Feb 11, 2009 : Carpathia Adds Colo Configuration Tool

📅 February 11, 2009 - Managed hosting provider Carpathia Hosting (carpathiahost.com) announced on Wednesday it has added a free hosting configuration tool, Carpathia ColoConfigurator (coloconfigurator.com) for its colocation service offerings, which enables potential customers to custom build colocation solutions.

The company recently added the Carpathia Integrated Hosting Package, a solution designed to offer the efficiencies of a consolidated hosting environment.

The ColoConfigurator tool signals an interesting marketing approach by Carpathia as it makes the whole process of purchasing colocation services a more interactive experience. Customers are able to work with Carpathia's engineers to design the most effective colocation solution for their purposes.

Managed dedicated hosting provider The Planet also launched its own new online tool this week where customers can customize the best solution for their needs by filling out a survey based on their business' needs and budget.

"In today's tough economic climate, businesses are looking for ways to save money and drive more from their IT investment," says Jon Greaves, chief technology officer at Carpathia Hosting. "A barrier to achieving this goal, however, is the complexity and risk involved in migrating IT infrastructure from corporate data centers to colocation facilities. To meet these increased demands, we've created C3 and a migration methodology designed to simplify the process of hosting IT infrastructure in data center environments. As a data center-neutral company, Carpathia is in a unique position to help customers meet their colocation needs in the data center that best fits their needs."

C3 is available in two modes - Expert, which enables potential customers who already know their hosting requirements to enter their colocation specifications, and Wizard, which guides prospects that need help building a custom solution through a five-step process that identifies all relevant information.

In the Expert mode, customers are required to specify information concerning the quantity, voltage, amp, redundancy of power circuits, and the quantity and size of data space. In Wizard mode, customers must specify their bandwidth, and whether they would like to add colocation, managed nework, managed security and backup services.

Both modes are aligned to ITIL V3 best practices. Once the customer submits the information a Carpathia solutions engineer will create a custom proposal that includes best practices for ensuring a seamless transition to a colocation service, which is delivered in two business days.

The C3 tool and methodology starts with the basics of the migration, then goes on to capture inventory, logistics, build and finally, testing and verification. The resulting proposal includes best practices around each of these five steps, along with a detailed project plan for a smooth transition to a colocation service.

Carpathia Hosting provides enterprise managed hosting services to customers around the world, including government agencies, large enterprises and small-to-medium businesses, out of its eight data centers across the United States.