Data Foundry Blog

Does your company have multiple cloud environments with no communication between them? This is a typical scenario for many businesses on the journey to implementing a hybrid cloud architecture, resulting in a lack of visibility across infrastructure. The only way to cohesively manage these environments is with a cloud management platform. Gartner defines a cloud management platform as “products that incorporate self-service interfaces, provision system images, enable metering and billing, and provide for some degree of workload optimization through established policies.” Choosing the right cloud management platform can save a company time and money, as well as determine how quickly and efficiently they can develop new products and services.

As of this year, over 80% of North American and European companies have multi-cloud infrastructures. Despite rapid cloud adoption, few companies have achieved a truly functional hybrid cloud architecture. According to a March 2018 hybrid cloud report from 451 Research and NTT Communications, around 63% of firms have a formal strategy for hybrid infrastructure. In this case, hybrid cloud does not simply mean using a public cloud and a private cloud. It means having a seamless flow of data between all clouds, on and off-premises. In this blog post, we’ll look at some of the highlights of this report, including how companies are using hybrid cloud and their perceived top challenges and benefits.

“We build our computer systems the way we build our cities: over time, without a plan, on top of ruins.” – Ellen Ullman

If this sounds like your data center, it’s time for a change. That bird’s nest of cables costs you a little bit more every day in energy and productivity. Here’s why:

Ensuring you have a backup and recovery plan in place before the season’s hurricanes hit is essential for companies worried about business continuity. The last thing you want is to permanently lose data, or to experience several hours or days of downtime due to a power outage. If you don’t already have a backup system in place, there’s no time like the present to get started. Read our blog post on choosing a backup strategy for more information on how to begin. If you have a backup strategy, keep reading to see if your plan is sufficient to properly restore your systems and applications in the event of a local disaster. Just because you regularly perform backups does not necessarily mean your systems will be properly restored when the time comes.

Tomorrow the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season begins, which will last through November 30. Last year was one of the most active hurricane seasons in history, with three of the costliest hurricanes to strike the U.S. hitting the coast in just one season. This year meteorologists predict there’s a 75% chance the season will be normal to above average. While stronger hurricanes appear to be becoming more frequent over the last decade, this year’s season is predicted to be calmer than last year’s. Meteorologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predict a range of ten to 16 named storms, including five to nine hurricanes, and one to four major hurricanes – category three strength – or higher this hurricane season. “With the advances made in hardware and computing over the course of the last year, the ability of NOAA scientists to both predict the path of storms and warn Americans who may find themselves in harm’s way is unprecedented,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

We were delighted to have around 100 guests join us as we officially celebrated the grand opening of our Texas 2 data center last Thursday evening. Everyone enjoyed poke, shrimp and grits, and a salsa and queso bar (in true Texas fashion) as well as tasty hors d’oeuvres. The majority of guests participated in guided tours of the data center and visited the data halls, mechanical plant, office space and learned about the facility’s redundant infrastructure and security features.

As many cybersecurity professionals are aware, the Internet of Things (IoT) is proliferating without any established legal framework or regulatory guidelines. According to a Forbes article, the IoT market is expected to reach $457 billion by 2020, up from $157 billion in 2016. The interconnectivity of network-enabled devices makes the IoT a can of worms when it comes to legal liability. U.S. regulatory agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, the FTC, and the FCC are a long way from establishing clear standards for IoT devices. Could the business that owns a connected device be held responsible for carelessness in the event of a data breach or an attack, or does liability fall only to the manufacturer or the software provider?

Data Foundry is holding our Texas 2 Data Center Grand Opening event on Thursday, May 17 from 3-7 pm. We are so excited to show everyone our newest premier data center in Austin, TX. Come tour the new facility – including the data halls, mechanical plant and office space.

Whether erasing or destroying data to meet compliance, recycle resources or to decommission old equipment, many companies choose to outsource asset disposal to third parties to minimize cost. Choosing an IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) service can be difficult. Making the wrong decision could mean facing a costly data breach incident and fines for not meeting regulatory compliance. Regardless of your industry, there are a few best practices you can follow when choosing an ITAD service provider to dispose of sensitive data.

In this op-ed from the Austin Business Journal, Data Foundry co-founder Ron Yokubaitis and policy analyst Natalie Parra-Novosad discuss the benefits of Open Access and an Open Internet and call on all carrier-neutral data center companies to join the fight for an Open Internet: