The short answer to the question above would be – yes. A bit of a longer answer is – yes, for the time being. Read on to find more about the current state of data centers, the challenges that come with them, and the future demands they will face.
How do data centers make money?
There are four types of services that a data center can offer to potential customers. Those are infrastructure, network, platform, and software.
Infrastructure
When it comes to infrastructure, a data centers’ main appeal is the option to rent it to those who cannot do it independently. One significant advantage that renting infrastructure has over building a private data center is that the client pays only for what they use. This means that they can rent more storage space if the demand increases, hassle-free.
Besides storage space, when renting infrastructure, the client pays for servers, firewalls, hosting services, and more. This arrangement is very convenient for the user since they don’t have to care about upgrading and maintaining the equipment.
Networking services
A data center can provide network services like phone services over the internet (VoIP), Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), private telephone networks for use within a company (Private Branch Exchange), etc.
This type of service is wildly popular with startup companies that need the enterprise level hardware without investing in maintaining a similar service on their own.
Platform as a service
This type of service is aimed at developers since it gives them an environment where they can build and deploy applications. The data center’s job is to provide them with a platform for a particular programming language, along with the usual duties of taking care of the infrastructure and the configuration of servers and networks.
Software as a service
These days, many types of software don’t require installation. Instead, this software can simply be accessed via a web browser. A data center can issue a temporary license for using such a piece of software. This option is much cheaper and much more cost-effective for companies because they can pay for software when they need it instead of buying a lifetime license.
The current state of the affairs
The increasing demand for cloud networking and the need for data centers to store this ever-growing volume of data is the driving force behind the growing need for bigger, better, and faster data centers.
Many companies are moving towards more intelligent physical infrastructure of data center systems. This is due to increased demand for servers, computers, networking equipment like routers or switches, and security components like a firewall or biometric security sensors. Overall, the need for data centers is growing, and it will continue to do so.
Data center related risks
Running a data center is not a passive income source where all you have to do is set it up and forget it. Many risks are associated with operating a data center. These include:
Natural disasters
Disasters such as floods or storms can cause considerable downtime, causing data centers to lose valuable time and money. Large-scale damage can be prevented with water penetration protection, a fire suppression system, and power backups.
Supplier outages
These happen when suppliers of either power, connectivity, or other important deliverable are unable to deliver. To avoid this, it is vital to have a backup pool of suppliers if one fails. For example, downtime from a downed power line can be prevented by having additional power generators and enough onsite fuel to last several days.
Internal risks
These include the data center’s structure and security, along with software applications, shared servers, communication networks, data backup and storage, and the risk of viruses.
Suppose you aim to operate a thriving data center. In that case, it is imperative to adopt the best practices, provide bug fixes, and generally stay up to date with the current trends in safety and technology to provide your customers with the best possible service. It is also crucial to stay on top of the latest tech trends to minimize your data center’s odds of becoming less efficient or even obsolete.
What does the future hold?
Technology advances at such a fast pace that it could be hard to imagine what the next decade will bring. We know for sure, though, that some of the current technologies will have an expansion very shortly.
Things like 5G, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and data-producing devices like sensors and cameras will demand an increase in data center safety, along with even more power and storage from the data centers very soon. Those who cannot keep up with the demands of the expanding market will be left behind.
