Three Service-Related Terms Every Cloud and Data Center Client Needs to Know

For years, utilizing third party providers has become a popular alternative for organizations that choose to streamline their internal business processes and shift their focus to more essential matters; this is also what happens in the IT field. A lot of organizations today choose to rely on cloud and colocation data center services providers to support their digital operations. However, although it’s a very common practice, there are a lot of things that need to be considered and prepared by an organization before they work with a provider. One of them is getting themselves familiar with the terms which are related to the services offered such as the three terms below.

Managed Services
In the context of cloud and data centers, managed services refers to the service offered by cloud and data center providers which allow their clients to entrust certain IT operations — hardware upkeep and maintenance; software and operating system installation, upgrade, and patching; storage and backup maintenance; and fault tolerance and infrastructure redundancy in case of disasters — to them.

Through a managed services option, cloud and data center providers play one of two possible roles. One, they may serve as an IT team for a company that has little or no internal resources and capabilities. Second, they may serve as a support to an experienced IT team by taking over some of their day-to-day tasks, allowing them to focus on more strategic IT programs and their company’s core competencies.

Managed data centers (data centers which offer managed services option) can be partially or entirely managed. A partially managed data center means that the clients will still have some level of administrative control over the data center infrastructure and service. Meanwhile, an entirely managed data center means that all data center administration and management is handled by the data center provider.

Cross-Connects
A cross-connect system is a connectivity option which is available in a colocation data center. Cross-connects are physical equipment that directly connect a customer’ asset directly to other customers’ assets inside a data center. A cross-connect usually consists of cables, wires, coaxials, and jumpers running directly from one server to another and works as a direct point-to-point connection that transmits data between computing systems in a data center facility.

Cross-connects provide data center users with a number of benefits: reliability, speed, and cost effectiveness. Unlike the public internet, cross-connects aren’t prone to latency or congestion issues, so they’re more reliable and operate at consistently high speeds. Cross connects are also cheaper than connecting through conventional telecom networks for the bandwidth provided.

Cross-connects can be used for many purposes and in various scenarios. For example, a cross-connect can connect a client’s colocation rack to a particular service provider such as an ISP, network provider, or cloud provider. Several companies may also use cross-connections between servers to ensure trades and transactions between them are made as quickly as possible.

SLA and SLG
SLA stands for Service Level Agreement. It refers to a contract between service providers, data center service providers in this case, and their clients of the services being provided. Generally, SLA defines service level objectives, roles and responsibilities, contingency measures, and penalties. According to Vxchnge, a colocation provider based in the US, there are five things clients need to look for in their data center SLA: uptime guarantee, environmental conditions, technical support, security and transparency, and compensation.

Meanwhile, SLG stands for Service Level Guarantee. It refers to a guarantee to meet one or more service level objectives and a certain remuneration if a service provider fails to deliver the objectives. In the context of data center services, an SLG mainly guarantees a certain level of uptime, which indicates the percentage of time their systems are available.

Getting familiar with the three common terms above will help organizations understand how cloud and colocation data center services work and know their options. It will also help them ensure they get the services they seek and pay for as well as avoid any possible inconvenience.