ing. Capacity in fiber cabling and the electronics connected to it have the capacity to back up data continuously in real time or at the end of the day. Telephone companies and cellular providers all have data centers. These data centers manage services and applications such as voice mail and messaging that they offer customers. In addition, these companies deploy roomfuls of technicians to remotely monitor and manage their networks. This is done from data on technicians' screens in these data centers. Cellular and telephone companies' data centers monitor and manage: Connections to other networks Connections to subscribers Conditions in their own networks Tracking customers' voice and data usage www.TechnicalPDF.com Billing software with information on each subscriber's voice and data usage and voice and data plan Security Switches used for voice calling E-mail servers The Impact of Cloud Computing on Data Centers Although the criticality of and reliance on applications and databases is increasing, many data centers are shrinking in physical size. When cloud computing was first introduced, mainly small and medium-sized organizations trusted it enough to use it for the majority of their applications. As time went on, more organizations began trusting the cloud and transferring more of their applications and development to cloud platforms. This resulted in smaller data centers and fewer tech staff required to operate data centers because a number of applications are located in the cloud and often managed by the cloud provider. A data center in an organization with most of its applications in the cloud might consist of only a few servers. Hosting VS. Cloud Services Hosting companies such as Markley Group and Rackspace provide secure locations where enterprise organizations store applications. Customers can place their own servers at the hosting site. Cambridge-based Harvard University keeps a server with applications for medical research at the Markley Group's facility in downtown Boston. Researchers access their s