Will the Cloud Kill Data Centers? Here’s a Simple Answer to a Complex Question

The cloud has introduced a new wave of advances and subsequent changes in the data world, and one question that seems to be making the rounds in IT circles is this: will the cloud kill data centers?

There are several answers to this question from a variety of perspectives. Of course, the data center industry hasn’t quite reached a popular consensus, but there could be a very simple one.

First of all, when you hear about the “extinction” of data centers, it only refers to the impact on enterprise data centers. The strengthening of cloud services have resulted in a data storage revolution for enterprises. Smaller organizations are in a position to realize these benefits immediately, thanks to the size and scale of their operations, which allows them to adopt changes easily. Larger organizations, on the other hand, have a lot of work to do before they can give up their physical data storage assets. The high volumes of data and other important aspects, such as security and privacy, are considerations that still need to be addressed when migrated to the cloud.

So, why are data centers facing a crisis? Well, actually, they are not. There is simply a shift being predicted in the way all of this works together. Instead of every enterprise resorting to in-house storage of data, the cloud offers organizations the advantage of storing this data on a larger and cheaper platform. Therefore, where complex storage systems on the premises of an organization were the norm until now, simple access to cloud storage could be the answer in the future.

However, even beyond all of these changes, the data center remains resilient. For starters, where do you think all the data in the cloud will be stored? The huge amounts of data will have to be stored in data centers, of course!

The difference lies in the adoption of relevant innovations by data centers. As the cloud takes over the IT environment, data centers will have to make significant changes, adopting factors such as energy efficiency and adaptability to a changing IT scene.

At Lifeline Data Centers, our operational changes are always geared towards aligning ourselves with the most recent innovations in the data center industry, ensuring that our services are constantly evolving. If you’re interested in learning more about Lifeline Data Centers, schedule a tour with us today.

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.