Data Center as a Service

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What Does Data Center as a Service Mean?

Data center as a service (DCaaS) is a utility computing service where hosting companies provide their data center infrastructure and facilities for rent or lease to customers. A dedicated network, servers and storage are a few resources that these DCaaS providers offer. In addition, these marketed DCaaS services are engineered for scalability, cost-efficiency, reliability and security. DCaaS resources are accessible to clients remotely via wide-area network (WAN).

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Techopedia Explains Data Center as a Service

Data center as a service is the provisioning of physical data center facilities and infrastructure to a client. Though it sounds very much like cloud computing’s infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and software as a service (SaaS), it is more like renting out a house or an office.

DCaaS infrastructure and facilities are uniquely tailored according to a client’s need. For example a client can opt to use their own hardware and the DCaaS provider can simply provide the space required. The space can be constructed, even with sensors and controls enabling the client to supervise changes in the computing environment. A major benefit of DCaaS providers is that they can offer expansion for data centers that can no longer do so for various reasons such as lack physical space, power, cooling or capital. This remotely rented data center is usually controlled remotely via WAN, making WAN downtime or disruption one of the biggest concerns with DCaaS providers, as it interrupts access to services and availability of applications.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.