Top Technology Trends for 2023

Nearly three years later, businesses are still reeling from 2020. The way we work and how businesses function changed drastically when COVID-19 ravaged the world. The uncertainty in Eastern Europe and the supply chain disruptions also have altered how organizations operate.

Many of the technology trends predicted for 2023 relate to efficiency and sustainability with artificial intelligence (AI) taking center stage. We highlight those tech trends below.

(While we encourage you to stay abreast of the latest trends, we strongly suggest you protect the foundation of any technology – your hardware. Top-notch data centers like FIBERTOWN keep your hardware protected and up and running when outside disruptions happen.)

5G is Spreading Fast

5G, or the fifth generation of cellular networks, is being rolled out to more of the world in 2023. Advantages with 5G include faster connection speeds, lower latency, and greater bandwidth than the previous generations of networks.

So, why does 5G matter in business? Data will move even faster, and more devices can be connected to an organization’s network at once, allowing businesses to move at speeds never before experienced. Technologies like self-driving cars and robot nurses become a real possibility for more organizations due to the connection speed 5G provides.

Emissions and Power Usage Will be Measured

2023 will usher in a real attempt to quantify a company’s emissions and power usage. According to Newsweek, “In 2023, solutions will emerge to help companies measure and categorize their emissions and power consumption in a repeatable, consistent, auditable way.” Developers will create more robust technologies for tracing and analyzing emissions and power. Full-scale emissions management software will be created and improved.

People worry that the progress in technology further hurts the climate (e.g., greater use of electricity). Experts predict, though, that advancements in technology can help with sustainability, rather than be a detriment.

Demonstrate the Decision-Making Ability of AI

To no one’s surprise, AI is still advancing at lightning speed in 2023. Mass adoption, though, is the challenge. As CIO notes, “Organizations must be able to explain the reason why a computer came to a decision.” CIO further explains, “Gartner has found that only 50% of AI models ever hit production and that the reasons behind this are lack of trust in the data, and problems with security and privacy.”

So, while AI offers a world of possibilities for individuals and organizations, it’s not without issues. 2023 will focus on building the trustworthiness of AI.

Adaptive AI is the Next Frontier

Adaptive AI is the next frontier for AI. It aims to make decisions faster using live-feed data. Adaptive AI allows organizations to test and adjust in changing real-world circumstances. As discussed in the previous section, though, progress in this field is reliant on trustworthy data.

FIBERTOWN is Ready for 2023

We’re excited to see what 2023 holds! The advancements in AI and the spread of 5G will bring new possibilities to organizations, ones unavailable prior to 2023. And this new year promises more ways to decrease emissions and power usage for businesses. The future is looking bright.

We end this article with a reminder to protect your hardware. While technology trends are exciting, secure, protected hardware is the foundation for all tech advancements. Learn more about our Houston and Bryan, TX data centers.

And use this form to contact us.

Is Your Generator Reliable? Do You Have Backup Power?

On Sunday night, November 27th, Houston residents received a boil water notice. A water purification plant in the city had experienced a brief power disruption, causing water pressure to drop below the minimum requirement of 20 PSI. This drop in pressure is what caused officials to give the boil water notice as a precaution for residents.

State and local entities worked with guidance from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to lift the boil water notice about 40 hours later. And for that we’re grateful.

A Cautionary Tale…

This article is not intended to put down an organization. (In fact, we commend the quick, safe approach by the Houston authorities and greatly appreciate their efforts.) Instead, this article is a cautionary tale about backup power for all businesses.

We ask these serious questions.

Are the generators at your on-premise data center and/or office building reliable?
Do you have redundant power?
Are there plans in place if you lose power?
What service outages would your customers experience if you lost power completely for 2 minutes? 15 minutes? For an hour?
How much revenue would you lose? Are lives at stake if you lose power?
What damages would your hardware experience with a power loss?

You Don’t Have to Have All of the Answers

Truthfully, just typing the questions above makes our hearts beat rapidly. The ramifications of an outage for a company without backup power are expensive, time-consuming, and can cost human lives.

Power redundancy (i.e., having multiple sources of power) is a serious consideration for companies. Redundancy means reliability and peace of mind. And it’s for these reasons that clients choose a data center like FIBERTOWN.

It’s our job to have and maintain utility and generator power for your hardware. (We go into more detail about the traits of a top-rated data center in this article).

FIBERTOWN Can Keep You Up and Running

We have two data centers – one in Houston and one in Bryan-College Station. These data centers are fitted with redundant power and cooling systems. Backup generators are on site, and they are manned by IT professionals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

We’ll keep your company’s hardware up and running, even if the world outside is without power.

Ask us how we do this! We’d love to tell you more.

Complete the contact form to begin a conversation.

Data Center Latest 0

Hybrid Cloud or Multi-Cloud Strategy – What’s Best for Your Organization

The cloud is everywhere. Phrases like “cloud first” and “we’re moving everything to the cloud” are common today. A growing company should have a cloud strategy to take full advantage of the possibilities the cloud offers.

A cloud strategy is a designation for the roles the cloud will play in a company’s operations. It should not be confused with a cloud adoption or migration plan. Ideally, those plans are part of a company’s overall cloud strategy.

This article briefly examines the hybrid cloud and multi-cloud strategies. If you have questions about what role FIBERTOWN can play in your cloud strategy, we’d love to speak with you.

A Hybrid Cloud Strategy

The concept of a hybrid cloud strategy is like that of a hybrid car. A hybrid car uses both electricity and gasoline for power. A hybrid cloud strategy uses both private and public clouds to store and retrieve data.

An example of a private cloud would be a company’s on-premise data center or FIBERTOWN’s data center. On the other hand, public clouds like AWS, Google and Microsoft Azure own and manage all of the hardware, software, and infrastructure associated with their cloud services.

The intent of a hybrid cloud strategy is to provide varied cloud providers as a single solution. For example, at FIBERTOWN, we serve as a private cloud provider while giving you easy access to multiple public cloud services. As our client, you can use Megaport, which allows you to connect to public clouds such as Office365, AWS and Google through a single port, optimizing cost and security, plus reducing latency (less lag time).

A Multi-Cloud Strategy

A multi-cloud strategy means utilizing multiple public cloud services to store and retrieve data. While redundancy is strong with this option (just as it is with the hybrid strategy), there are some drawbacks. This solution can be difficult to manage because of the number of vendors involved. Plus, latency can be an issue since multiple providers must “talk” with one another. But this strategy does lessen vendor lock-in. If you’re unhappy with a cloud provider, migrating to another one is easier because you’re already utilizing services from multiple ones.

FIBERTOWN Would Like to be a Part of Your Cloud Strategy

Cloud strategy is more than simply storing and retrieving data in the cloud. It’s a designation for how the cloud will be used for your company’s sustainability and growth. We strongly suggest setting aside time to consider your cloud strategy.

We’d love to tell you more about FIBERTOWN’s data centers (in Houston and Bryan-College Station) and how they can help bolster your cloud strategy.

Start the conversation today.

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Hurricane Ike Pushes Kelsey-Seybold Clinic to Seek a Safe and Reliable Colocation Data Center Solution

When Hurricane Ike made landfall in the wee hours of September 13, 2008, it left damage and deaths in over 34 Texas counties. Still today, it’s the third costliest hurricane in American history, only behind Katrina (#1) and Andrew (#2).

Long before Hurricane Ike’s landfall, the staff at Kelsey-Seybold dedicated itself to serving patients with a dose of old-fashioned personal attention. (The Kelsey-Seybold Clinic was founded in 1949.) But the staff didn’t stop there. The clinic invested heavily in information technology (IT) to improve the patient experience and to give physicians greater access to medical information.

With Hurricane Ike’s landfall, leaders of Kelsey-Seybold were prompted to find a safe and reliable colocation data center. Patients desperately need them during emergencies, and they always – no matter the weather and its destruction – need access to data to best care for their patients.

Challenges Facing Kelsey-Seybold

After investing significantly in IT in the early 2000s, Kelsey-Seybold experienced explosive data growth and the need for storage. Plus, the clinic had no long-term disaster recovery plan, which was amplified when it experienced several hours of downtime due to Ike’s destruction.

Clinic leaders considered building and managing a new data center. (Kelsey-Seybold already had three onsite data centers.) They soon realized the exorbitant cost of constructing and maintaining a structure equipped with security and backup capabilities, along with having room to grow.

Why the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic Chose FIBERTOWN

After considering other options, Kelsey-Seybold chose FIBERTOWN for multiple reasons.

10-Year Growth Plan. FIBERTOWN delivered a plan for storing hardware securely as Kelsey-Seybold continues to grow and to collect more data.
Accessible Business Continuity. With FIBERTOWN within driving distance of the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Houston, the clinic leased space in our Business Continuity Center for some of its full-time personnel to monitor and perform maintenance.
Reliable Power, Cooling and Networks. Our Bryan-College Station data center has over a dozen Internet Service Providers connecting you to every major city in Texas. Plus, it’s a carrier-neutral, concurrently maintainable data center, offering high availability N+1 or greater power and cooling in a secure, hardened facility.
Cost Efficiency. By contracting with FIBERTOWN, Kelsey-Seybold was able to consolidate three onsite data centers into one, plus have room to grow. They saved money and time.
Knowledgeable, Round-the-Clock Service. FIBERTOWN’s data centers are staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year with knowledgeable IT professionals to answer your questions and to perform needed maintenance.
Our facilities are built with redundancy for every component and can provide 100% uptime for our customers.

Contact FIBERTOWN to Learn More

Is your organization like the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic? You’re doing great work but know you need secure, reliable storage for your hardware to ensure business continuity. Even during a hurricane, ice storm, rolling blackouts and more.

We’d love to learn about your needs and determine if FIBERTOWN can help you too.

Use our contact form to start the conversation.