Play Ball! What do Major League Baseball and Your Data Center Strategy Have in Common?
Baseball is underway.
Direct LTx is laden with Philadelphia fans and we entered the season encouraged that the Phillies were projected to have a winning season, with the potential to be in the mix in the National League East race with the Mets and the Braves. While the season hasn’t started the way we hoped, the 162-game season offers plenty of time to turn things around.
We’re also supporters of the Reading Fightin’ Phils, as Philadelphia’s AA affiliate is just three miles away from the Direct LTx data center. Their charming ballpark boasts a state-fair atmosphere that makes it an enjoyable outing for fans of all ages. You don’t have to be a hardcore seamhead to thoroughly enjoy a Fightin’ Phils game.
More than Ever, Proximity Matters: Reading’s minor league team has been a Phillies affiliate since 1967, well ahead of a significant trend that has seen Major League Baseball clubs putting affiliates relatively close to the parent club. The reorganization of Minor League Baseball only accelerated the trend, with other franchises seeing the wisdom of the Phillies’ long-term strategy
Being in closer proximity offers easy access for executives, scouts, coaches, strength coaches, players, and other big-league officials to spend more time evaluating and developing the minor league players. An injured minor leaguer can conveniently work with the major league training staff in the parent club’s facilities.
Far Enough Away: But if the minor league team is too close, it can be difficult to get attendance at the minor league level. When you look around baseball, many have decided you want to be close but not too close. The ideal is to make it convenient for baseball operations without cannibalizing fan support for the minor league outfit. Reading being just over an hour away from Philadelphia seems like good common ground.
The Data Center/Baseball Comparison: Your IT infrastructure isn’t much different. For many organizations, it may be wise to locate your data center in a location that is neither too close nor too far away. You want your data center to be just far enough away to be convenient but to be in a place that is lower risk and offers another option to either be in your office or in a Philadelphia facility. Whether primary production or disaster recovery and business continuity, the savvy course of action may be to position your data center in a locale that offers geographic diversity as well as reduced risk.
Recent Benefits: With a number of “once in a hundred year” weather events happening in Eastern Pennsylvania in recent years, flooding of major telecom and data center facilities in the Philadelphia area has been a problem. Located over 80 feet above the 500-year flood plain in a tier-3-level facility with multiple generators, UPS, and battery support, Direct LTx data center provides a lower risk profile than what you’ll frequently find in Philadelphia. A dozen telecom carriers and direct cloud access provide the access you need, but in a locale that is likely a lower risk profile.
Right for You? Direct LTx may offer you that ideal combination of lower-risk and convenience. Whether for production or disaster recovery and business continuity, we’d welcome a discussion on whether Reading is right to be a part of your Eastern Pennsylvania IT infrastructure solution. Fill out our contact form below and a member of our team will reach out to you directly!