Data Center Reviews & Truths (1st Edition)

For the last 30 years, I’ve been in the thick of colocation, watching, building, and partnering through every major shift in infrastructure for hosting computer hardware.

Before cloud, we called it managed servers. Before compliance and cybersecurity was a buzzword, we were stacking servers on bread racks. Yes, that happened, and yes, it worked at the Westin Carrier Hotel back in 2000.

The landscape has changed. And that’s exactly why I’m launching this newsletter.

Introducing: Data Center Reviews & Truths

This isn’t a vendor spotlight or a fluff piece. It’s an honest, firsthand look at:

• Colocation partners: who’s real, who’s marketing, and what you should watch for

• Carrier availability and dark fiber options

• Power realities, because promises and delivery timelines are two very different things

• What it actually means to build secure, compliant, and scalable infrastructure

• How to choose a partner that can protect your uptime, not just talk about it

I’ve already hand-picked a few providers I believe in, and I’ll explain exactly why. Expect deep dives on their strengths, their limitations, and even customer feedback with contact info (yes, real customers you can reach out to yourself).

l will also walk through Winsor Consulting Group’s move into the colocation market starting in Tucson, Arizona. I will discuss how we’re bringing that same commitment to uptime and security across the country, with a big Midwest announcement coming soon as well.

No suits. No fluff. Just Joe, style truths from someone who’s been around long enough to know the difference between shiny brochures and solid infrastructure.

If your executive team is still stuck in the cloud versus on-prem debate, or you’re being told colocation is too complex or expensive, or we can do for less ourselves then this newsletter will be a must read. Especially when cost, compliance, and uptime are in the conversation.

What Should You Look for in a Data Center Provider?

Don’t stop at a tour and a clean lobby. Ask the questions that matter:

• What’s their actual uptime history, not just their promised SLA?

• Do they walk you through their escalation and incident response process?

• What does physical access really look like? Are biometrics, surveillance, and mantraps in place?

• Can they scale with your growth, or are they already tight on power and space?

• How do they manage compliance and audits? Can they prove it?

• Do they offer carrier neutrality and diverse paths for connectivity?

• What do carrier cross connects cost?

• Do they offer remote hands or smart hands that can get the job done sooner rather than later?

• Are they willing to show you real world PUE metrics, cooling strategies, and power load data?

• Do they treat all customers the same, whether you have a single cabinet or 100 plus?

• If your data center provider checks all the other boxes, do they check the final one: do they treat you like a customer or just an invoice? Have you actually talked to not just the references they gave you but reviewed on line other customer experiences.

If they’re slow to answer or dodge the details, that tells you everything.

The 7 Core Competencies Every Data Center Should Be Rated On

This is the framework I’ll use to review each provider and the one we use for our partners at Winsor Consulting Group. There are over 5,400 data centers in the United States, not one company is going to own and operate all the locations, that is why data center partnerships should be key with the Data Center Provider you work with.

1. Reliability & Uptime

• Real uptime track record (not just tier-level promises)

• Redundant power, cooling, and network

• Fault tolerance during maintenance or unplanned failures

2. Physical and Cybersecurity

• 24/7 surveillance, biometrics, and perimeter controls

• Network protections like firewalls, IDS, and encryption

• Transparent compliance with Tier III Uptime Institute Certified as an example

• ENERGY STAR® Certification : verified energy efficiency

• HIPAA-ready : suitable for handling protected healthcare information

• HITRUST Certified : cross-regulatory compliance via HITRUST CSF

• PCI DSS Compliant : secure for payment card data environments

• SOC 1 & SOC 2 (annual) : internal controls and trust services attestation

• NIST 800 Series (800‑53, 800‑171) Compliance : federal cybersecurity and CUI requirements

• CMMC Readiness : defense contracting cybersecurity maturity

3. Power & Cooling Infrastructure

• Multiple power sources, UPS, and generators

• Efficient cooling such as cold aisle containment or free-air

• Liquid Cooling options : direct-to-chip liquid cooling, immersion cooling, and AIO (all-in-one) systems.

• Real-time energy metrics including PUE

4. Carrier Connectivity & Network Options

• Carrier neutral access to multiple providers

• Diverse fiber paths and real network redundancy

• Location that enables low latency for your users

5. Scalability & Flexibility

• Room to grow rack space, bandwidth, and power

• Options for contract flexibility instead of rigid terms

• Are roof rights and outside space available

6. Operational Excellence & Support

• Experienced, available on-site staff

• Documented SLAs and clear escalation paths

• Disaster recovery readiness and real-world failover capability

7. Location Strategy

• Low natural disaster risk or mitigation factors taken into account with the design of the facility

• Easy in and out airport access, flight times, flight routes to and from your Headquarters, not just there is an airport 20 minutes away

• Close to fiber routes and major cloud on-ramps (Latency)

Coming Soon in Data Center Reviews & Truths

• First provider review

• Midwest facility reveal

• Interviews with real customers (with contact info)

• How to have the "Why are we still on-prem?" conversation with your boss

• Does every data center need to be 20MW +

Until next time Joe Wells jwells@winsorgroup.com