There is a common misconception that pounding the pavement with canvassing is the primary driver of political success, especially in local elections. Pressing the flesh with voters is certainly important, yet it is only one piece of the puzzle. As time progresses, success in elections is becoming more dependent on technical prowess. In particular, understanding voter and consumer data is especially important. If your campaign doesn’t have a data center, or if you haven’t paid much attention to your data center, here are some tips to help you get the most out of your data.
Essential Data Center Best Practices
Data Protection and Security
A data center is a facility that is dedicated to storing and processing the information you’ve gathered for your campaign. This can include voter data or information for your day-to-day campaign operations. Because you’ll be storing such valuable information, it’s crucial that you keep this information protected from cyber attacks and data breaches. When creating your data center, implement security measures in the form of physical and network security. Install surveillance cameras, hire security guards, and keep your networks protected with firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), and Access Control Lists (ACL).
When you’re looking for a data center to house your campaign’s information, look for data centers that implement the latest security protocols. Data security is not an area where you want to be frugal. Turn to a data center that features various levels of security, comprehensive surveillance, and has an updated list of who has access to this information in order to defend against potential threats. You’ll rest easier knowing the proper surveillance and security levels are in place to protect your valuable information.
Fast Access and Strong Network Connections
A powerful data center is a must when dealing with large amounts of data. You need fast access to cloud services and other network resources. Your data center should also have a variety of connections, such as hybrid cloud and multi-cloud. This requires a complex network framework so it’s crucial that you data center is equipped to handle this.
You should also consider setting up multiple internet service protocols (ISPs). By doing this, you can choose your ideal ISP, making it possible to change services based on rate, bandwidth, and dependability.
Focus on Accessibility
Your campaign needs immediate access to essential data at all times without impediment. The service level agreements (SLAs) determine if the data will be available when you need it and designate the reliability of the facility’s uptime. SLA is the percentage of time that the server is online. The advantage of using a data center as opposed to the cloud is the fact that it minimizes downtime, ultimately making it easier to access data so you can make quicker decisions for your political campaign.
Above all, choose a data center that prioritizes data accessibility and security. The data center you select should perform data backups, ensure the information is secure, and also implement preparedness measures to boost the SLA up time levels. This guarantees the servers will provide data access and storage whenever desired. Data center services worth the money provide customers with direct access to stored data as well as considerable connectivity alternatives, ensuring rapid access to network resources, cloud services and information.
Sustainability Matters
Even if your campaign is more focused on data security and access as opposed to sustainability, it is in your interest to choose a data center service provider that is as green as possible. Choose a green data center and you can even use that decision as a component of your overarching campaign messaging. Keep in mind, every little competitive advantage matters in the context of political campaigning. Candidates who go out of their way to run a green campaign can use that pro-environment stance as a campaign marketing tool.
Aside from the competitive edge going green gives your campaign, it also has practical benefits away from the campaign trail. A comparably green data center reduces the strain on electric power and even has the potential to empower facilities to fully disconnect from the power grid, shifting to off-site renewable energy certificates and power acquisition agreements.
Key Considerations for Internal Data Centers
If you opt for an on-site data center at your campaign headquarters you’ll have direct control over data storage, management and protection. However, your facility will need sufficient space to accommodate the necessary equipment, and you’ll need to design your data center for efficiency and performance.
Data centers require servers, racks, a network connectivity infrastructure, monitoring structures, cooling and air flow systems, and more. Don’t cut costs when selecting any part for your data center, including which wires to use. Consider selecting a small diameter so it’s easier to consolidate the wire management as well as reduce trip-and-fall hazards. In fact, it might even make sense to implement wiring below and above the floor, potentially within an overhead rafter system to ensure pathways are perfectly clear of all cords and other data-related sundries.
You’ll also need a cooling system to prevent this expensive equipment from overheating and failing. Cooling systems with flawed designs also have the potential to eat up power and hike utility costs, potentially leading to blackouts that compromise your ability to do what you need to do when you need to do it. When in doubt, enlist the services of a data center expert to implement the proper planning for your data center that ensures the optimal airflow to maintain a perfectly cool space.
Above all else, make sure to implement an emergency power system. The last thing you need is to lose your data or have a failure in your systems during an outage so be sure to install back up power solutions.
Take Advantage of Aristotle’s Data Services
Throughout your political campaign you need the right data to maximize your chances of election. Aristotle has gathered millions of voter and consumer files so you can get a heads start on optimizing your political campaign. We also offer an award-winning cloud based Campaign Manager so you can easily track your campaign progress. Reach out to us for more information about how we can help your campaign reach its true potential.
