Preparing for the Next Unforeseen Disruption By Sushil Goyal, Co-founder & MD, Rahi Systems

Preparing for the Next Unforeseen Disruption

Sushil Goyal, Co-founder & MD, Rahi Systems | Thursday, 17 February 2022, 13:15 IST

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Why does maintaining the flow of data become a challenging task when organisations try to modernise their IT infrastructure?
To modernise IT infrastructure, businesses must migrate to cloud, either hybrid or private or public to store their data. Simultaneously it is imperative to streamline these processes as several challenges that may arise need to be addressed in order to make a successful transition to cloud.

Data Management: There exists a huge amount data, and new data is added daily, making data structuring a big issue. It is thus necessary to ensure that the storage available on cloud is optimised and automated so that it's easier to access the data virtually and integrate it with the organisation's IT infrastructure.

Authorise Mobility: With everyone working remotely or in a hybrid space, organisations have made data accessible from any location with stable Wi-Fi and on any device.  The process may have pit falls due to multiple access points.

Data protection: Accessibility to data from any location is risky.  It leaves the data vulnerable as it is available to anyone with any device. Ensuring data protection and security is a concern that many organisations face.

Customisation: Every organisation has a specific and unique need. Therefore, every organisation's transition is different and finding the right fit to set up cloud storage especially during a pandemic might be a huge task.

"The pandemic has not yet ended, and businesses continue to operate remotely, making it ideal for infrastructure to move workloads so that it can prepare for the next unforeseen disruption"

What are the factors one should consider while setting up a colocation facility?
A colocation data center facility is a space that companies rent to store or install servers and other hardware. They need to secure growing volumes of dispersed data generated at edge locations. This is driving enterprises to set up and operate data vaults in multiple colocation facilities. Data driven organizations across industry sectors as well as government have increased the demand for colocation facilities in India.

The following points needs to be considered while setting up a colocation facility:

Location: Colocation facility should be close to the company headquarters or near the location of most of the employees. The physical location also needs to consider the company's user base for connectivity and latency. The facility needs to be located close to power resource and should be far from extreme weather events such as hurricanes, ice storms and earthquakes.

Cost: The facility enables the tenants to share infrastructure so that the resources are proportioned, implying shared the cost of those resources. Some facilities bundle in the cost of network services and provide IT maintenance and management service. It is important to make a high one-time investment in colocation services that provide high standard solutions to protect the data center equipment to avoid high maintenance cost.  Colocation site budget should include the number of server cabinets that will be needed, bandwidth, power usage charges, and IP addresses, as well as technical support charges. The cost analysis should account for capacity growth, the need for additional resources, services that are not included and future cost escalation.

Power & cooling: While evaluating a colocation provider, one should consider the facility’s power and cooling systems, redundancy and available connectivity options. Check if the facility has systems that are in place to prevent the most common causes of downtimes, including human error, network failure, power outages, natural disasters, and cybercrime. Power configurations is a major factor to consider when pinpointing colocation cost.

Security: Data centers that do colocation will have heightened security measures. Physical security such as 24/7 monitoring and access controls are considered important to secure companies' information. Virtual security incudes video surveillance and biometrics of those who have access are also very important.

What impact does data centers have on the environment? Is there any way to monitor and control it?
Technologies such as the Internet of Things, Cloud, smartphones, or artificial intelligence have caused an explosion in the volume of data being generated. The need for data centers for storage has increased exponentially in the recent past. Data centres consume high levels of energy to power the IT equipment contained within them and extract the heat they produce. At the same time cooling down of the data centers needs energy and burns fossil fuels, which in turn also adds more carbon emission. Today data centers alone account for 17% of the technology's carbon footprint. With 2% of total greenhouse gas emissions, their carbon footprint is similar to that of the aviation. The impact of data centres on the environment is also linked to the fact that cooling systems rely on hazardous chemicals and backup batteries necessary in the event of a power failure.

Power & Cooling still remain as the most critical challenge.  Low availability of adequate power sometimes leads to deferred expansion and impacts and new DC deployments. To optimise the resource utilisation and reduce the environmental impacts, data centers are now trying to operate on renewable energy such as wind, hydro or solar to power them and optimising or upgrading technology to improve its efficiency and operating temperature. The trend will continue, and we will be seeing more and more innovation in sustainable components with improved efficiency.

There are various ways through which any data center can be converted into a green data center which can yield measurable returns:

·Modular data center (MDC) design
·Hot and cold aisle containment
·Power supply efficiency
·Energy star equipment
·Measuring and tracking power and temperature
·Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) purchased for 100% of annual energy use
·Systems designed around shared power supplies;
·Consolidation through server virtualization and elimination of non functioning servers
·Refresh cycles have a key part to play in maintaining carbon neutrality

"In cloud-based data centers, the data is remotely stored, managed, and backed up on a regular basis. Quality service providers offer the option of securely transmitting data and receiving them via a public network"

Why are cloud based data centers becoming ever popular in recent times? Is it better than storing data on premise?
The pandemic has changed the working model world wide. Organisations have adopted hybrid work culture and as a result companies have shifted to cloud based data centers. Innovation, efficiency and sustainability will be the driving force behind any data center technology going forward. Gartner's research predicted user spending of $200 Billion by the end of 2021 on data center infrastructure which is 6% higher than the 2020 levels Few attributes on why Cloud based datacentres are better than physical data centers:

Cost: A typical data center installation needs a lot of investment towards   networking to server hardware vendors and further frequent upgrades. Whereas, using cloud servers, it basically means that you are using some one else's resources, whereby the provider ensures quality and maintenance of the system, ensuring better resource optimization.

Accessibility: In cloud based data centers, the data is remotely stored, managed, and backed up on a regular basis. Quality service providers offer the option of securely transmitting data and receiving them via a public network. At any given time, files and documents stored online can be accessed from anywhere.

Security: Traditional DCs hire security staff and install various security protocols to maintain safety. You have complete control over your data to ensure that its completely secure from unauthorized access. Cloud-based hosts are prone to data leak and hacking as mostly perceived, but in actual practice, they are constantly upgraded with cybersecurity protocols to make sure that all the safety measures are in line and user data is secured. Private clouds offer enhanced security as they have an isolated network environment and better control.

Scalability: Building a data center from scratch requires a huge Capex and time. Cloudbased systems enable seamless customization and scalability. Businesses can buy more storage and even reduce it as per  requirements.

                                                    

How well are data centers adapting to workloads?
The pandemic has not yet ended, and businesses continue to operate remotely, making it ideal for infrastructure to move workloads so that it can prepare for the next unforeseen disruption. When the emphasis shifts from infrastructure to workloads, decision making focuses on service delivery rather than IT architecture. While Gartner recommends that IT should get out of the business of maintaining data centers, the cloud may not always be the best option. Organizations should focus on performance, availability, security, compliance, and other technologies and business requirements to determine workload placement. Organizations should also evaluate not only what internal IT departments can give, but also what is available in the marketplace while analysing these aspects. Some old programmes can be moved to Software-as-a-Service(SaaS) solutions, while others may be hosted in colocation centres. For example, emerging distributed cloud services can prove to be a good option as they allow running applications and data from geographically dispersed sites at the network edge.

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