As we spend more of our lives online and in the digital age, the exchange of information is becoming increasingly important to keep businesses up and running. This digital exchange requires huge network and computer equipment, which are located in the center of physical space, which is known as the datacenter.
A data center is a computer room that houses storage and computing equipment for an organization or business. The core components of a data center comprise servers that provide the processing power to turn raw data into useful data, and storage devices that store this data on robotic tape or hard-disk drives. A data center also depends on networking and communications equipment like routers, cables and switches to facilitate the flow of data between servers.
The term “data center” began to be utilized in the 1990s as IT operations grew and cheap networking equipment made it possible for companies to house their networking equipment in the same space. Businesses can either build their own data center on their own premises or contract with a third-party provider of data center services who offer managed and colocation. Third-party solutions are typically a more energy-efficient and cost-effective alternative to on-premises facilities.
A lot of these third-party options also offer greater flexibility in the management of policies. A data center, for example can offer multiple policy environments in a single location. This allows IT to limit the data workloads by defining distinct policies that satisfy the requirements of compliance across all geographies and businesses. This can dramatically reduce security risks as well as improve overall information governance.