When someone says “our data is in the cloud” or “our servers are in a data center,” they are referring to the same physical place — a data center. But what exactly is it, how does it work inside, and why don’t companies just keep servers in an office cupboard?
What is a data center in plain terms
A data center is a specialised building or facility that houses servers, data storage systems, and network equipment. All of this hardware is supported by reliable power supply, cooling, physical security, and continuous internet connectivity.
If a server is the brain, then a data center is the building around it: with its own power supply, climate systems, security, and redundant communication links.
Data center and DC are used interchangeably in the industry.
What a data center is made of
A modern data center is a collection of interconnected systems:
Server hall. Racks of servers, storage systems (SAN/NAS), and network equipment. Each rack consumes anywhere from 5 to 30+ kW of power.
Power supply. A data center is fed by multiple independent utility feeds. Between the utility and the equipment sit uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and diesel generators — these switch on automatically within seconds during a grid failure.
Cooling. Servers generate enormous heat. Cooling systems keep the server hall at +18–27 °C year-round. In northern climates like Astana, free cooling is widely used — drawing on cold outside air so that little or no mechanical refrigeration is needed.
Connectivity. A data center is connected to multiple carriers via fibre-optic links. Physically separate cable routes guarantee that a single cable break does not disconnect the facility from the internet.
Security. Physical protection includes access control systems (cards/biometrics), CCTV, and 24/7 on-site security. Entry to the server hall requires two-factor authentication, with every visit logged.
Monitoring. All systems run under continuous oversight: temperature, humidity, and voltage sensors; fire detection; DCIM (data center infrastructure management) platforms.
Types of data centers
Data centers differ by purpose and usage model:
Enterprise on-premise DC. A company builds and operates its own data center. High control, but enormous capital expenditure and full responsibility for the infrastructure.
Colocation. A company installs its own server equipment in the racks of a commercial data center. It pays for rack space, power, and connectivity — and gets professional infrastructure without building its own facility.
Cloud DC. A provider (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, regional alternatives) delivers virtual resources from its data centers. Maximum flexibility, pay-as-you-go billing, but less control over physical hardware.
Edge data center. A small facility located close to end users, for workloads with strict latency requirements. Complements but does not replace a central DC.
Most enterprises use a combination: colocation for reliability and data-localisation compliance, cloud for flexibility.
What businesses use data centers for
Corporate data storage. Customer databases, financial records, internal systems — all of this must be protected, available around the clock, and stored at a known location.
Running business applications. ERP, CRM, banking software, and e-commerce platforms require servers with guaranteed availability. Downtime converts directly into lost revenue.
Backup and disaster recovery. Keeping backup copies at a data center in a different part of the city or country is standard practice for business continuity planning (BCP).
AI and high-performance computing. Training models and processing large datasets requires dense server configurations with high power draw — exactly what a professional data center is built to support.
Telecommunications. Carriers, ISPs, and content networks place equipment in data centers for traffic exchange (peering) and to minimise latency.
Data centers and data localisation in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstani legislation — primarily the Personal Data Law and amendments to the Informatisation Law — requires that personal data of Kazakhstani citizens be stored on servers physically located in Kazakhstan.
This means any Kazakhstani business, government body, or international company processing data of RK citizens cannot simply “push everything to AWS” or another foreign cloud provider. The data must be in Kazakhstan — and a data center with certified infrastructure inside the country is the only reliable way to meet this requirement.
Akashi Data Center is being built in Astana as Central Asia’s first Tier IV facility. Hosting here provides both compliance with data localisation requirements and an international standard of engineering reliability.
How to choose a data center
When selecting a data center for your infrastructure, look for:
- Reliability tier: Tier III for most workloads; Tier IV when any unplanned downtime is unacceptable.
- Location: proximity for low latency; Kazakhstan jurisdiction for data localisation compliance.
- Power capacity: enough headroom for growth over the next 3–5 years.
- Connectivity: how many independent carriers? What are the latencies to key destinations?
- Certification: Uptime Institute, ISO 27001, local regulatory compliance.
- SLA and support: guaranteed availability figures and response time commitments.
Frequently asked questions
What is a data center in simple terms?
A data center is a specialised building where servers, data storage systems, network equipment, and all supporting infrastructure — power, cooling, security — are concentrated in one place. Companies place their equipment here or rent resources instead of running servers in an office.
What is the difference between a data center and the cloud?
A data center is a physical facility. “The cloud” is a model for delivering computing resources from a provider’s data centers. All cloud services run on hardware in some data center. The difference for a business: with colocation you control your own hardware; with cloud you pay only for consumed resources without managing physical equipment.
What is colocation in a data center?
Colocation is a service where a company installs its own server equipment in the racks of a commercial data center. It pays for rack space, power, and internet connectivity, while the DC provides the physical infrastructure, cooling, and security.
Why use a data center if you have the cloud?
Cloud is convenient for flexible and scalable workloads, but has limitations: high cost at constant load, limited control over data, localisation requirements (in Kazakhstan, personal data must be stored within the country). For such workloads, colocation in a local data center turns out to be both cheaper and legally safer.
Are there data centers in Kazakhstan?
Yes. Several commercial data centers operate in Kazakhstan, predominantly Tier II–III. Akashi Data Center in Astana is the first Tier IV facility under construction in Central Asia, designed for 4,224 racks and 100 MW of IT capacity.
What does Tier mean in a data center?
Tier is the reliability level under the Uptime Institute classification. Tier I is the base level; Tier IV is the maximum. Tier IV means fault tolerance: any single component failure is survived automatically without interrupting operations. Tier IV availability is approximately 99.995% — no more than 26 minutes of downtime per year.
Looking to place your infrastructure in a reliable data center in Kazakhstan? Learn about colocation at Akashi or submit an enquiry — our engineers will respond within one business day.