In this digital age we live in today, data security is paramount.
This has perhaps been made more obvious since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden obtained thousands of confidential documents from his former employers, the US National Security Agency.
I mean, this is the world’s number one super power! If they can be compromised, then who is safe?
Governments, companies and organisations world over face a delicate and yet very crucial decision when it comes to how they choose to manage and store their information and data.
The decision is whether to manage the servers and storage equipment that store data on your premises on your own or to outsource this to third-party sites such as data centres.
Of course, each option comes with its own set of pros and cons. You lose some, you gain some.
When DIY hurts the financial bottom line
Growing energy costs and rising rental property rates have increasingly made handling data storage internally the more uneconomical alternative for companies and organisations.
This is why over the past five years, a trend of outsourcing to data centres has appeared, with more companies focusing on their strengths and leaving data storage to the experts.
This lowers their operation costs and makes them more flexible. For example should they need to move to a new location, there’s no expensive moving and re-installing of servers.
The implementation of the National Broadband Network is also expected to further reduce data latency (the time it takes to retrieve packets of data). Faster broadband speeds will make data centres in regional areas – where costs are significantly lower – more feasible.
And with cloud computing quickly catching on, business is booming for data centres. In fact, the data centres industry is forecast to expand by 5.0 per cent this year to $475.4 million.
Security remains the biggest hurdle for data centres
However, they would perform even better if it wasn’t for security concerns since outsourcing data storage to a third party often means making a few compromises in security.
There are inherent risks in storing sensitive and valuable data, the breach of which could incur a considerable financial loss or reputational damage for a company. This is why continuous regulations are being introduced to effectively address these concerns.
Hence, firms will continue to set themselves apart in this increasingly capital-intensive industry with improved security feature, quality, reduced downtime and latency.
