• About Us
  • Partnership Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy

Data Center Frontier

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing.

  • Cloud
    • Hyperscale
  • Colo
    • Site Selection
    • Interconnection
  • Energy
    • Sustainability
  • Cooling
  • Technology
    • Internet of Things
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Edge Computing
    • Virtual Reality
    • Autonomous Cars
    • 5G Wireless
    • Satellites
  • Design
    • Servers
    • Storage
    • Network
  • Voices
  • Podcast
  • White Papers
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Events
    • Newsletter
    • Companies
    • Data Center 101
  • Jobs
You are here: Home / Special Reports / Considerations for Future-Proofing Infrastructure: Resiliency, Security, Performance

Considerations for Future-Proofing Infrastructure: Resiliency, Security, Performance

By Paul Gillin - March 29, 2022

Considerations for Future-Proofing Infrastructure: Resiliency, Security, Performance

Resiliency, security, and performance are three considerations for IT Leaders looking to future proof their infrastructure. (Image: Shutterstock)

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

This week, we continue our special report series exploring how high-speed fiber networks can future-proof distributed data centers. Last week, we looked at how market dynamics are driving IT leaders to evolve their data processing strategies. This week, we’ll explore why IT leaders should look at resiliency, security, and performance when thinking around future-proofing infrastructure. 

future-proofing infrastructure

Get the full report

With the pace of change only likely to quicken in the future, IT leaders should begin thinking now about how they can future-proof their infrastructure. Here are some of the factors they should take into account.

Resiliency

Distributed architectures inherently have more points of failure than centralized ones. Enterprises will want to build backups into every point in the value chain so that workloads can be shifted to alternative regions or between on-premises and cloud destinations. Cloud services present some attractive new opportunities in this area.

Workload portability will become an increasingly critical issue as processing becomes more distributed.

By taking a standards-based approach to infrastructure deployment and making extensive use of virtualization and software container technology, IT organizations can gain the maximum flexibility to choose where data is processed and managed. Use open-source technologies where possible and exercise caution about becoming dependent on platforms that are tied too closely to individual cloud providers.

At a time when ransomware attacks are growing dramatically, continuous backup and disaster recovery are essential. There are many cloud-based data protection services that provide for continuous backup and rapid data restoration across on-premises and cloud infrastructure as well for software-as-a-service.

Security

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the weaknesses of perimeter-based security as virtual private networks were overloaded and employees flocked to cloud services often without adequate controls provided by the IT organization. Because hybrid work arrangements are likely to be with us for some time, CIOs need to rethink security practices across the organization.

Zero trust security uses principles like cloud-based identity, access management and network segmentation to limit attack surfaces and contain threats.

Distributed architectures are inherently less secure than those inside the data center because they create new attack vectors. The use of encryption, both for data in motion and at rest, is table stakes. Organizations are also increasingly examining “zero trust” options that redefine access around users and applications rather than physical devices. Zero trust security uses principles like cloud-based identity, access management and network segmentation to limit attack surfaces and contain threats.

Performance

As the volume of digital transactions grows, organizations will need to put robust e-commerce foundations in place. IT leaders will need to rely on a network of cloud regions, co-location providers, content delivery networks, and telcos to speed customer interactions. This will introduce security, reliability, and latency issues that must be accounted for in infrastructure planning.

Performance demands go beyond transactions. As the use of data analytics grows, so do data sets, reaching petabyte-scale for some machine learning applications. Moving data volumes of that size on a timely basis will require substantial increases in bandwidth for most organizations.

Download the full report, Future-Proofing the Distributed Data Center with High-Speed Fiber Networks, courtesy of Belden, to learn more. In our next article, we’ll explore two additional considerations for IT leaders when future-proofing their infrastructure – cost and network topology. Catch up on the previous articles here and here. 

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Tagged With: Belden, Data Center Frontier Special Report, Data Center Infrastructure, Fiber

Newsletters

Stay informed: Get our weekly updates!

Are you a new reader? Follow Data Center Frontier on Twitter or Facebook.

About Paul Gillin

Paul Gillin is a speaker, writer and technology journalist who has written five books and more than 400 articles on the topic of social media and digital marketing. A technology journalist for 25 years, he has served as Enterprise Editor of the tech news site SiliconAngle since 2014. He was founding editor-in-chief of B2B technology publisher TechTarget, and served as editor-in-chief and executive editor of the technology weekly Computerworld.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Voices of the Industry

Mitigate Risk, Improve Performance and Decrease Operating Expenses through Data Center Self-Performance

Mitigate Risk, Improve Performance and Decrease Operating Expenses through Data Center Self-Performance If a vendor conducts the actual work in your data center, then you or your operator aren’t maximizing your current operating resources and are experiencing incremental cost and risk. Chad Giddings of BCS Data Center Operations, explains the importance of your data center provider having a high-degree of self-performance.

White Papers

Sustainable Data Centers

A New Era of Sustainable Data Centers

The energy footprint taken up by data centers will certainly increase as our reliance increases on artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things, and 5G. Another factor driving even more data use is that the world’s population will continue to increase, necessitating more devices, connectivity and more. Get the new paper that discusses what power providers are currently offering in key data center markets, what data centers are doing to be as efficient as possible, and how data center customers can support sustainability. 

Get this PDF emailed to you.

We always respect your privacy and we never sell or rent our list to third parties. By downloading this White Paper you are agreeing to our terms of service. You can opt out at any time.

DCF Spotlight

Data center modules on display at the recent Edge Congress conference in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Edge Computing is Poised to Remake the Data Center Landscape

Data center leaders are investing in edge computing and edge solutions and actively looking at new ways to deploy edge capacity to support evolving business and user requirements.

An aerial view of major facilities in Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Virginia. (Image: Loudoun County)

Northern Virginia Data Center Market: The Focal Point for Cloud Growth

The Northern Virginia data center market is seeing a surge in supply and an even bigger surge in demand. Data Center Frontier explores trends, stats and future expectations for the No. 1 data center market in the country.

See More Spotlight Features

Newsletters

Get the Latest News from Data Center Frontier

Job Listings

RSS Job Openings | Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting

  • Electrical Commissioning Engineer - Los Angeles, CA
  • Data Center Construction Project Manager - Ashburn, VA
  • Critical Power Energy Manager - Data Center Development - Dallas, TX
  • Data Center Facilities Operations VP - Seattle, WA
  • Senior Electrical Engineer - Data Center - Dallas, TX

See More Jobs

Data Center 101

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Open Spectrum, brings our readers a series that provides an introductory guidebook to the ins and outs of the data center and colocation industry. Think power systems, cooling, solutions, data center contracts and more. The Data Center 101 Special Report series is directed to those new to the industry, or those of our readers who need to brush up on the basics.

  • Data Center Power
  • Data Center Cooling
  • Strategies for Data Center Location
  • Data Center Pricing Negotiating
  • Cloud Computing

See More Data center 101 Topics

About Us

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing. We write about what’s next for the Internet, and the innovations that will take us there. We tell the story of the digital economy through the data center facilities that power cloud computing and the people who build them. Read more ...
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Our Founder

Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data center industry’s most experienced journalist. For more than 20 years, Rich has profiled the key role played by data centers in the Internet revolution. Meet the DCF team.

TOPICS

  • 5G Wireless
  • Cloud
  • Colo
  • Connected Cars
  • Cooling
  • Cornerstone
  • Coronavirus
  • Design
  • Edge Computing
  • Energy
  • Executive Roundtable
  • Featured
  • Finance
  • Hyperscale
  • Interconnection
  • Internet of Things
  • Machine Learning
  • Network
  • Podcast
  • Servers
  • Site Selection
  • Social Business
  • Special Reports
  • Storage
  • Sustainability
  • Videos
  • Virtual Reality
  • Voices of the Industry
  • Webinar
  • White Paper

Copyright Endeavor Business Media© 2022