Data Center Services

Our process begins with understanding your business objectives are and how a data center can help you achieve your goals. We begin by developing a Data Center Programming document to define the size and type of data center that will work best for your organization.

We then use the approved programming document to begin planning your data center. During the planning phase, we will discuss what level of redundancy meets your organization’s needs. What sort of electrical distribution topology is best suited for your facility and the cost ramifications of each choice? What sort of cooling systems will provide the highest efficiency for the local climate in which your data center will be built? These are just a few of the questions that we ask to shape the design of your facility.

Once the planning effort is complete and approved by all stakeholders, we begin creating the final site design. Starting with a schematic design for the building, electrical, mechanical, fire, and monitoring systems to insure all components interact and function within the parameters of the programming document. During the next phase of design development, we refine the drawings and specifications to reflect what will be built. It is during this phase that budget and schedule for the project will undergo refinement.

Once the design development is completed, we enter the Construction Document phase where all disciplines commit the design to final drawings and specifications for construction. During this phase, we begin the equipment procurement process, so long lead items can be ordered and ready for installation. We finalize the budget and schedule the construction project with our team members. The last process of this phase is the submittal of the Construction Documents to the Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for the necessary building permits.

Throughout the construction process, we have a committed team of on-site and office professionals monitoring and updating all aspects of the project, communicating back to your team with timely updates.

The last step of the project is the functional testing of the facility, the training on the operation of the facility infrastructure, and of course, the first day of occupancy. Murphy DCS will guide you through each of those processes and will help with the implementation of the IT equipment and processes within the data center, if required. We provide a unique perspective for a design-build team in that we also are operators of data centers and can help you leverage our experience on the operation level within your site.

There are a number of factors that influence the design and construction timeline.

• Is this a renovation of an existing site?
• Are we adaptively retrofitting an existing structure into a data center?
• Is this entirely new construction? Is there a site already selected or is there a site selection process required? What are the planning and zoning requirements for the site?
• Is there available power and network connectivity?
• What are the redundancy and availability requirements for the facility?

These are some of the questions that have to be answered to determine the timeline for a data center construction project. Typically a ground-up build on an ideal site is a 12 to 18 month process. Renovations or retrofitting and existing site can shorten the timeframe in some cases.

Once the data center is complete, Murphy DCS’s role can vary based upon your needs. We can provide directions in operational issues with regards to the facility infrastructure, we can help you set up preventative maintenance schedules and contracts, and we can continue to serve as an owner’s representative with the installed equipment vendors.

Murphy DCS can help you establish the proper job descriptions for the types of positions required to run a data center from a facility or IT perspective. You may have individuals in your organization that can be moved to data center roles such as NOC technicians and customer support staff or facility operations. You will want to recruit sales individuals (through your preferred method) who know your market place so that selling to new and existing customers will not be a learning experience.