? Outline the capacity for additional telecom vendors to enter the data center facility 5.4 What low latency options do you have available at the data center facility? 5.5 What is your strategy for cloud? Is your accessibility flexible for cloud resources? 6 Client comfort and productivity 6.1 Is there a client services and support available 24/7? Please explain the structure of your client service operation 6.2 Do you have on-site professional staff 24/7? What professional services are available to clients for migration, deployment, and day-to-day operations? 6.3 Do you have a personnel & vendor response plan? How are your incidents, service requests, and change requests managed? 6.4 How is shipping and receiving being managed at the data center facility? Does your data center facility have short-term storage facilities for shipments? 6.5 Is your facility receiving area designed to accommodate fully populated racks or cabinets? What is the maximum height for a pallet of equipment from loading dock to client cage? Are pallet-jacks available for client use within the facility? 6.6 Please provide details on any freight elevators, if applicable to the facility. (Include: Minimum capacity, size, proximity to proposed cage space, etc.)is there a staging area available for racks or equipment? 6.7 What type of amenities are available to clients at the data center facility? (Conference rooms, office space, Wi-Fi, touch-down lounges, showers, fitness room etc.) 5 P a g e

7 Compliance and certifications 7.1 Has the data center facility been audited with private and government compliance standards? List the compliance and certifications the data center facility has obtained 7.2 Is your compliance information readily available for clients for their assessments or audits? 8 Data center professional services 8.1 Does the data center facility have on-site professional staff available for client support services such as Remote Hands and Eyes, or trouble shooting? Please explain 8.2 Does the data center provider offer project management, cabling or fit-up services? 8.3 What other services are offered by the data center provider? Are any of these services outsourced? 9 Service level agreement (SLA) 9.1 How do you specify availability for power, network connectivity, and compliance in your SLA? Please explain your service level escalation process for any failures 9.2 What are your scheduled and emergency maintenance service level policies? Is the client s SLA affected or changed during scheduled or emergency maintenance? If so please explain 10 Other questions 10.1 Does the company have written policy on Quality? 10.2 Are there any type of sales tax incentives programs for your data center clients? 10.3 What is your pricing model for power, cooling, and space? 10.4 What is your advertised P.U.E? Do you have any programs or initiatives for energy efficiency or green data center? 10.5 Do you have an operator qualification and/ or technical training program? 6 P a g e