The ‘big 4’ benefits of data centre modernisation

You may have heard this topic shouted from the rooftops in certain circles and spoken in hushed tones in dark server rooms in others. Despite complex and conflicting opinions, a company’s view on data centre modernisation boils down to knowing what it means and how forward-thinking their digital strategy is.  

All companies strive to be ‘innovative’. With so many claiming to offer the same, how can you distinguish yourself? Though some may be hesitant to embrace change, a modern data centre will help you become innovative. Here’s how.

It can’t be denied or ignored that the world is becoming more digital. To fight the competition (and prevail) you need to be on the front foot with your technology, to ensure you have the upper hand as the business and technological landscape around us develops.

What does a modern data centre have to offer? The answer is lengthy and will always continue to change. Reason being a modern data centre is always at the bleeding edge of technology, in the sense that previously a virtualised infrastructure was once classed as the modern data centre (and is still a key factor now) but many technological advancements have happened since then which businesses need to have to flourish and stay ahead of the game.

To achieve this some form of cloud must be used, the reason being there is no way businesses are able to gain access to these technological advancements without the use of it. Unless you have the similar technical expertise in-house and a budget of equivalent size to Microsoft, Amazon or Google you will not even get close to what others are doing in that space.

If you can’t beat them, join them.

The 4 most beneficial parts of a modern data centre are:

1. Autonomy of scale

Autonomy means freedom from external control or influence. The ability for a business to scale is key, all businesses want to grow and fulfil their potential, this can be hindered if your IT doesn’t allow this to happen easily. Also when talking about IT scale you need to be able to scale down as well as up, reason being all businesses experience fluctuations based on market trends, seasons etc. meaning your IT does not always need to be at full pelt during low periods as the demand isn’t there. If you can’t scale down, you're just burning money and reducing your overall profit that year when you could be allocating further resource where the business needs it.

2. Reduced Management

Businesses that excel are the ones that innovate, how can you disrupt like Uber and Airbnb if the people who know what’s possible are always too busy keeping the lights on and maintaining rather than innovating? A modern data centre removes as much maintenance and administration as possible. From reducing the amount of hardware you have onsite, to removing the need to manage everything but the application itself. This will free up staff’s time to focus on the innovation required to beat your competitors.

The best way to sum this up is ‘Pizza as a Service’. It becomes cheaper and less time intensive when you move from on-premise to SaaS.

You do manage the knife and fork, but people tend to like feeding themselves.

This analogy for common cloud services known as IaaS, PaaS and SaaS demonstrates how a modern data centre reduces the amount of input required from your business to obtain a service. In the image below you can see how much time, money and effort can be alleviated from IT.

3. Security

Often an objection to utilising cloud services but in most scenarios a key factor on why you should move to the cloud. The UK Governmental Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and National Cyber Security Centre said in a publication that almost half of all UK firms have been hit by a breach or cyber attack in the past year. It’s a sobering thought and that figure is going to rise as methods of attack evolve. 

So, how can you ensure your business is safe as the threat continues to grow?

Microsoft continue to invest over 1 billion dollars a year on cyber security making the likes of Azure and Office 365 some of the safest technologies on this planet. This further reduces the amount of time your business needs to spend thinking about cyber security, allowing more time to focus on business evolution.

4. Technological evolution

Technology is advancing at a rapid rate, if you can’t keep up you will be left behind. A modern data centre’s definition is that it is always at the precipice and bleeding edge of technology, Azure puts that directly at your fingertips.

So, what are you waiting for? Being innovative is all about embracing change that could propel your business forward. Still not convinced. See how much you could gain:

Source: The total economic impact of Microsoft Azure Infrastructure as a Service, June 2017.

Interested?

Thoughts and feedback always welcomed!