As we live more and more of our lives online, the exchange of digital information becomes increasingly necessary to keep businesses running. Digital exchange requires huge network and computer equipment, that are housed in the center of physical space, which is known as the datacenter.
A data center is an specialist computer room that houses the storage and computing equipment needed by a company. The fundamental components of a data centre comprise servers that provide the processing power to turn raw data into usable data and storage devices that store the data on robotic tape or hard-disk drives. In addition, a Data Center relies on communication and networking equipment like routers, switches, and endless miles of cables that help the flow of data between servers.
In the 1990s, when IT operations grew, and companies began to use cheap networking equipment to store their networking equipment in an central location and the term “data center” was first used. Nowadays, businesses can opt to construct their own data centres on their premises or partner with third-party data center service providers which offer cloud, managed and colocation services. The third-party options often offer the most cost-effective and energy efficient alternative to data centers built on premises.
Many of these third-party solutions also provide greater flexibility around policy management. A data center, for example can provide multiple policy environments at a single location. This allows IT to limit the data workloads by creating distinct policies that satisfy compliance requirements across geographies and organizations. This can reduce security risks and enhance the information governance.
