Data center governance is a term that doesn’t ring as many bells as the similar “data governance” does. Nevertheless, its importance, driven by the need for enhanced security, compliance, operational efficiency, and the ability to handle growing data volumes, is undeniable.
Managing the exponential growth of business data requires robust governance strategies. As the cost of data breaches keeps increasing, ensuring the security of data centers from cyber threats requires stringent security measures to protect sensitive information. Proper data center governance ensures protection from attacks and ensures that resources are used optimally to reduce costs and chances of downtime.
This article is going to look into data center governance, why it’s important, and why its role will foreseeably continue to stay crucial in future years.
Data Governance and Data Center Governance
Since they are so similar, let’s clarify our terms. The more familiar-sounding “data governance” refers to policies, procedures, and standards for ensuring data quality and security. The primary role of data governance is to ensure that data is safe, accessible, and accurate. Data governance also deals with data privacy, stewardship, and regulatory compliance.
Data center governance, on the other hand, focuses on the physical and operational aspects of managing a data center.
What Is Data Center Governance?
Data center governance encompasses a set of policies and standards that ensure the effective operation, management, and security of the data center facility. Its main purpose is to keep the data center safe from threats and ensure that the data center facilities provide the appropriate level of operational efficiency and performance. It deals primarily with managing all the data center space and all its resources.
Data center governance can help businesses optimize their facilities by supporting healthy data center management practices like efficient equipment layout design and airflow management.
Data Center Governance: the Cornerstone of Efficiency
Traditional data centers, consisting primarily of an on-premises server room, didn’t require as much organizing as today’s increasingly complex environments. Previously, governance wasn’t in the operators’ focus, especially considering that it doesn’t deal with auditing and compliance. However, with the increasing power and resource demand of new technologies today, efficiency has become one of the core priorities. The growing data volumes and power consumption are putting power usage effectiveness (PUE) and data center sustainability in the spotlight. Specific regulations require adherence to energy efficiency, reducing emissions, and adopting efficient data center governance practices.
<p>Businesses increasingly require efficiency, sustainability, and elevated security for their data. Cybersecurity concerns are transforming data centers, pushing operators to optimize all security measures, starting with physical security. Efficient data center governance is crucial for orchestrating all the details and achieving good results.
Present and Future Tendencies
Data center governance will foreseeably put an emphasis on the following practices in the upcoming period:
Increased Physical Security
Physical data center security is becoming a critical focus for data center governance. This means deploying advanced access control systems, modern surveillance, and fortified perimeters to prevent unauthorized access. New, AI-powered biometric monitoring and multi-level access controls are becoming the standard, as opposed to the limited security provided by fingerprint readers in the past. Retina scanners and facial recognition systems provide granular control and visibility over what’s happening in the confines of the data center. Taking measures to protect critical infrastructure components like power supplies and cooling systems from tampering and failure is also essential.
Looking ahead, sophisticated biometric authentication, real-time monitoring, and strict compliance with security protocols will receive even more attention. As regulatory requirements become more stringent, organizations need to adopt comprehensive physical security measures to meet standards and protect their operations.
By prioritizing these measures through data center governance protocols, risks can be mitigated, and operators can achieve better reliability. A firm approach to physical security is vital to keeping threats out of the data center facilities and providing detailed monitoring of anything that happens inside the data center perimeter.
Looking Into Rack Organization
Rack organization can stay chaotic for extended periods of time before operators realize how much efficiency properly organized racks and cabinets can yield.
Efficient rack organization is crucial to the optimal use of space. Space usage is connected to cooling efficiency and airflow, and efficiency here is key to reducing the risk of overheating and equipment failure. Good rack organization also streamlines cable management, helps avoid accidents, and simplifies troubleshooting and maintenance. Rack organization helps with physical security as well. Cabinet-level controls can help keep unauthorized intruders from tampering with the equipment.
Reorganizing cabinets and racks for increased efficiency is a surprisingly simple way of improving cooling and power consumption. So, after years of inefficient server cabinet placement and less-than-optimal server stacking, many organizations are starting to focus more and more on better rack organization as part of a data center governance practice.
More Efficient Labeling Policies
Asset labeling is a critical best practice. Data centers aren’t only about servers. The rest of the assets inside a facility are just as important to the efficient functioning of the data center as a whole. Cables, network switches, power systems, etc., all need careful attention and management.
The proper labeling of all assets, including servers, switches, storage devices, and cables, makes quick identification, inventory, and overall management possible. This practice enhances operational efficiency and security by optimizing the troubleshooting process and minimizing downtime during repairs and upgrades.
In the future, we can expect more policies focusing on labeling assets inside the data center, as it also supports security protocols. Labeling allows operators to keep clear records of all data center assets, which can help with audits and reporting.
Data Center Governance Across All Spaces
Today and in the future, the integration of data center governance practices into broader governance strategies will be a tendency. Data centers are no longer isolated entities, but part of large IT ecosystems that include public cloud infrastructures, edge locations, and other possible assets too. Governance across these diverse environments can only be efficiently maintained if policies are applied universally. By leveraging existing governance rules, companies can establish a solid foundation for governing other areas of their IT estates. Or, alternatively, companies may revise data center governance policies to align with practices already implemented in other contexts.
Conclusion
Looking ahead, organizations will have to navigate increasingly complex IT landscapes. The devil is in the details, and governance practices will stay key in providing a unified framework for efficiency across diverse IT ecosystems. Businesses that prioritize strong governance will be better positioned to adapt to new technologies, manage risks, and maintain operational integrity. Improving security and energy efficiency will foreseeably motivate businesses to focus on governance practices. As a result, data center governance will continue to be a cornerstone of resilient and efficient IT operations in a highly versatile industry.
