Current data center security practices rely on three things to ensure the protection of data. First, keeping a thief out of the building. Second, monitoring the system to detect the removal of a hard drive. Finally, encrypting the data on that hard drive so that if the first two fail, the hardware is still useless to the thief. Despite these efforts, data theft still occurs with some frequency, which is why companies need to consider a change in their strategy, such as biometric security.

By implementing a biometric technology at a different level of operations, such as the server rack itself, companies can optimize their security and establish a new line of defense that doesn’t interrupt workflow. Installing a fingerprint scanner on the server rack won’t affect building access or other factors, but ensures that only authorized personnel can actually open the rack and remove hardware. This ensures security regardless of if a thief manages to bypass the other security measures. Furthermore, it protects a company from internal theft – one of the leading causes of a data breach businesses see.

Of course, as firms deploy server rack security solutions they may see other ways to improve their building access control with biometrics. By starting at a basic point of entry and deploying a high-quality biometric solution, a company can see the results and build from there, implementing biometrics where needed and avoiding a single large-scale investment that may not be cost effective immediately.

Biometrics offers top of the line security for any company, but in the data center it is particularly beneficial, with information quickly becoming the currency of the digital age.