We don’t often get to talk in really big numbers, like a zettabyte (ZB) of data (which means a factor of 1021). But that’s exactly the term we use for the explosive growth of our information. The amount of data created and consumed worldwide will grow from 59 ZB in 2020 to 149 ZB in 2024! As our data balloons, businesses are turning to colocation—in which data is stored at a professionally managed data center, rather than on-premise—to protect, access, and fully leverage the value of this copious data. In a previous post, we highlighted four benefits of colocation, including cost savings, enhanced security, scalability, and resiliency. 

Today, we drill down on one of the most important, yet overlooked of these benefits: security. The right colocation provider will offer a range of security solutions to help your business keep its data secure, accessible, and compliant. 

Physical Security

In our new work-from-anywhere world, we’re understandably focused on the threats of a damaging cyberattack, but physical security shouldn’t play second fiddle. The 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report finds that 10% of breaches were caused by a physical security compromise at on-site data centers, at an average cost to businesses of $4.36 million!

Colocation is an alternative to hosting your critical servers on-site. In most cases, a colocation provider will rent server spaces within a shared, professionally managed data center with enhanced physical security measures. The right partner will provide around-the-clock physical security to keep your data safe, such as locked cabinets, card scans and biometrics to prevent unauthorized access, CCTV monitoring, alarms, or even a dedicated security guard.  

Think about your current data hosting situation. Does it provide expert surveillance and security? Can you control who has access, and when? All it takes is one bad actor to access your server room to set up remote access or, worse yet, to directly download malware. If your current data housing lacks the needed physical security measures, colocation can provide the peace of mind you deserve.

Network Security 

In the fourth quarter of last year, organizations experienced 50% more weekly cyberattacks compared to 2020; this trend is expected to continue in the year ahead for businesses of all sizes. It’s never been more imperative for organizations to take network security seriously. Like very seriously. 

Colocation is a smart first step toward enhanced network security. Colocation centers employ cutting-edge, best-in-class cybersecurity protocols that are designed to stop the most pervasive—and emerging—cyberthreats. These protocols may include next-generation firewalls, antivirus and anti-DDoS products, intrusion protection, cryptography, and data backup services. This ensures that your data is protected from nefarious actors, but is always available in the event of a data breach, data loss, or disaster. 

On top of this, many colocation centers offer on-site experts to monitor and maintain the equipment, which ensures that the servers you rely on are always protected and at peak performance. Finally, many centers adhere to the various information security regulations and requirements you may face, like those that fall under ISO or GDPR.

Business Resiliency

One lesson from the pandemic is the importance of disaster preparedness. Network and physical security is critical, but so too is protection against natural disasters like flood or fire, power outages, or even another global pandemic. In March 2020, for example, a tornado hit the Nashville headquarters of Western Express, damaging multiple buildings including the location of a central IBM Power 9 server that “did all the operational heavy lifting.”

While no facility is immune from disaster, colocation centers provide enhanced resiliency measures that an individual business or on-premise location simply can’t match. In fact, many on-premise data centers are built in inadequate or outdated facilities, or in buildings not originally intended to house such specialized and business-critical equipment. 

The right colocation partner provides the necessary business resiliency measures to keep you up and running in the event of a cyberattack or natural disaster. This includes skilled, 24/7 engineers; multiple generators; redundant power supply; cooling systems; always-on communication channels; and additional back-up sites. 

Budgeting is another component of business resiliency. With colocation, you often share the costs of power, cooling, and energy with other tenants, which keeps costs down. Every dollar saved is another dollar you can re-invest in business resiliency and growth.

Managed Security Services

Lastly, colocation provides an added layer of protection through managed security service offerings. By teaming up with a colocation provider, like N8 Solutions, your business will benefit from a custom range of managed services to keep your data secure and available. We start at the beginning to help you plan for and manage the most secure infrastructure you need. Then, every step of the way, we implement critical updates and patching and provide the latest in backup and disaster recovery services.  

Managed services also help you future-proof your business, in that colocation offers unique scalability. With the right provider, you simply need to work with the team to quickly and easily scale your data hosting service based on your projections and needs. 

Does your current data hosting infrastructure give you peace of mind? If not, please get in touch today to learn more about the best in colocation services from N8 Solutions. Call (262) 288-1501 or complete this simple form.