Hi,

I don't know if this is the right forum to as this question and if not I apologise in advance.

I'm interested in setting up a Data storage company, would anybody be able to steer me in the right direction as to what infrastructure I would need, in terms of computers, data storage facilities, eg tape drives, fire proof storage, on line backup equipment, etc. Any and all infomatiomn will be highly appreciated.

Many thanks

Chris

Ummm, that is something companies pay highly qualified engineering consultant firms big money to figure out, and way beyond the scope of a free tech support site. And without knowing anything about your background, skills and qualifications, or any specifics about the current and projected storage and bandwidth requirements of any of your potential clients, it is impossible to determine what is needed to support them.

That said, I will say this; it is not about data storage, it is about data protection. If you do not have top IT security experts on staff and on top of security, forget about it!

It's also about robustness; if the clients' data is not accessible 24/7/365, forget about it. You need top IT system administrators, data managers, network and hardware engineers, help desk/tech support and more. Data centers consume massive amounts of power - from the grid, and of course, battery backup AND generator backup - requiring qualified (and certified) experts on staff. And, of course, a HVAC specialist.

And redundancy - with hot-swappable drives and servers.

Times two! What if fire, flood, thieves, or tornado takes out your facility? You better have a mirrored site (that is, another building full of hardware across town or county) that is an exact ("digitally" speaking), real-time mirror of the main site, ready to take over the full load on the next clock cycle, preferably without the clients noticing a thing!

And of course, you also need plain old business and people skills - and a sales force to drum up clients.

It probably helps to be good buddies with your ISP too as your clients will not care if "your" ISP is keeping them from their data.

I recommend you enter data storage services in your search engine and read the services offered by companies now to see what you need to do to. Then I urge you to check out your local technical colleges to see if they offer any Data Management courses. Learn how to do it right. Then get a couple years experience working for a company that does it already and learn the ropes - what to do, and perhaps more importantly, what not to do. Someone with many years of IS management experience, or a new guy coming up with a 2 year or better IT degree and some data management experience can earn a very successful career. It's nice to be your own boss, but running the business can take much of the joy out of it, if all you want to do is pick up a screwdriver and get your hands dirty.

I am not trying to burst your bubble - but data centers, and the security of the data stored within, are big deals. It takes a lot of work, skill, education, and money and manhours just to set one up. The rewards can be lucrative, but only after a LOT of blood, sweat and tears - and like any business, it boils down to location, location, location.

Thank you very much for the info. While it doesn't especially inspire confidence, it is realistic and does give me a very good idea of what is required, which is what I was looking for. Who knows I may one day tell you that I have succeeded in setting it up and you guys will have played a big role in it.

thanks a million