The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the world, as well as global business processes and protocols. Organizations around the world are taking steps to help in the fight against coronavirus, and some are facing a major responsibility to. Data centers, in particular, have a critical role in keeping the world running while everything else must stand still.
With over 107 million people infected worldwide, the coronavirus has changed not only normal life, but also the business world. With unprecedented increases in Internet usage and demand, and even greater requirements for data storage and management, data centers worldwide are accommodating these changes on an unprecedented scale. Undoubtedly, the role of data centers has expanded significantly as a result.
Global increase in Internet usage
With fewer people out in public, the Internet has seen an increase in global traffic. Many organizations have encouraged working from home and are limiting on-site staff to slow the spread of the virus. Even essential workers are encouraged to stay indoors whenever possible. As a result, millions of people are at home surfing social media, using online video conferencing services to stay connected, and accessing more streaming services compared to the past. The growth in Internet traffic has highlighted the role of data centers in meeting and managing these increasing demands.
Research conducted by Cloudfare found that Internet usage in most major cities around the world increased by more than 25 percent as a result of lockdown measures. In response, data centers have upgraded their capacity to handle the additional load on their networks. Data centers have remained agile through the sudden rise and dependence on the Internet as the world has adapted to social distancing.
Without data and data centers, businesses, schools, and hospitals would not be operational, and communities would not be able to track the spread of COVID-19 and take action against its further spread. As people continue to use the Internet for almost everything – information, shopping, entertainment – data centers must ensure connections are fast and stable.
Supporting new business software and infrastructure
Not only is Internet traffic growing, but the use of collaboration-oriented software for businesses is also increasing. As more businesses adapt to working remotely, cloud storage and teleconferencing services are also on the rise. Data centers are accommodating this increase, and some are even helping businesses with their data needs.
Collaborative applications and software such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom saw a huge increase in downloads, with up to 90% over the weekly download average before the Corona pandemic. In response to the demands and needs of businesses, companies such as Microsoft, Google and Zoom are offering some of their services for free to businesses.
Collaborative platforms and software have driven cloud growth for years, and these services are more important today than ever before. Cloud computing and storage enable data connectivity as organizations run applications for daily use on many different platforms. This is possible by operating in cloud centers.
The pandemic has put an emphasis on connectivity, and contingency plans for working from home are no longer just a discussion for businesses, but rather a necessity. As businesses continue to evolve, data centers will continue to expand and adapt to increasing connectivity demands. Future trends point to a greater reliance on cloud capabilities as organizations change their models to include more flexible remote work options.
Enabling emergency services
Healthcare is leading the fight against the pandemic and is responsible for efficient emergency services that require fast and reliable communications. The increase in networked devices in the medical field is also increasing the workload of healthcare IT professionals.
Due to the sheer mass of data healthcare providers must manage today, data is being moved to the cloud or edge networks, which in turn must accommodate data centers. Some data centers and their parent companies are working to improve the storage and accessibility of this data.
Around the world, some companies have offered medical professionals free trials of advanced web services such as cloud-based telecommunications. With such video conferencing software using AI to provide real-time translation services, doctors around the world could share information about the virus, including symptoms and treatments.
Without data centers, emergency services, such as healthcare, would not be able to enable vital functions like these to support global pandemic response efforts.
Data security for remote work
Data centers are responsible not only for providing the services to increase Internet traffic globally, but also for managing potential cybersecurity risks and threats. As Internet traffic increases, so do the number of risks and threats. Therefore, with the rise of Internet use, data centers must focus on cybersecurity.
Software security should be a focus for organizations right now as they introduce new remote work capabilities. Hacking attacks, malware and spyware are all security threats to data centers and vulnerabilities that can jeopardize the operations of businesses and major industries like healthcare. A security information and event management tool provides a real-time view of data center security. Before deploying applications, data centers can scan them for vulnerabilities and then provide metrics and solutions to address those risks and threats.
With the advent of cloud computing, both visibility and management of data is a compelling protective measure, as malware could hide in the data stream and go unnoticed without cybersecurity.
Future trends for data centers
Managing data today is enabled by the growth of cloud computing and the critical role data centers play in the global data infrastructure. As organizations run applications for everyday use and expand their infrastructures to include remote work capabilities, cloud computing becomes increasingly important and the global online community must be able to rely on the performance of key storage solutions. This will allow the world to keep up with the trend of increasing data and manage it efficiently without losing connectivity.