Incidents of cyber-attacks against IT networks are intensifying globally. The recent spate of ransomware attacks on the American oil pipeline system and the global meat supply chain highlights both the vulnerabilities that exist in our IT infrastructure, as well as the devastating impact these cyber breaches can have even when that breach might seem relatively innocuous. In the case of the Colonial Pipeline hack, the attack reportedly only reached the front-end business IT systems, not the IT and operations technology (OT) that actually control the pipeline itself. But, nonetheless, the attack resulted in shutting down the entire pipeline for a period of time causing alarming gas shortages up and down much of the East Coast of the United States. Long lines and panic buying became the norm for days.
I think it’s safe to say that most businesses that used to own and operate centralized data centers now have physical IT infrastructure assets widely distributed on premise, at colocation providers, and increasingly at the edge of the network. One study had determined that while only 10% of enterprise data was created outside of core centralized data centers in 2018, estimates for 2025 suggest up to 75% will be generated and handled by edge computing sites [1].
This increasingly distributed, hybrid IT environment creates management challenges, particularly since many of these smaller edge sites are operated in a “lights out” fashion without any technical staff being nearby. Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software tools have traditionally been used to monitor, manage, plan, run scenario simulations on, etc. centralized data center power, cooling, and space resources. The widespread use of DCIM has certainly made data centers more resilient, as well as energy and operationally efficient.
With the pandemic accelerating digital transformation across industries, companies are becoming better equipped to handle future disruptions. But the shift hasn’t come easily for many. Skill gaps often leave IT departments short on resources for everyday activities such as physical infrastructure security and monitoring as they focus on now-critical upgrades.
IT leaders are also increasingly turning to edge computing, consisting of on-premise servers, sensors, smart machines, and other devices that function independently or in conjunction with the cloud. Edge computing offers them a host of benefits like reduced network latency and operational expenses, real-time data processing, and bandwidth savings. However, some organizations face rapidly increasing security threats and associate edge computing with security concerns like a lack of physical security. These departments need reliable options to fulfill their cybersecurity and physical security needs.