Digital West Blog

For the third consecutive year, Digital West has successfully completed a SOC 2 Type 2 examination of the security and availability of our colocation services. The exam was conducted by the independent firm, 360 Advanced, in accordance with standards put forth by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). They conducted an evaluation of the controls Digital West has in place to protect our clients’ data security and availability.

Engaging in the SOC 2 exam is a demonstration of Digital West’s commitment to world class data services, and establishes us as the only carrier neutral data center between Santa Clara and Los Angeles Counties to have passed this rigorous evaluation. “Our customers have always had great faith in our ability to securely store and 

Until October of last year, approximately 5,000 businesses self-certified that they would provide adequate protection of European citizens' data once it was in the US for processing, under the 15-year old Safe Harbor Agreement. That agreement has now been ruled invalid by Europe’s top court, leaving companies scrambling to figure out how to operate legal data transfers. Recent articles in the New York Times and Tech Crunch reported on the issue.

We're excited to announced that Digital West has partnered with the Green Group in Switzerland to offer colocation in three of its state-of-the art data center facilities: Zurich West 1, Zurich West 2 and Zurich North. Located in the heart of Europe, Switzerland is considered to be one of the best data center locations in the world due to its quality infrastructure, high level of legal security, economic and social stability, and comprehensive data protection.

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a written contract between a service provider and end user that lays out specifically the cost, performance and timeframes that the provider will deliver to the consumer.  Most data centers will have some sort of SLA describing what you can expect from their NOC, tech support, cloud computing or colocation services. SLAs spell out service requirements such as: 

Aging equipment, changing technologies and a highly competitive IT recruiting environment drive many companies to re-evaluate their data center strategy. IT departments are under tremendous pressure to deliver more services at a faster rate and high reliability than ever before, and they’re usually expected to accomplish these objectives using existing budgets and staffing. Colocation and cloud services are two options IT professionals often consider, but which is the best choice? While both options share some benefits, such as reduced costs of using shared facilities and stronger security, the best choice depends upon the specific needs of the company.   

If you don't know your copper cable from your fiber, a shared virtual server from a dedicated one, or colocation from the cloud, we're here to help break it down for you. Check out Digital West's new Smart Papers -- a growing collection of short "how tos" and brief explanations of some of IT's more vexing questions.

We've published a new page on the Digital West website where you can download as few or as many as of the papers as you'd like. Click on the image above to access it, or visit our website. We'll be adding more topics over time. If there's a specific subject you'd like to see covered,  let us know. 

If you’ve been to our San Luis Obispo data center, you may remember passing a few security measures before entering.  The Digital West data center was SOC certified in February 2013, meaning that the following requirements were met by the American Institute of CPA’s (AICPA) while conducting a service organization control examination:

Security - The system is protected against unauthorized access (both physical and logical). Digital West has staff on site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and utilizes advanced video surveillance and fire suppression/detection systems.

You may currently use Digital West for website or email hosting, or perhaps your business operations have been transformed by our Metro Fiber Internet connectivity. It’s easy to know a company simply by the specific service that it offers your business, but did you know that Digital West provides about a dozen different services to businesses all across the United States? Our expert engineering staff are some of the best minds in networking, server administration and Data Center management who will provide you their expertise in the planning and implementation stages of your technology development. We help solve problems that are unique to your business by analyzing your current structure, planning for growth, identifying gaps, implementing security audits and more. If you’re looking for a comprehensive, personalized solution for your company’s IT demands, ask Digital West for a free consultation to see how we can provide you with the best solution.

This month, Digital West created a video with REC Solar highlighting the partnership we have together. See how Digital West has come through for a company that has been expanding exponentially over the past few years in solar installations!

Only Data Services Provider in Tri-County Area to Pass

SAN LUIS OBIPSO, CA – Digital West Networks, Inc., which provides commercial-grade Internet connectivity, colocation and cloud services to businesses, has successfully completed a Type I SOC 2 examination. The exam, known as SSAE 16, which stands for Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 16, is the authoritative guide used by CPAs to review service controls at an organization. The auditors conducted an objective evaluation of the controls Digital West has in place to protect its clients’ data security and availability. The examination was performed by an independent CPA firm, Brightline CPAs & Associates, Inc. and focused specifically on Digital West’s data center and colocation services.