Designing a modern data center for your office

More than a decade has passed since cloud computing became the new paradigm of enterprise data networks. What was once considered to be a cutting edge solution is now a business standard, and the days of client/server office networks are mostly over. Modern business networks operate as data centers; whether you keep servers on-premise or in the cloud, the way you manage your digital files conforms to new protocols that originated in data centers.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA CLOUD

Advanced networking is at the heart of cloud computing; you need to think in terms of consolidation, hence the idea of your office network as a facility where your business information, as well as applications, are stored and managed. This does not have to be a physical facility because you can host virtual servers, software applications, databases, and even workstations in the cloud, but you should still treat your data center as a business facility.

Let’s say a clinic operates an on-site cloud server for HIPAA compliance purposes, but its patient management application is delivered on a Software-as-a-Service basis; this hybrid cloud data center could be improved by means of consolidation, which may involve upgrading the cloud server so that it can handle the SaaS app. Should this not be possible because of software licensing issues, this data center can still be configured in a way that makes the networking connections between the public and hybrid clouds as efficient and secure as possible.

THE FEATURES OF SECURE DATA CENTERS

When designing the data center that will serve as your company’s digital infrastructure, the first aspects to consider are: compliance, data sensitivity, and security. A police department that needs to store video captured by officers’ body cams, for example, will need a strict chain of custody that may not be possible to enforce in a public cloud. Bandwidth, latency, and scalability are the next aspects to consider, and they tend to be more flexible thanks to current technology trends.

Once you have evaluated the aspects mentioned above, you need to start thinking about the functionality, operational management, and near-term outlook of your data center. Deployment and data migration issues can be reviewed later, but they are nonetheless crucial to the design of your data center.

At Sonic Systems, helping clients design the data centers that will support their companies is part of our IT Squared business solution. With IT Squared, you get more than just a network installation; you get a comprehensive IT package that includes hardware, configuration, monitoring, and maintenance of the data center. Best of all, the level of service can be negotiated so that you can pay for IT Squared on a monthly basis, similar to a SaaS subscription. Contact our office today to learn more about IT Squared.