Nearly every aspect of company operations is vying for computing resources in corporate IT environments that are often limited by the physical constraints of power, cooling, and security. Implementing a data infrastructure today that will meet the needs of the corporation tomorrow is increasingly complex.
Yan Ness, CEO of Midwest data center company Online Tech, notes that “with the mass digitization of the world around us, every aspect of business is increasing demands on data center infrastructure”.
At the same time, it has become increasingly important to maximize the benefit and utilization of every dollar spent on servers, networks, and technical administration as IT budgets are forced to stretch farther to cover infrastructure and maintenance costs. Enter the appeal of cloud computing.
In a virtual cloud environment, multiple servers of different configurations can run simultaneously on the same hardware platform. With automatic load balancing and reconfiguration of resources, the virtual world of cloud computing can utilize a much greater percentage of a server's processing power. Despite the benefits of better utilizing resources, security concerns of a cloud computing environment have given potential adapters sufficient pause and given rise to the creation of private clouds. When an adaptive and auto-configuring cloud computing environment is placed in a private, secure package, suddenly the benefits solidly outweigh the risks.
Companies who see the value of a scalable, flexible cloud computing model and are committed to implementation must then contend with the choice between a significant capital outlay to purchase the infrastructure or outsourcing to a 3rd-party data center. In addition, they must contend with the fact that as data center administration requires more diverse skill sets, corporations find themselves needing to retrain or re-hire internal IT resources if they choose to go with an in-house solution.
Ness reflects on the changing skill set required to manage the next generation of data centers by adding, "You need people whose skills span a much greater breadth of expertise."
But the problem is not limited to staff needing new skill sets. Many companies under the pressure of industry compliance regulations, such as PCI DSS or HIPAA, are required to comply with extensive physical security and data backup protocols as well.
Many are finding CapEx-free, fixed price monthly data center outsourcing much more economical than retrofitting an existing data center to meet compliance standards of rigorous dual authentication, months of recorded video access logs, and years of backed up data with a disaster recovery plan.
Data centers that have undertaken certification such as SAS 70 to prove regulatory compliance are finding themselves safe havens for companies and service providers who must meet compliance or subject themselves to large penalties.
The migration from in-house, corporate data centers to outsourcing partners has helped Online Tech continue to grow 20% despite a down economy. With new product offerings based on secure private cloud hosting, the firm plans to add more employees and contractors to keep up with demand.
About Online Tech
Online Tech (www.OnlineTech.com) is the leader in secure and compliant hosting services including private cloud hosting, managed cloud hosting, hybrid cloud hosting, managed dedicated servers, disaster recovery and offsite backup services, and Michigan colocation. Online Tech’s legacy of independent HIPAA, PCI, SAS 70 Type II, SSAE 16 Type II (SOC 1), SOC 2, and SOC 3 audits and reports ensures the security, privacy, and availability expected of a trusted service organization. For more information, call (877) 740-5028 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
