Giving Thanks in Times of Disaster

When we think of threats to data centers, images of hackers infiltrating a complex network to breach firewalls to steal or damage data often come to mind. But as the wildfires in California demonstrate, there are a number of physical security threats caused by natural disasters that need to be addressed by the data center industry.

The damage produced by the recent wildfires in California is nothing if not staggering. With nearly 1.7 million acres that have burned across the state, the devastation may be heartbreaking, but long from being fully assessed. Time will tell just how destructive these fires were for the properties and the lives impacted by this tragedy.

As we enter the Thanksgiving holiday, we’d like to take a moment to say thanks to the brave individuals who risk their lives to fight wildfires like those taking place currently in California. Their bravery and commitment to this ensuring the safety of others does not go unnoticed in this difficult time. The selflessness found in their service to their communities is nothing if not consistent with the spirit of giving that is central to the upcoming holiday season.

While these fires may not reach the centers of metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, they do give us the opportunity to reflect on how important physical security is to the entire data center industry.

As we’ve outlined in our recent ebook on data security, facilities like our West 7 Center can be designed to mitigate the negative impacts that disasters like wildfires may have on infrastructure, offering security in even the most precarious of circumstances. By housing data centers underground, many of the physical threats are eliminated.
Although underground data centers and colocation facilities may have been a trend throughout Europe for quite some time, West 7 Center’s choice to design its facility with physical security best practices in mind demonstrates how we place a premium on meeting the needs of our clients. From multiple 24/7 guard stations to sorting mission-critical infrastructure underground, we’ve designed our facility to protect against the most threatening disasters, whether they be man-made or natural.

As the California wildfires continue to be addressed by emergency personnel, we hope that our clients can rest assured that their data is in good hands by being placed in a state-of-the-art, secure underground facility in metro Los Angeles.  

---