Other Considerations

IT hardware is subject to rapid technological obsolescence, with lifecycles that typically last between five to seven years. The on-going need to replace equipment frequently results in a mix of hardware whose heterogeneity can complicate the entire data center’s operations and management (although this can be partially mitigated through virtualization).

Security is another major issue when considering the role of the data center and the vast quantities of data contained within its doors. Even with extensive security precautions in place, housing data exclusively at one data center facility means much more can be compromised by a successful security incursion than if data was distributed across individual unlinked components.