Data centers are now central to business operations in the modern age, providing reliable and secure computing power for business processes, from internal communications to customer service. They’re designed with massive amounts of planning and resources to ensure that the facility can meet a company’s ever-growing workload needs for decades to be. They’re also being upgraded to operate more efficiently and integrate cloud-based resources.
A company can construct their own data center with the funds to invest in it, or they can select a colocation provider. Colocation providers offer many benefits, but they can also hinder a company’s control and visibility of its data infrastructure. This can cause Shadow IT, where employees make use of cloud-based services without company’s approval.
A data center for corporate use in-house allows an organization to have more control over their data infrastructure and to be able respond quickly to any issue. It can also boost productivity and ensure better uptime, as employees are able to work more efficiently without interruptions.
To safeguard sensitive data, the majority of data centers have multiple layers of security. These include firewalls and intrusion detection systems, backup processes, and physical access restrictions such cameras, guards, and mantraps. Certain fire protection systems employ chemical or sprinkler suppression. Server rooms with dedicated servers are often constructed to contain cold and hot aisles to prevent air from mixing, which could significantly affect cooling efficiency. Prefabricated Fabrication solutions (PFM) are being utilized by a few large hyperscalers to decrease the time to construct, increase quality, safety, and sustainability, and cut costs.