Digital transformation, which was on the agenda of companies for a while, took its place at the heart of business life with the Covid-19 pandemic. The quarantine measures that have been implemented for a long time have not caused changes only in people’s consumption and working patterns. It also led to extensive transformations in companies’ way of doing business, priorities and so usage level of data center.

While the physical world is in a rapid digitalization period, a great number of concepts for automation, data archiving, and security like the “remote working model” gained importance. On the other hand, remote access, communication, performance, continuity, and video/teleconference systems become the primary agenda items of companies. And this highlighted the importance of cloud technologies and data centers once again.

“The Demand for Automation and Remote Management Systems in Data Centers Increased”

Last July, Uptime Institute researched the impacts of the Covid-19 on data centers with the participation of more than 300 data centers. According to this research, 94% of the participants stated that they expanded their measures in case of another possible pandemic and improved their business continuity measures and plans. Companies started to involve remote management systems like “remote hands” into their business strategies more to manage their data center services especially for the sake of business continuity and availability. While 90% of the participants stated that they would increase their automation and remote management usage in the data centers, 73% explained that they would speed up the automation processes in their facilities. On the other hand, 54% of the participants stated that they expected an increase in the number of investments of the data centers made in automation and monitoring systems compared to the previous periods.

The applicability of traditional back-up and disaster recovery methods used for data and infrastructure continuity in companies is gradually being replaced by cloud services after the pandemic. While there are numerous reasons behind this development, we can summarize the primary ones as business continuity, managerial convenience, security, and cost-saving to be achieved with scaling.

“Shift to Cloud and Data Center Services Gained Speed with the Pandemic”

In the Gartner Report published right before the pandemic, it is stated that the cloud computing and data center investments will be more than 300 billion dollars by the end of 2021, and SaaS investments will have a great share in these investments. Another projection from the same report is that SaaS investments, which almost reached 75 billion dollars in 2018, will be around 115 billion dollars by the end of 2021. However, in the new order established after the pandemic, it is considered that the demand for SaaS solutions to support new business models mainly like remote working will be greater than expected.

In conclusion, our personal and corporate lives are undergoing a significant transformation as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The acceleration of digitalization made such matters as cybersecurity and communication network bandwidth more critical. Especially companies felt the need to review their priorities and update their action plans. With the implementation of new systems based on remote working in a broader sense, companies’ needs for data center services increased, and their shift to cloud systems gained speed.

Telehouse Istanbul Data Center by Teknotel guarantees a fully redundant and 99.99% uptime and meets the needs of all organizations and institutions operating in the healthcare industry with its world-class, high-quality, and professional services. Telehouse Istanbul ensures business continuity and availability with its services provided in cooperation with global solution partners while its solution partner, Veeam, prevents data loss by promptly responding to the problems met.

Internet access is one of the most critical issues today. While uninterrupted internet is important even for us as end users, this is also of great importance for businesses in terms of their reputation and competitiveness. Companies need to make serious investments in their system infrastructures in order to achieve this ideal no interruption condition. This brings the concept of “five 9s“, that is, 99.999% access capability.

Companies have started to update their Cloud and Data Center strategies to maintain customer loyalty in all regions where they operate as their fields of operation has become global. The maximum uptime requirement is one of the primary requirements for businesses operating in every industry, regardless of the fact that their operations are B2B or B2C. Most international businesses need to work with data centers that provide Tier 3 standard to gain access to their customer base, distributed workforce, services and applications.  In order to understand why data center uptime is so important for global companies, it is necessary to understand the requirements of the data centers that provide Tier 3 standards and to know what Tier Standards are.

What is the Tier Standard?

The Tier standard is the categories created by the Uptime Institute to accurately evaluate the data center infrastructure as per the system availability and the requirements of a business. The details of this classification, which offers Tiers 1, 2, 3 and 4, are as follows;

• Tier 1: Refers to the standards offered by the data centers that generally serve small businesses. There is no backup of computer systems, electrical and mechanical installations. It has an estimated availability of 99.676%.
• Tier 2: Partially has energy and cooling systems. It can withstand a 24-hour power failure using a generator. Offers an estimated availability of 99.741%.
• Tier 3: Has a back-up power network and it can withstand a 72-hour failure. It also offers an estimated availability of 99.982%.
• Tier 4: In addition to all Tier 3 criteria, it can withstand to 96 hours of failure. It has staff working around the clock and high security measures.

Why is the Tier 3 Standard Important?

A data center with Tier 3 standard has 2 different power distribution channels to ensure that you can continue your operations without interruption and your current data is not lost. This means that each cabinet has more than one uninterruptible power supply. On the other hand, it is equipped with generator and cooling systems to ensure reliable operation processes against any power failure. These seemingly redundant measures are critical for companies that have a worldwide business and workforce network and that serve an equally large customer base. Realizing this condition, many businesses try to benefit from IoT, i.e. internet of things, in many areas such as creating a high level of customer experience, monitoring and effective management of business processes, production and distribution. Utilization of widespread cloud services and data center services with Tier 3 standards may be referred as the most effective way to adapt to this digital transformation process.

Another advantage of having data center services offering the best and up-to-date standards is that it protects your workflow processes against human-induced errors or disruptions that may occur due to possible natural disasters, and allows you to continue without interruption. On the other hand, the fact that they have a Disaster Recovery plan against cyber attacks, which are one of the biggest dangers of the digital age, increases the importance of the data centers offering Tier 3 standard. In this way, you can access your data after any natural disaster or error that may occur, and continue your work without losing any data.

Finding a partner such as Telehouse Istanbul that provides full back-up and guarantees 99.999% uptime in their SLAs is especially important for companies operating internationally. Telehouse Istanbul Data Center of Teknotel, which offers Tier 3+ standards and has made it a tradition to provide a quality and professional service, provides business continuity and uninterrupted operation to the institutions thanks to the services it offers in cooperation with its global solution partners.