Data Center Compliances: The Often Overlooked Criterion When Choosing A Data Center Provider
Data Centers play a pivotal role in today’s fast-paced digital economy. As an integral part of Enterprise IT, the right Data Center provider can help organisations mitigate various cybersecurity risks, recover unscathed from disasters, and seamlessly navigate the ever-evolving regulatory landscape.
When choosing the apt Data Center provider, most organisations primarily focus on the below five criteria:
- Locational Proximity
- Uptimes
- Interconnection Ecosystem
- Managed Services, And
- Pricing
While the above five criteria are crucial for a successful Data Center migration strategy, one criterion that is overlooked is the various compliances that a Data Center provider adheres to.
In today’s increasingly complex regulatory landscape, partnering with a Data Center provider that adheres to the most number of regulatory and process compliances is the key for cohesive data protection.
Here is a ready-reckoner list of the major compliances that Data Centers should adhere to:
1. ISO 9001:2015
ISO 9001:2015 is the latest version of the international standard ISO 9001 family dedicated to defining all the requirements for a Quality Management System (QMS).
It outlines a framework for service providers, like Data Center providers, to continuously improve the service quality and streamline processes throughout the organisation, with an aim to bring down costs, create new viable opportunities, and meet regulatory and customer requirements.
2. ISO 20000:2011
ISO 20000:2011 is an international Service Management System (SMS) standard. The standard specifies a framework to ensure that IT Service Management (ITSM) processes are well-aligned with business needs as well as international best practices.
Obtaining an ISO 20000:2011 certification becomes important for Data Centers as it pushes them to continuously improve their IT processes as per international standards while taking into consideration the local business requirements.
3. ISO 27001:2013
ISO 27001:2013 is the first standard that offers some of the world’s best tools for managing information security via a list of security controls. This standard is designed to provide a framework to secure sensitive information from an increasing variety of frauds, cyber-attacks, unauthorised access, and data breaches.
Gaining this certification is crucial for Data Center providers to add credibility, build trust with clients, avoid penalties, protect brand reputation, and ensure a secure exchange of information with all stakeholders.
4. ISO 22301:2012
ISO 22301:2012 is an international standard for Business Continuity Management (BCM), specifying a framework that emphasises the need for a well-defined incident response structure.
This standard allows Data Centers to provide the appropriate resources, establish policies, and appoint the right people to implement a disruption-free Business Continuity Management System.
5. ISO 22301: 2019
ISO 22301:2019 is the revised version of the international standard ISO 22301:2012. This ISO certification is awarded to organisations that have robust and streamlined contingency processes that are capable to quickly resolve the consequences of unforeseen incidents and disasters to ensure unhindered business continuity. To achieve resilience, this standard provides organisations a detailed framework for implementing effective business continuity management systems.
This certification is considered essential for any organisation that is legally required to engage in contingency planning and maximisation of quality and efficiency.
6. ISO 20000-1:2018
ISO 20000-1:2018 is an international standard for a service management systems that help organisations to provide consistent and reliable services to their clients. It guides organisations to embed a service lifecycle strategy into their organisation - providing best practices guidance on how to manage the entire service portfolio so they remain relevant to changing business requirements.
The updated version of ISO 20000-1:2018 has been restructured to offer Data Center providers huge benefits across proactive service management, positive cultural change, cost reduction, leadership, and increased credibility for suppliers.
7. PCI-DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements intended to ensure that all companies that process, store, or transmit credit card information are maintaining a secure environment against data theft and fraud.
The standard provides comprehensive and supporting materials, which include specification frameworks, tools, measurements, and support resources to help organisations ensure the security of credit/debit cardholder information at all times.
For Data Centers that offer services to BFSI organisations that process credit/debit card data, this compliance is a must-have.
8. GDPR
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) aims to give consumers full control over their personal data that is collected by various companies spread across the globe. The main areas the GDPR focuses on are how personal data is stored, how organisations can access it, as well as timely reporting of any suspected data breaches.
GDPR compliance is very important for Data Centers as it cohesively protects personal data of European citizens and reaffirms that organisations value an individual’s privacy.
9. SAP Hosting
The certificate of SAP-certified provider of hosting operations confirms that the Data Center provider operates and maintains SAP applications and offers complete hosting packages tailored to its client's SAP applications’ portfolio.
It also proves that extensive SAP technical skills and experiences are in place. This certification is a must-have for Data Centers that host a diverse range of SAP applications.
10. SAP HANA OPS
The SAP HANA operations certification confirms a Data Center’s ability to deliver services with high-quality operational standards for solutions pertaining to the SAP HANA business data platform.
It certifies that the Data Center has a qualified and certified staff for the operations, as well as have adequate facilities, standards, and operational support in place when it comes to SAP HANA applications.
11. SAP Cloud and Infra
The SAP Cloud and Infrastructure Operations certification highlights an infrastructure and cloud services portfolio tailored to the clients’ SAP requirements. Data Center services from SAP-certified include on-demand infrastructure and cloud services that seamlessly support diverse SAP applications.
Having this certificate in place allows Data Center providers to ensure that they provide a cohesive solution for SAP infrastructure provisioning, operation, and application management needs.
To Sum It UP
Industry-specific certifications are one of the surest ways of assessing a Data Center provider’s capability to seamlessly adhere to the various regulatory and process compliances.
As one of India’s leading Data Center provider, Web Werks cohesively complies with all the aforementioned compliances to ensure that organisations’ sensitive data and applications are stored and managed securely in its state-of-the-art Data Centers.
To learn more about how Web Werks can assist your organisation meet all compliance standards, please visit https://www.webwerks.in or get in touch with us on +91 8828 335 555.
