Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 16, Reporting on Controls at a Service Organization, was issued by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in April 2010. SSAE 16 effectively replaces SAS 70 as the standard for reporting on service organizations with an effective date of June 15, 2011. SSAE 16 was drafted and issued with the intention and purpose of updating the US service organization reporting standard so that it mirrors and complies with the new international service organization reporting standard – ISAE 3402. - i

Completion of the SSAE 16 Type II examination indicates that 360TCS’ processes, procedures and controls have been formally evaluated and tested by an independent accounting and auditing firm. The examination included the company’s controls related to: Environmental Control, Environmental Security, Network Monitoring and Physical Security.

SSAE 16 is designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an acceptable method for a user entity’s management to obtain assurance about service organization internal controls without conducting additional assessments. In addition, the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 make SSAE 16 reports even more important to the process of reporting on effective internal controls by public companies.  – ii

A SSAE 16 examination is widely recognized, because it represents that a service organization has been through an evaluation of their control activities as they relate to an audit of the financial statements of its customers. A Type II report not only includes the service organization’s system description, but also includes detailed testing of the design and operating effectiveness of the service organization’s controls.

“360TCS is 100% committed to providing clients with the service and reliability required to support their Mission Critical compute environments,” states Don Welbourn, Director of Sales and Account Relations at 360TCS, “by successfully completing a SSAE-16 Type II examination, we are able to formally document and test the processes, controls and attention to detail that have allowed 360TCS to achieve 100% uptime since the commissioning of our facility in the Fall of 2008.”

About 360TCS, LLC
360TCS, LLC is a leading provider of high density colocation and data center services based in Lombard, IL. 360TCS provides a level service to an enterprise client base that is simply unattainable from other providers. The capability to deliver and effectively cool over 40kW per cabinet makes 360TCS one of a handful of facilities that are ideal for supporting the cutting edge of today’s technology including power hungry blade servers, storage arrays and cloud computing clusters. For more information about 360TCS, LLC, please visit: http://www.360tcs.com

i – www.aicpa.org “American Institute of Certified Public Accountants” http://www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/FRC/AssuranceAdvisoryServices/Pages/SORHome.aspx

ii - www.pcaobus.org “Public Company Accounting Oversight Board” http://pcaobus.org/Standards/Auditing/Pages/Auditing_Standard_5_Appendix_B.aspx#useofserviceorganizations

Here are several reasons why 360TCS, a “Boutique Style”, Data Center can be a better solution and outperform the “Big Box” facilities.

Age:

The reality is that many of these “Big Box” Data Centers are old. By technology standards they are actually ancient. When you think of how quickly technology advances wouldn’t you prefer the technology that supports your critical compute environment to be the latest and greatest available?  A ’57 Chevy might be a cool car but is it the most reliable? While any quality facility will continue to upgrade their infrastructure the upgrades themselves can end up impacting  the availability of services. 

“Boutique Style” Data Centers are typically newer. 360TCS was built within the last 2-3 years with environmentally friendly, efficient technology. Every component of our mission critical infrastructure is new and considered “best of breed”. After the commissioning our data center in October 2008 and our first customers going live in November, we recently passed our 2 year anniversary this past fall with literally ZERO downtime to date.

Location:

Some of these “Big Box” Data Centers are located in the “downtown” section of large metropolitan areas which can lead to a whole different set of issues including traffic, parking, proximity to potential terrorist targets etc. There is always the potential for disruption based on the typical ongoing construction in the city.

360TCS is located in Lombard, IL. Close enough to the city to make our facility easily accessible by multiple expressways and major airports but far enough to make us suitable for Disaster Recovery initiatives requiring physical diversity.

Attittude:

“Big Box” Data Centers have hundreds of employees. How familiar with your specific build out and what is important to your business will they be should you find yourself in need of some technical assistance? At most “Big Box” Data Centers, very few customers warrant special attention. What if you are on site and find yourself in need of a power cord, a set of server rails, nuts and bolts or tools? Most “Big Box” stores will direct you to the nearest CDW or Home Depot.

At 360TCS, due to the relatively small physical size of the facility, and our entrepreneurial approach to doing business, our staff is able to become familiar with ALL of our client’s build outs. This gives us the ability to provide a level of service that is unattainable at the “Big Box” providers. EVERY client is a big fish at 360TCS and we are there to help our clients with whatever they need. In fact, it is typical that we include free remote hands time to assist each client with the install process and we never nickel and dime our clients for simple requests. Our philosophy is simple: We treat our clients the way we would expect to be treated by our key vendors.

 Capabilities:

It has been my experience that “Big Box” colocation providers struggle to deliver and effectively cool high density power requirements. Since their facilities and infrastructure were designed to support legacy technology, most can support densities between 150 and 200 Watts per ft2. In many cases that is sufficient, but what if you need more power? Expect to pay for additional cabinet space you don’t need or be told it is flat out not available.

360TCS can support power densities over 550 Watts per ft2. Would you like to populate your cabinet with 4 or 5  fully loaded blade chassis? How about 3 phase power for your IBM I-Series or your power hungry EMC storage devices. 360TCS is great option and in many cases the only option for you.

Find out why our clients tell us we are the best Data Center provider they have found. Experience for yourself what is like to enjoy true customer service again, an all to rare comodity in this day and age.

If you would like to learn more about 360TCS and how we can help you add a level of redundancy to your IT infrastructure, do not hesitate to contact me directly to arrange a site visit and Data Center tour.

Don Welbourn 

Director of Sales/Account Relations

 888-313-1306

dwelbourn@360tcs.com

http://www.360TCS.com

Well it’s here, Spring is in the air in the temperature is expected to flirt with 80 degrees today. Good news for some, but some data center managers are not so excited about an 80 degree day in April.

Years ago, when I was in the telecommunications business, before colocation and data centers were really an option for SMBs, our clients often had what they called “computer rooms.” Most of these “computer rooms” were simply offices or even closets where there were some power outlets, phone lines and if your were lucky some sort of air conditioning. In many cases, the climate control for these spaces were tied into a building wide system that was outside the control of the individual business or department. Many buildings would not turn on the air conditioning until mid-May or it would be turned off after hours to conserve energy. You can imagine the impact this could have on computer systems. I can remember seeing all types of “custom” cooling solutions from box fans to spot coolers deployed every which way in an attempt to keep the heat under control.

Most companies, as they began to rely more and more on technology to support their businesses, have addressed this issue by either retro fitting a space at their own location with a climate control system more suitable for supporting today’s power hungry compute environments or by colocating their mission critical infrastructure in a data center. However, I am continuously surprised and how many companies, of all sizes, still face challenges cooling their IT infrastructure.

I was visiting a friend at his office this week. They have a few cabinets of servers and some network attached storage in their “computer room”. I walked in and was surprised to see one of his IT guys hot footing it down the hallway with an oscillating fan headed for the “computer room.” When is asked what the problem was, I was told that temperature had shot up to over 90 degrees in the in the room after they deployed some new hardware.

Needless to say, that was enough to get me started on the advantages of colocation in a well cooled, hardened facility with redundant infrastructure and guaranteed uptime. His reply was one that I hear almost daily. He said, “I suggested it to my boss and we just can’t afford it”. My reply to that was, “If you are trying to cool your equipment with a $15 desk fan, it seems to me that you can’t afford NOT to look into colocation”.

If you want to sleep well this summer and not have to worry about equipment failure due to excessive heat, give me a call and I’ll be happy to show you how colocating your critical systems with 360TCS will provide you with the peace of mind that comes with knowing your business is protected.

Don Welbourn – dwelbourn@360TCS.com – 312-907-5241

By the way, have you tested your UPS lately? Thunderstorm / Tornado season is also upon us…..

Extreme Density Colocation™ at 360TCS is defined as actual power draw between 10kW – 18kW per cabinet. That’s right, 10kW – 18kW ACTUAL DRAW per cabinet in our well lit, tier III+ data center located in Lombard, IL.

How can 360TCS effectively deliver and cool power densities that are unattainable by other, larger, more-well-known area providers?

The answer lies in our environmentally friendly, ultra-efficient HVAC design. Our unique chilled water, raised floor configuration utilizes the very latest advances in chiller technology designed to meet with LEED® Green Building certification requirements. This, coupled with our advanced building automation system allows us to easily deliver cooling evenly throughout the data center and automatically prevents hot spots.

• Extreme Density Colocation™ allows you to take advantage of today’s power hungry storage arrays and blade server solutions.
• Do the math. Save money.1 cabinet with 16kW < 2 cabinets with 8kW each < 4 cabinets with 2kW each.
• Choose a solution that can grow with you. Extreme Density Colocation™ provides scalability and expandability. Need more power? We have it.

The 360TCS data center is designed for Mission Critical Colocation. 100% availability.

• 360TCS is a carrier neutral facility, featuring a private, redundant fiber ring with POPs at 350 E. Cermak and 111 N. Canal St. in Chicago. This provides our clients low-latency access to over 200 carriers, financial exchanges and market data resources. Dark fiber is also available.
• The 360TCS security staff patrols the data center around the clock. Full facility video monitoring, biometrically controlled access and strictly adhered to security policies prevent unauthorized activity and ensure stability.
• Simple remote hands, smart hands and comprehensive network engineering and troubleshooting services are available via phone, e-mail or our web-based interface 24/7/365 providing you with the comfort of knowing qualified assistance is there when you need it most.

This sounds good, but who is 360TCS? 360 Technology Center Solutions team is a hand-picked group of data center professionals possessing over 50 years combined experience in IT infrastructure. The team was assembled with the sole purpose of indentifying an ideal location to design, build and operate an advanced data center. We are privately held with zero debt and are approaching our 18^th month of operation with zero downtime to date.

What are clients saying about 360TCS?

“We are a relatively new customer of 360TCS and have been satisfied with everything we’ve received so far. The staff is competent in their areas and is able to provide the type of service which we require. We were looking for a combination of electrical apacity, network connectivity and room for growth. We found all three of those at 360TCS.”

– Bill Mania, CTO – OM Holdings, Inc.

“As a leading provider of software-as-a-service solutions to buy-side financial institutions, our clients count on us for availability and performance. The resiliency of the 360TCS infrastructure allows us to focus on delivering the best software and services possible while enjoying the peace of mind of knowing our network and hardware is in a stable and secure environment.” – John E. Borse, President and CEO – Sky Road LLC

Other area providers may claim to be able to support high density deployments, and some can, if you don’t mind being forced to pay too much for more space than you need or being jammed into some corner retro-fit of a larger facility. Since the 360TCS data center was designed EXCLUSIVELY to support our Extreme Density Colocation™ service and we can deliver the power and cooling capacity you have always wanted at a price that will not obliterate your bottom line.

Everyone has heard the saying “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure”. Never has that saying been more accurate than when it is applied to IT infrastructure. The cost of colocation in a hardened, high availability data center can be literally thousands times less than what and extended outage or damaging data loss can cost. In the event of an unforeseen disaster revenue is typically not the only thing lost. Many times it can mean the loss of jobs.

In addition providing the redundant power, cooling, connectivity and security you require, 360TCS is focused on creating true partnerships with our clients. We offer capacities well beyond what the brand name providers do and our size and entrepreneurial approach to the business allow us to deliver a level of service and client satisfaction that truly set us apart.

To learn more, contact 360TCS @ 888-313-1306  or sales@360TCS.com

When choosing a colocation facility, one thing to consider is the format the provider uses to charge for power. It is important that the provider you choose to colocate with uses a power pricing format that is compatible with your expected deployment to avoid paying for power that you do not need or even worse could not be effectively cooled.

In general terms, most data centers will use either a FLAT RATE per circuit or a METERED power pricing model. How do you know which is best for you?

If you ask IT infrastructure professionals which model they prefer,  most will say they prefer a metered model as it implies that you pay only for the power you use. Be sure to read the fine print and make sure you are 100% familiar with all the potential factors that  impact your monthly power cost. A couple things you might want to verify are:

• Monthly Minimum – typically in a metered power model their will be a monthly minimum of usage applied to your power bill. A common minimum is 40-50% of the breakered power total. This protects the data center from delivering large amounts of breakered power per cabinet and  having the client using only a small percentage. This is even more important when you have more than one primary circuit per cabinet. For example, let’s say you have leased a cabinet equipped with 2 x 30A/208V  single phase, primary power circuits in an A + B configuration delivering 6.24KW per circuit for a total of 12.48KW cabinet. The standard allowable actual draw to avoid potentially tripping circuit breakers is 80% of  the breakered total or 9.98KW.  In that cabinet, you deploy a blade server chassis with dual power supplies that draws a total 4KW with the intent of drawing 2KW from each of the two primary power circuits allowing you the ability to draw the entire 4KW from either circuit should you lose a power supply or a PDU.  In this case, 2KW actual draw is roughly 32% of the breakered total of 6.24KW per circuit. If the provider has a 50% minimum, that is 18% per circuit or 2.25KW of unused power you will be charged for. At an example rate of $185 per KW that is $415 per cabinet for power you will not use.
• Max Actual Draw per Cabinet – It is common for an end user to expect additional power to be available when a metered power pricing format is used but that is not always the case. For example, you lease a cabinet as described above with 2 x 30a/208V circuits and you are drawing about 6KW,  approximately 50% of the breakered total. Logically, you assume, that you would have at least an additional 30% or 3KW+ of available power per cabinet, however be sure to check your provider’s Max actual draw per cabinet. You may be surprised to learn that they cannot effectively cool more than the minimum, removing any advantage a metered model may provide. 

When a flate rate per circuit model is in place, there are also several important factors to consider:

• Cooling Capacity- As is the case in a metered power model, the maximum actual draw per cabinet that can be effectively cooled is an important factor when choosing the appropriate amperage and voltage for your cabinets. A rule of thumb is that the maximum actual draw is 80% of the breakered power total. For example, a 20A/110V power circuit will allow you to draw up to 1.76KW or 80% of the 2.2KW breakered total. Most data centers can easily cool this type of density but  when you get into the larger circuits or multiple primary circuits per cabinet you may run into a limit that can affect your potential for expansion and the ability to fully utilize your available cabinet space. Be sure to verify the limits before planning your power deployment. You do not want to end up paying for power you will never be able to draw.
• Scalability – Let’s say you lease a cabinet and it comes with a single 20A/110V power circuit. You load in 10 of your 12 total servers and realize that despite your estimated power utilization calculations you have maxed out the circuit and will require an additional 20A/110V circuit. This is where flat rate can be a burden. Let’s say the flat rate cost of the circuit is $250 per month and you have to add an entire new circuit to power the last two servers, that is not an effective use of available power and will result in additional cost. A better plan may have been to chose a provider that offers metered power or simply to have started with a 30A circuit which would have been a better fit.

Regardless of what power pricing model is right for you, what is most important is that you select a provider that is willing to work with you to help you establish the most cost effective solution without compromising any reliability. At 360TCS we work with each client to find a solution that fits. We are flexible and willing to utilize different pricing models to meet our client’s needs and meet our stated goal which is Total Customer Satisfaction.

 http://www.360TCS.com