Now that so many companies have decided to turn their information over to the cloud, the question on everyone’s mind is exactly where is all of this information going to be stored? It costs data centers a lot of their budget to move data across distances, so some say it makes more sense to keep everything local. However, this is not a view that’s seen entirely across the board for a variety of reasons. Let’s look at how Canada is handling their data needs in relation to the US, and what that means for industry.
Security Concerns
Huge platforms like Microsoft’s Azure have noticed that Canada does have higher security measures to protect their people’s data. With the recent letter from Apple letting the government know that they have no wish to create a back door for their customers, the right to privacy in light of recent events is a huge source of contention. Canada does not necessarily have the surveillance bug that many US politicians seem to have which leads people to turn to them as an entirely valid option to get around these concerns.
Environmental Factors
Data centers use a lot of energy, but Canada has made it a priority to use renewable energy in their centers. The cost is about 5 cents per kilowatt hour which definitely makes it a competitive option in the sea of cloud options out there. It’s also a better choice for sake of the entire planet’s resources.
Expansion
Some people are looking to Canada because it helps them have more of a global presence. This way, if a company does do business with Canadians, they can appeal to their sensibility about where exactly their data will be kept. By addressing their needs and concerns, they’re more to gain credibility and respect in the eye’s of its citizens. Canada has by no means kept up with the US demand for technology, the entire country only has the data center capacity about equal to the processing power in Northern Virginia. However, that doesn’t mean that they won’t catch up (albeit slowly.) In order to keep up with growing demand, data centers and companies using those data centers need to be looking ahead at what’s to come and understand that Canada wants more options when it comes to their information. This interest marks what could be a bigger trend of more data centers with far more processing power in Canada.
The Caveats
This does not necessarily mean that you need to migrate everything over right now. For one thing, it may be more expensive to do so as there’s far less competition there than there is here. Also, you’re still working with the expense of transporting data from across borders. It could also increasingly become a regulatory issue as governments try to work out exactly how to deal with the multitude of issues that may arise between the two neighboring countries.
Post Excerpt: Should you be looking at Canada as a viable option for your data? The country is gaining attention in the industry for its power, privacy and environmental benefits.
Katrina is a leader in the IT industry with innovative ideas and custom solution as a product specialist for RackSolutions