Pricing Data Center Services

The pricing of managed data center (DC) services, like server and storage management and database administration, is changing rapidly. Decreasing hardware costs, increasing efficiency, and the use of low-cost resources for service provisioning push DC services pricing downward. The intensive standardization effort on the clients' side, the growing acceptance of vendors' standard processes and tools, and the increasing openness for cloud-based solutions as alternatives are additional factors for price pressure on DC services. This report examines the key trends affecting DC services pricing, highlights factors to consider when purchasing these services, and provides some price information for typical DC services.