The evolving role of data centres in modern IT environments

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It’s all change…

The IT landscape is changing at a breathtaking pace, as are the requirements on IT departments. Innovations such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and artificial intelligence (AI) are redefining the traditional IT environment.

IT departments are now more integrated with business operations than ever before, which means a more collaborative relationship between IT and strategic management. IT is now required to understand the goals and requirements of business and act as an enabler in an increasingly hybrid and complex IT landscape. This means implementing infrastructure and technology solutions to improve customer experience, manage costs, reduce the risks of exposure, foster innovation through emerging technologies, and drive business results. The state of constant flux has changed the perspective on managing IT infrastructure, applications and workloads and, amid this evolution, data centres have become a critical component in supporting these dynamic, modern IT needs.

Hybrid IT solutions and the rise of data centres

Cloud adoption has accelerated rapidly in recent years, driven in part by the coronavirus pandemic and organisations’ inability to access their on premise server rooms – research suggests that 51% of businesses surveyed believed that their shift to a cloud computing-based business model had saved their company from collapse during Covid.

Colocation supports hybrid strategies by providing connectivity to public and private cloud platforms whilst guaranteeing the security of remaining physical IT assets and workloads that cannot be moved to the cloud for compliance, security, performance, suitability and, increasingly, cost reasons. Importantly, colocation also facilitates scalability, which is something that on-premise facilities are struggling to offer.

Data centres as a platform for bespoke solutions and digital transformation

The growing complexity and distributed nature of IT set-ups means that it is increasingly difficult for companies to go it alone. Today’s complex IT landscape must facilitate mobile working, an always-on culture, and the achievement of rapid scaling, but most IT specialists would readily admit that they are not experts in all aspects of the data landscape.

As competitive pressures increase, most companies are engaged in (or contemplating) digital transformation at either a tactical or strategic level and are seeking new hybrid delivery models as part of that process. Since the pandemic, many businesses are still relying on technology for remote (or, at the very least, hybrid) working, collaboration and customer service – technology is a prerequisite for business continuity. This has focused attention on digital transformation in a bid to streamline operations, improve efficiency, boost employee performance and productivity, and enhance customer experience. Within this environment, data centres like ours are increasingly coming into their own.

Platform

As a starting point, achieving digital transformation requires physical IT infrastructure to be housed in an accessible, secure and scalable location with the required cooling, security and maintenance (difficult for most businesses to achieve on-premise).

Partnership and flexibility

But beyond this, our clients rely on us to provide the platform for their strategic technology development – they partner with us to formulate, develop and future-proof evolving bespoke, flexible and scalable technology solutions incorporating access to the enhanced services provided by our network of managed services, cloud, hosting, security, and connectivity partners.

They also expect us to be flexible and support their journey to a destination that may not even involve colocation – which, as with all things client-related, we are delighted to do.

Find out more

For businesses contemplating or undergoing digital transformation, the partnership with a forward-thinking data centre operator could be the strategic edge they need to achieve sustainable success in a rapidly changing environment. To find out more about how we can support you to future-proof your IT, get in touch to discuss your requirements with a member of the Datum team.

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