What Are Data Cabinets and How Can They Benefit Your Business?
If you’re planning on spending a great deal of money on IT equipment, you’ll need data cabinets to safely and securely house your routers, rack-mountable devices, servers and more. It’s normal for people who don’t spend a lot of time around electronics to wonder what these types of cabinets are and how they differ from normal office cabinets.
In this post, we take a closer look at what a data cabinet is so you can decide for yourself whether they’re a good investment for your company.
What are Data Cabinets?
Data cabinets, or sometimes called server cabinets, bear a lot in common with data racks, with the only difference being that a data cabinet is usually enclosed while a rack is open.
Server cabinets are designed to hold multiple modules of electronic equipment and can either function as a normal cabinet or even as an office safe.
High-end server cabinets will typically have security features such as combination locks or even fingerprint scanners to make sure that unauthorised people won’t be able to tamper with sensitive equipment.
These cabinets can also come in different shapes and sizes.
For instance, you may decide to go for a wider data cabinet that isn’t so tall so the equipment is within easy reach. On the other hand, taller cabinets are more suitable for businesses that don’t have a lot of floor space.
How much do these data cabinets typically cost?
When it’s on the lower end of the price scale, a data cabinet may cost you a few hundred dollars. In some cases, this may be sufficient for storing the usual IT-related equipment.
If, however, your business deals with sensitive data and can’t afford to have servers, routers, and other electronic equipment tampered with, then a high-end data cabinet is what you need.
For a small, high-security data cabinet with a bolt-locking mechanism and a combination security system, you may end up paying close to $1,000.
Medium-sized high-level security cabinets may fetch over $2,000 and have additional features such as fire resistance that can protect your data assets for as long as 6 hours in a fire.
As for larger server cabinets, the prices can easily go over $4,000, but they won’t lack the storage and security to house your sensitive IT equipment.
How can they benefit businesses?
Aside from providing safe and secure storage, a data cabinet helps to organise items, cables and sometimes to dissipate heat effectively so your equipment won’t overheat.
Some server cabinets aren’t even used for actively working IT equipment and are just meant to store data devices such as hard drives, CDs, or other electronic items. While they may have no cooling properties, they are ideal for protecting your most sensitive data assets from theft, damage, or loss.
A secure data cabinet offers more protection than regular cabinets can provide
While high-end data cabinets are a considerable investment, they are one of the most effective solutions for the organisation, cooling, and protection of your electronic equipment. Not only are they reliable storage units, but they also help your business to grow by protecting assets such as customer information and confidential company procedures.