The green data center trend is expanding at a rapid pace, driven by colocation, cloud computing and other trends. More enterprises are deploying these solutions to keep their costs low as they seek to improve the efficiency of their data centers and reduce their carbon footprint. However, such investments aren’t always cut and dry, and firms have to consider secondary needs when investing in a new strategy like colocation, such as security compliance.
According to MarketsandMarkets’ “Green Data Center Market – Global Advancements, Worldwide Forecasts & Analysis” report, investments into eco-friendly technologies are set to grow by an impressive CAGR of 27.2 percent between 2014 and 2019, exceeding a global value of $75.89 billion. North America is expected to remain the leader in the market, despite impressive growth from the APAC region.
The growing demand for increased efficiency and versatility within the data center, as well as green technologies, puts a strain on businesses. They need to adapt, but keep costs low in order to maintain efficient balance of their budgets. Hence the popularity of colocation – the sharing of data center facilities while still maintaining control over the hardware itself. However, colocation presents a key risk with regard to data center security that businesses have to take into account.
With non-employees having access to the same facilities, companies have to ramp their security measures up beyond traditional data center strategies. To this end, biometric technology is becoming more popular, providing the onsite, instant access that IT professionals need to work efficiently but protecting the server rack and room from unauthorized entry from others that may be within the building.
Multi-tiered building access control is difficult to manage in a colocation setting, which is why taking security to the server rack itself is so important. Putting authentication in the cabinet eliminates risks that key cards, pin pads and other less-secure solutions introduce and also helps firms keep up with security and privacy compliance needs. Additionally, fingerprint scanners can be combined with these measures for multiple levels of control.
Businesses need to optimize their environmental practices, but they also need to maintain high levels of security regarding their data. Investing in biometric security for colocation can achieve both goals at once and help streamline the growth of data center operations, furthering a companies desire to optimize workflow and processes.