Data Center IndiaSeamless Connectivity, Unrivaled Performance

A data center is a facility housing a company’s IT operations from where data is distributed and managed. Data centers comprise thousands or millions of dedicated servers interlinked to each other through a common network. Solutions such as dedicated server hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, are all powered from a data center.

Depending upon the service, the data center can be classified as either internet-facing or enterprise centers. Internet-facing data centers are not anywhere as robust as the enterprise center and support fewer applications. Enterprise centers, on the other hand, service fewer users because the requirement is colossal.

Without data centers, there would be no internet as data has to be stored and retrieved from somewhere eventually. All websites, applications, software, and updates come from one of the data centers in the world.

The cost depends upon a number of conditions. Commercial space in India can cost anywhere between a few hundred to several thousand INR per square feet depending upon the location. Apart from that, major expenses incurred are in procuring servers and setting up the ideal working environment.

A lot of data centers in India offer colocation to clients who want to leverage the flexibility of a data center but cannot afford to tide over the upfront cost. The services for colocation are billed every month, depending upon the resources used.

Another pocket-friendly alternative is to buy a server hosting plan, wherein the provider apportions a server – or its resource – and in turn, takes charge of all the underpinning activity. However, if you have an enormous appetite for storage, provisioning a data center can help save costs in the long run.

• TIA-942: It is the Telecommunications Industry Association standard, which outlines the requirements for data centers, including infrastructure, security, and redundancy, ensuring reliability and performance.
•  ISO 27001: It is an international standard for information security management systems applicable to data centers in India, emphasizing data protection, confidentiality, and integrity.
• Uptime Institute Standards: Data centers in India often adhere to Uptime Institute standards, particularly Tier Standards, which classify facilities based on their reliability, performance, and redundancy levels.
• IS 1893: The Indian Standard IS 1893 specifies criteria for earthquake-resistant design and construction, a crucial consideration for ensuring the structural integrity of data centers in seismic zones.
• BIS Guidelines: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) issues guidelines relevant to data centers, covering aspects like electrical safety, fire protection, and environmental controls.
• NIST Framework: While not specific to India, the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Cybersecurity Framework is often referenced for securing data in Indian data centers.
• Green Building Standards: Some data centers in India align with green building standards, such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), to promote sustainability and energy efficiency.
• CEA Regulations: Central Electricity Authority (CEA) regulations in India may influence aspects of power infrastructure and electrical systems within data centers.
• NBC Guidelines: The National Building Code (NBC) of India provides guidelines on structural safety, fire protection, and other architectural considerations that impact data center construction and design.
• TRAI Regulations: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) regulations may influence aspects related to connectivity, network infrastructure, and telecommunications within data centers in the country.

The methodology of classification remains the same regardless of country or location where the facility is situated.

At present, data facilities are classified into four tiers, namely – Tier I, II, III, & IV. Higher the tier, better and more advanced is the technology used in it.

Tier I, though now obsolete, is still in use because it is the cheapest data center to set up. Tier I data centers have just enough components to keep them running. Power and colling lines have a single path, and there are no redundant components in the system. Glitches as minor as a component failure can render the entire data center useless and out of operation.

Tier II is an improvement over Tier I. It is backed by several redundant components, cooling and power lines. The system is not fully fault-tolerant, but major problems such as power disruption and maintenance do not impact data center operations at all. The system is still prone to failure and is not completely fault-tolerant.

Tier III is the perfect blend of performance and cost-effectiveness. Go a step higher and you pay too much, step down a tier and you end up compromising the performance. Tier III has multiple power sources, uplinks and redundancy in almost every component. Most data centers in India are Tier III.

Tier IV – the most advanced data center in operation today. It is completely redundant and fault-tolerant, hosts several uplinks and backups. Tier IV is supposedly invincible. However, a tier IV might have little to offer over tier III when weighted against the exorbitant cost over its predecessor.

Absolutely. Data centers in India have been long known for providing industry-best IT solutions that are not just affordable but also reliable. Outsourcing IT operations will not hamper your IT but rather enhance it by deescalating unnecessary burdens off your shoulder. The availability of skilled labour allows us to deliver excellence.

Datacenter location will have little to no impact. So whether your hosting provider is in India or in the US makes very little difference. Further, if you are planning to expand the horizon of your business to some other country, it would help if you host the website in the country’s native server, because of its proximity to the end-user.

Data centers are used to store, manage, and process vast amounts of digital information, ensuring accessibility and reliability for businesses and organizations. They serve as centralized hubs for computing resources, facilitating the hosting of websites, applications, and critical business systems, ensuring seamless operations. Data centers also play a crucial role in supporting cloud services, enabling the storage and retrieval of data, and providing the infrastructure for various online activities, from streaming to e-commerce.

The expense associated with establishing a data center in India can fluctuate significantly, contingent upon factors like dimensions, infrastructure prerequisites, and technological specifications. The cost typically spans from a few million to several hundred million INR, encompassing expenses related to construction, equipment, security, and ongoing operational needs.