Earn more, learn more, and realise your potential Mobile Technology email newsletter Get ZDNet's mobile news and reviews. Ken Young considers what firms should look for when choosing a telehotel Following the lead of telecoms carriers, ISPs and content providers, many large firms are now checking into telehotels to keep servers and IT infrastructure offsite but secure. Telehotels provide bandwidth and a secure location for servers that are either rented or installed by client companies. Where the facility is operated by a telecoms carrier it will probably only offer bandwidth through its own network and tariffs.
Security is a major selling point.
For example, customers may want reassurance that servers will be safe from tampering, and that facilities have good protection against fire and flood. To ensure uptime and care of equipment, customers may want to check that sophisticated air-conditioning and backup generators are in place. And, of course, locations that are within easy reach of their customers also have an advantage. Many telehotels are connected to a network of pan-European or global sites. The telehotel market is certainly booming, and there are around 12 networks of sites due for completion in Europe over the next 24 months, according to financial analyst firm Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.