There are three different kinds of data centers that your business may use. There are also different ways of keeping these centers connected to your business's infrastructure. If you are worried about keeping all of your centers connected and keeping your information together, here are the three different types of data centers you can use and a couple of options for keeping all of your onsite and offsite data centers connected to your business and within your business.
Data Centers on Every Floor and Keeping Onsite Centers Connected
Some companies who handle numerous client accounts (and assign a floor of the building to each client account) may choose to have a data center on every floor. The reason behind this is so that all of the data entered and managed by representatives goes into these individual centers and does not need to be rerouted offsite. If the clients do not have a problem with their company data being stored in the same data centers with other clients' information, then it is possible to wire all of these data centers together. Usually this means that each data center on each floor is directly above the data center for the floor below it. The internet service provider's technicians will run connecting cables up into the ceilings and floors so that all of the machines from one floor are connected to the next.
Offsite Data Centers and Keeping Them Connected to Your Brick and Mortar Locations
When your company outsources its data collection to another company that specializes in maintaining data equipment, you have offsite data centers. (These offsite centers are able to hold much more information than a single onsite data center, and because they are located offsite, there is more office space, too.) To keep connected to offsite data centers, you have to a) be a customer of this service provider and b) be a customer of the internet provider that services these offsite data centers. All of the cables and wiring that run from the offsite center head directly into a service provider's utility box (those giant boxes that have dozens of connections for communication services and where the technicians hook you up to begin receiving service signals). Because your company belongs to the same internet provider, you have underground wired access to the offsite data center.
Cloud Data Centers
Cloud storage has become the new data center for many companies because you do not have to worry about where your data or computer programs are. They download and upload to the cloud easily, and there is plenty of security in "the cloud." Regardless of where your company's brick and mortar buildings are located, you are all connected in the cloud data center. If your company does not use cloud data centers and storage yet, you may want to make the leap and free up some office space by eliminating physical data centers while you are at it.
