AlfaTech Big Book: Data Centers

D ATA C E N T E R P H I L O S O P H Y

DATA CENTER PROGRAMMING

Data center programming is fundamental in understanding the true business requirements and ensuring the design, and ultimately the construction, meets the business and end-user needs. AlfaTech has developed an extensive data center programming process and methodology that combines IT and Facilities requirements and objectives into a collaborative approach. The programming process consists of individual and/or group interviews, collaboration workshop combined with industry best practices. The programming effort produces a formal Owner Program Requirements (OPR) document that is then used throughout the design and construction process to maintain alignment with the defined business objectives and requirements. The OPR Development Process is intended to facilitate collaboration between stakeholders and bridge Facilities and IT organizations by aligning individual departmental objectives with overarching business requirements and strategies. An effective OPR is organized into the following sections: Business Requirements – Defines how the data center will support and or enable the business to meet the goals and objectives for the enterprise, focus on applications, service levels and business impact. Functional Requirements – Based on business requirements, defines the capacity, reliability, efficiency, scalability and modularity required to meet business needs.

Technical Requirements – Focused on IT, defines the requirements that drive plans for network, servers and storage that will ultimately be supported. Strategies around these technologies have significant impacts on design considerations.

Operational Requirements – Focus on Facilities and Operations. Defines support strategies, physical security, maintenance and operational requirements for a successful facility.

Design Considerations – Based on all of the above, the design considerations serve as instructions to the design team to point them in the right direction. This section includes all required design disciplines. While AlfaTech has the capability and experience to take clients from concept to move-in, we believe the most important step in this process is initial programming. This is where the true business requirements are defined and put into proper perspective regarding competing priorities such as budget, schedule or location. The programming process guides our clients through all necessary considerations to effectively define data center needs and capabilities. This is often measured with parameters such as size, capacity, reliability, efficiency, scalability and sustainability. The process we have developed combines years of both Facilities and IT experience into an effective Data Center planning methodology.