Some believe that the choice of a data center is irrelevant, that one data center is the same as another and that outsourcing is just a commodity. However, data center providers vary in many ways from accreditations, space and power capacity, connectivity options and offerings, to geographical location. Of course, there are other things to consider when choosing a data center provider – how much money they save your business, how quickly they respond in the event of a disaster, and how well they understand local regulation. All of these considerations can be used to describe a proactive data center. Let’s start by taking a look at what this means for the consumer.