There are more than 7 million data centers around the world (Source: Statista), these are the backbone of the digital economy. The question however remains: What are they? The short answer?  A place that houses and manages data and its systems. The long answer? This blog will cover exactly that.

Let’s first look at what they do. The goal of a data center is to store all of a company’s computer-based information in one place with the intent of making it available for immediate use. Data centers generally consist of rows upon rows of servers, or computer systems, which allow for all information to be accessed at any time by anyone with access to the network. Data centers are typically located in regions with low costs of electricity because the data centers use a tremendous amount of power. Cold climates, like Northern Europe and Canada, are popular for data centers due to the costs of cooling the servers. States like Ohio, Florida, and Texas are also popular locations for data centers because they have cheaper electricity.

A data center can also be used as a back-up location in case something happens to the company’s main offices. They make the work easier for the companies as the data gets collected and stored in one unit which can be accessed by them making their work base easier. Data centers play an important role in the operations of every business and nowadays every entity either owns one on its own or rents a service. The core purpose of it is to not only store and secure the data but provide better networking and communication such as emailing, CRM, e-commerce transactions. It is also used in parts of artificial intelligence or gaming communities.

If we sum it up, then to a certain extent, data centers tend to give you leverage over more than one possibility for growth in a world of revolutions and advancements. The fact is that data centers are quite a balance of facilities, investment, high level equipment and monitoring as they deal with all the crucial information associated with a business.

The main elements of data center usually include

• Servers, routers and racks
• Firewalls and more security measures
• Cables and Switches
• UPS and backup generators
• Proper network carrier connectivity
• Environmental control to keep certain temperature required for equipment

Best Practices

There are a few main things to consider when opting for a data center as per an article on Forbes. These include the following:

Efficiency

Even though the term efficiency has been overly used in the IT industry, it still holds value when it comes to data centers. Why? Because unless you do not have the right networking power or storage capacity, coupled with the higher servers per rack, you would only be spending more on something that could have cost less and with a superior power framework.

Scalability

Is your data center scalable? Or are you restricted by the infrastructure? This is one question that you must ask yourself when opting for a data center. A modular system offers businesses the convenience of adapting to growth requirements that might come along the way without disrupting the entire framework.

The Cooling Effect

How are you ensuring that your data center maintains cooling efficiency? With the high number of physical devices, batteries and other infrastructural components, the right cooling mechanism becomes necessary to ensure efficiency. For this, a hot aisle/cold aisle architecture is usually recommended to reduce energy consumption and to pack multiple components together.

Security

There are two main components of security, cybersecurity and on-ground security. We have already talked about cybersecurity challenges to look out for in 2022, so let’s talk about the latter. It is imperative to have protocols at your data centers. Authorized access to a limited number of high-level resources, coupled with a ballistic building construction is at the core of on-ground security. You need to ensure that biometrics are properly implemented in addition to keycard-based access. This coupled with 24.7 monitoring in terms of video surveillance can help you keep your facility secure.

So there you have it, a little overview about what data centers really are and some best practices to keep in mind. Want to know more about how we can help you manage your big data with our data centers? Click here to learn more or to set up a meeting.