Introduction
IT research firm Gartner predicts that worldwide IT spending will grow more than 5 percent in 2022 to $4.5 trillion. As data grows in size and volume along with the boom in IT, data center systems are also witnessing a healthy growth. Gartner projects global spending on data center systems will grow to $226 billion in 2022, up 11.4 percent year over year. With rising instances of sophisticated cyberattacks, the top concern in this scenario is regarding ensuring the integrity and privacy of data stored in data centers. In this article we will look at the top tips for your organization to improve data security in data centers. IT Support Houston specializes in Data Center Management and can offer strategic guidance in data center security.
What is a Data Center?
A data center can be understood as a dedicated facility aimed at storing not just data but also the requisite hardware and software necessary to keep the data secure and accessible. This means that data center components include computer systems, storage and telecommunication systems and of course, the infrastructure setup necessary to maintain these in top condition including adequate security, cooling, fire suppression mechanisms and power. Data centers are pretty much used by everyone from SMEs to MNCs and Governments to not just store data but also to conveniently share it with connected systems, endpoints, and customers. Data centers are an integral part of corporations being able to run their IT operations with optimal speed, stability, and security as well as the resilience to recover from any disaster with adequate backup. Virtual or cloud data centers make it possible for companies of all sizes the world over to support mission-critical IT tasks with remarkable speed, cost efficiency, and reliance. Data Center Infrastructure Management can be easy with the right technical and strategic partner such as Cloud Computing Houston.
Top Tips to Improve Data Center Compliance and Security
Incorporate AI tools for Effective Threat Detection
As hackers have started to implement AI in their attacks, data centers need to urgently step up their game with AI tools for threat detection. Given the vast space and thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, assets stored across large data centers, it’s virtually impossible for service providers to maintain control over everything manually. Implementing AI-based security solutions in your data center can serve to automatically change your data center configurations by enabling automated threat detection and vulnerability spotting.
Uncover the vulnerabilities in your data center
Smaller and hard-to-find vulnerabilities are easy to overlook in vast data centers. The only way to uncover these is through conducting regular and thorough security audits. For this purpose, it is recommended that you find a reliable and reputed managed services provider that specializes in conducting security assessments. Since cybersecurity is an ever-evolving space, your strategies will need to be modified with time and depending on the reports of regular audits. MSP experts will be able to consult and provide strategic guidance on data center security.
Meet your Compliance Needs
Data center providers must meet all applicable compliance standards to ensure that their client data stays compliant and secure. In such cases, you need to closely monitor your client’s compliance requirements as well as your own. For instance, healthcare client data must comply with HIPAA compliance. For the eCommerce sector, you will need to follow PCI compliance to protect the financial data of their end-users. Once you meet all necessary compliance requirements, your data center will need to be audited by a third-party auditing company that can certify you with meeting all applicable compliance parameters.
Secure your endpoints
All devices that connect to and access your data center network functions as an endpoint. It is up to you to ensure the security of all these varied endpoints that can include servers, laptops, smartphones, or even IoT devices. If your service is to provide rack space to clients, you do not want an infected server to connect to your network and end up impacting all other connected servers. This is why it’s incredibly important for data center service providers to know and monitor each and every endpoint connected to their network.
Ensure adequate physical security
While cyberattacks and power or cooling system failures remain the top concerns for data center providers, you cannot afford to ignore physical threats. Strong and regularly enforced physical security measures go a long way in keeping your data center secure and protect from physical threats such as trespassers or intruders. Estimates by Fior Markets show that the physical security aspect of data center security is going to increase by 15% in this decade. Evidence of this can already be seen in data centers ramping up physical security efforts with strong access control features in their buildings. This limits data and even floor access only to people who have a reason and the right permissions to access that specific data. Companies are also investing majorly in installing CCTV equipment in their data centers. As more and more companies shift towards a zero trust approach, ensuring physical security and adequate employee training to minimize the possibility of human errors and insider threats will become more predominant. For strategic guidance on Data Center Migration and Data Center Automation, please reach out to PennComp Data Storage Solutions
