As the name suggests, data center monitoring is the process of assessing aspects of your stored information in a way that allows you to track the status of your data at any given time. But what can you learn from data monitoring software? And how can the information inform your decisions around your data’s health and security? 

 

In today’s blog we’re diving into the basics you should understand about data monitoring and how to use it to your advantage. 

 

Why is Data Monitoring Important? 

 

Althoug database marketing has long been a routine measure of data surveillance, that kind of monitoring is geared specifically to the database housing the information, rather than the individual pieces of data themselves. 

 

The beauty of data monitoring is that it can keep tabs on any errors, unusual activity, provide proactive maintenance, and make any necessary corrections. This means that wherever you are, you can ensure that your data is not only still there, but that it is accurate and running properly for your business needs. 

 

What are the Functions of Data Monitoring? 

 

Depending on the software you select, or the software provided by your data storage partner, you’ll see some variance in the measures which are monitored by data monitoring programs. Overalls however, there tend to be three main categories of functions of data monitoring. 

 

• Connection
• Overall Health
• Alerts

 

• Connection 

The connection element is fairly straightforward. This is the part of the software that connects directly with your stored data, giving the program access in the first place to collect and analyze your data. 

 

• Overall Health

The overall health checks are the diagnostic step of data monitoring. This is where you can tell the system what kinds of rules or patterns your data should be producing, and thus the program will know when to alert you when there is an error or issue with the data itself. There are also advanced techniques where a machine can learn to identify irregular data and alert your team that way. 

 

The points of monitoring can vary from the data points themselves to the environment of your stored data, such as the temperature of the data cabinets, generators, power levels, and network switches.

 

• Alerts

 

Depending on the software, there is typically some kind of system where the data owner can view the reports and/or be alerted to changes, errors, or irregularities. This element is helpful for data owners to view, analyze, and then make informed decisions based on the health of their data. 

 

What Data Monitoring Can Do For You

 

In short, the more you know, the more informed decisions you’re able to make. So when you put the systems in place to be aware of your data, you’re actively making moves toward high-quality decisions for your business, for your customers, and your future methods of storing important business data. 

 

For example, if you are working with a colocation data center like Rack59 that offers data monitoring and you’re able to gain value from that element of the service, you may find that scaling your business alongside a colocation data center is a great fit for your organization over the long term. 

 

Or, imagine that there are minor errors in your data over a long period of time. If those go unnoticed, there may not be major short-term consequences, but whether it’s customer information, dollar amounts, etc. those small inconsistencies will add up over time to cause big problems. With data monitoring, those issues are not only identified, but quickly corrected to eliminate that problem altogether. 

 

Explore Your Options for Data Monitoring with Rack59

 

Learn more about data monitoring and the other benefits of partnering with an established colocation data center on our website, or reach out anytime with your questions.