Section 1.1: The Landscape of Internet Computing

Today, virtually everything is interconnected. However, these connections aren't random or without cost. When businesses consider launching services in a specific market, one of the critical questions is: "Where will we store our data?"

Factors to consider include:

• Proximity to users (closer data leads to faster response times)
• Power, security, and management of data centers
• Commitment to sustainability
• Unified control panel interfaces (a single dashboard for all needs)
• A reliable vendor as a single point of truth for computing and connectivity

Additionally, organizations must weigh pricing, anticipated growth in bandwidth and storage, and the expertise of the company they trust with their entire online infrastructure.

In the past, we relied on massive data centers, strategically located near users, with the hope that everything would function smoothly. Today, the situation has evolved. Data volumes have surged, and user expectations for immediate responsiveness from applications or websites have intensified. The solutions for data management, storage, and networking have become increasingly complex and continuously changing. A knowledgeable advisor is essential to navigate these technical solutions for cloud and data centers.

Subsection 1.1.1: Transitioning to Hybrid Solutions

Section 1.2: Navigating Data Security

Every business handles sensitive and private data that needs protection. Our private data center safeguards our research and development, intellectual property, and customer information. However, the public cloud requires access to certain data and offers security for much of it. We must find a balance between what data to share with the public cloud and how to keep it current and secure.

This involves establishing a system that interconnects private data centers with the public cloud. We need to ensure that our data is accessible, secure, and readily available to an expanding user base and prospective clients. All systems must work flawlessly and instantly, without incurring excessive overhead for maintaining data integrity, backup, and management.

Our focus must also shift towards hyperconvergence—integrating more data center functions into a single appliance-like solution. This approach simplifies data management, enhances delivery and response times for clients, and allows for seamless scaling of storage, performance, or bandwidth in a modular way.

If we successfully navigate this evolution, we can manage our operations through a single company, a unified interface, and a global IT team. As we expand, we won't be burdened by concerns over cost and performance, as our data center partner will have built-in scalability in their models. With a trusted partner in cloud and data center services, we can concentrate on what we do best: BUILD OUR BUSINESS.