As we live more and more of our lives online and exchange of digital information becomes increasingly necessary to keep businesses running. Digital exchange requires huge computing and networking equipment, which is housed in a central physical space known as a datacenter.
A data center is a specially designed computer room that contains the computing and storage equipment used by a company. The core elements of a data center include servers, which contain the power to process raw data into usable information, and storage devices that store the information on hard disk drives or robotic tape. Additionally, a data center relies on networking and communication equipment such as routers, switches and endless miles of cables that help the flow of information between servers.
The term “data center” began to be utilized in the 1990s as IT operations expanded and inexpensive networking equipment enabled companies to store all their networking hardware within one central space. Businesses can build their own data center on their premises or work with a third party provider of data center services who offer managed and colocation services. Third-party providers typically offer a more cost-effective and energy-efficient alternative to data centers built on premises.
Many of these third-party options also provide greater flexibility around policy management. For instance a data center could offer multiple environments for policy management in one location that allows IT to limit data workloads by having distinct policies that satisfy requirements for compliance across geographical regions and business units. This can greatly reduce security risks and boost overall information governance.
