There’s growing pressure on IT executives and infrastructure teams to supplement their IT strategy with cloud networks. Although cloud computing can prove to be a great asset, there are many risks, such as security concerns, outages, and downtime that bring about significant costs to corporations. CEOs and CIOs with experience in an augmented IT strategy are finding that, to remain secure and ensure consistency in their business operations, their data center must remain at the core of their IT infrastructure.
When abnormal conditions, such as power outages, tornadoes, super-storms like Hurricane Sandy or global data attacks, threaten an IT infrastructure, business operations are at great risk. An unplanned outage can cost a company significant revenue and adversely affect long-term customer satisfaction. Corporations have to consider the impact on their business and their customers and take proactive measures to maintain business continuity and protect data.
One of the best ways to do this, and one of the most important aspects of an IT strategy, is redundancy. It’s important to build redundancy from the ground up and enable companies to control their business operations. If you’re looking for ways to reduce or prevent time-consuming data recoveries, your data center strategy must focus on stability and redundancy. A purpose-built enterprise location provides a corporation with a private, secure, independent infrastructure, which can deliver long-term cost-savings and be a competitive differentiator.
When putting your strategy in place it’s important to consider what level of redundancy is important. A 2N electrical / N+1 mechanical configuration provides a sufficient amount of redundancy in case of an unforeseen incident. Also, when utilizing data centers as secondary, remote locations, consider facilities with carrier-neutral network services. Having a blended bandwidth approach will ensure your mission-critical backup operations are always on and protect your primary IT infrastructure.
Creating an IT strategy with your data center at the core protects your company’s most valuable asset—its data.
Anthony Bolner is a senior vice president with Stream Data Centers and oversees marketing and business development activities. Contact him at [email protected].
