In today’s digital age, data centres play a fundamental role in the continuing success of businesses. These centres are responsible for powering a huge range of online activity, from online transactions to data cloud storage. This area of business is only set to grow, with the demand for data storage and processing central to this demand. Consequently, such systems should have effective management and monitoring in place to ensure the smooth running of data centres. Remote monitoring in data centres is one of the best ways to ensure this is possible and that operations continue to run smoothly and securely. To understand more about the role of remote monitoring in data centres, continue reading this article.
- What are data centres?
- The importance of data centres
- Introduction to remote monitoring in data centres
- Benefits of remote monitoring
- Key components of remote monitoring systems
- Future trends in remote monitoring for data centres
- Implementing remote monitoring to data centres with RMS
What are Data Centres?
A data centre is a facility that houses a range of computers, storage systems and network equipment, designed for businesses to hold, process, and understand large amounts of data. These centres are critical to the everyday functioning of business as they are responsible for applications and services necessary for business operations. Data centres are composed of a number of elements, the most important of these being routers, firewalls, switches, storage systems and application delivery controllers.
The Importance of Data Centres
Understanding what data centres actually are should help to clarify their importance.
Service Functioning
Data centres are responsible for ensuring critical services, central to business operations, remain online and in operation 24/7, benefitting both the customer and the long-term performance of the business.
Business Security
These centres protect highly sensitive and private information from unauthorised access or cyber threats.
Cost Effective Solution
Third-party data centres save businesses significant amounts of money compared to in-house data centres. They reduce operational expenses, as businesses only pay for the services used, and do not need to pay for additional costs such as maintenance.
Scalability
Data centres offer businesses the opportunity to quickly scale up their operations if they are subject to rapid future growth.
Introduction to Remote Monitoring in Data Centres
Remote monitoring in data centres involves taking advantage of technologies that allow for remote overseeing of the centres, looking at their operations, performance and security. This monitoring is carried out from a remote facility that is able to oversee all of these areas. 24/7 monitoring means threats are detected and responded to immediately minimising the likelihood of server downtime and optimising performance.
Benefits of Remote Monitoring
Remote monitoring of data centres offers businesses a multitude of benefits, some of which include:
Enhanced Operational Efficiency
Introducing remote monitoring in data centres provides businesses with real-time tracking and overall management of data centres, this improved functioning will result in reduced system downtime, consequently enhancing operational efficiency.
Cost Savings
Server downtime can cost businesses thousands of pounds when left unresolved. As a result of remote monitoring and management, downtime is reduced and businesses are able to save on those potential costs incurred from server downtime.
Improved Overall Security
24/7 monitoring of security systems helps to identify potential threats as early as possible, reducing the risk of cyber attacks or unauthorised access.
Key Components of Remote Monitoring Systems
Remote monitoring systems can be particularly useful in out of hours times when personnel are not present to resolve issues. Instead, 24/7 remote monitoring can take care of issues regardless of the time of day.
A further component of these remote monitoring systems is their ability to assess a huge variety of factors, that without effective monitoring could go undetected and cause serious damage to server rooms. Some of these factors include temperature, humidity, system faults and water, all of which pose serious risks to data centres.
Future Trends in Remote Monitoring for Data Centers
The future of data centres is heading towards an environment that is driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). This will take remote monitoring with it, where monitoring systems take advantage of this predictive technology, to identify anomalies that could be easily missed by human operators. This enhanced detail will mean data centres become increasingly monitored, making data collection more effective. Additionally, the growing threat of cyber security necessitates this remote monitoring technology to be implemented more and more.
Remote monitoring can also help the sustainable future of data centres. In a climate that has a growing concern for carbon footprint and environmental damage, effective monitoring will assist businesses in improving these aspects of business.
Implementing Remote Monitoring to Data Centres with RMS
At RMS, we provide fully reliable and bespoke security monitoring via our 24/7 alarm receiving centre (ARC) facility. As an NSI-Gold accredited business, our systems are second to none, ensuring your data centres are taken care of to the highest quality possible.
Through sensors that are connected to your data centre, that pick up changes in power, climate and security, our ARC receives notification of these. When monitoring operatives at the monitoring centre receive notification of an issue, they will aim to remotely fix the issue. Our team then responds quickly and efficiently by notifying key holders, the maintenance team or, in more serious cases, are able to action a police call out.
Fully functioning data centres are critical to your business’ success and having remote monitoring in place is the best way to ensure this continues and data centres run smoothly. If you are interested in the services we provide at RMS, click here for a free quotation, or call us at 0330 002 1149 and speak to a member of the RMS team.
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