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INDUSTRY FACT FILE · CLOUD, DATA CENTRES & HOSTING

Main Products and Services in Cloud, Data Centres and Hosting

What infrastructure providers offer, the systems behind each service and where they create cybersecurity and compliance exposure.

In this document

1. How infrastructure providers earn their money

2. Services by provider type

3. Facilities and physical infrastructure

4. Virtualisation, control planes and customer access

5. The systems behind the products and services

6. Trends that change the attack surface

7. Mapping services to Codec Networks engagements

1. How infrastructure providers earn their money

Revenue stream	How it works	Security relevance
Compute and storage	Usage-based IaaS and PaaS fees	Control-plane and isolation security
Colocation	Rack space, power and cross-connects	Physical and facility OT security
Managed services	Hosting, backup, DR and managed platforms	Privileged provider access to customers
VPS and bare metal	Monthly server rentals	Abuse prevention and subscriber records
GPU and AI infrastructure	High-value compute rentals	Firmware and resource-abuse risks

2. Services by provider type

Provider type	Main services	Shared systems involved
Cloud service providers	Compute, storage, networking, databases, AI services	Hypervisors, control plane, IAM, APIs
Colocation operators	Racks, cages, power, cooling, interconnection	BMS, power systems, access control, CCTV
Managed hosting providers	Dedicated and virtual servers, private cloud, backups	Hypervisors, management networks, backup systems
VPS providers	Virtual servers, bare metal, IP addresses	Provisioning portals, hypervisors, abuse desks
Backup and DR providers	Backup storage, replication, recovery sites	Backup platforms and replication links

3. Facilities and physical infrastructure

Data centres depend on power, cooling, building management systems (BMS), fire suppression, physical access control and CCTV. Many of these systems are networked and remotely supported by vendors—turning facility operations into a cyber attack surface that can cause multi-customer outages.

4. Virtualisation, control planes and customer access

Customers consume infrastructure through self-service consoles and APIs, while providers run hypervisors, management planes and out-of-band hardware management (BMC/IPMI). Support teams and remote-hands engineers handle tickets with privileged access. Each layer must keep customers separated and attackers out.

Highest-risk moments

Management-plane exposure, console logins, out-of-band access, backup systems and vendor remote access to facility systems are where infrastructure incidents typically begin.

5. The systems behind the products and services

Title: Figure 2: Where cyber risk sits in cloud and hosting operations. - Description: Figure 2: Where cyber risk sits in cloud and hosting operations.

Figure 2: Where cyber risk sits in cloud and hosting operations.

Product / service	Systems that deliver it	Key cyber and compliance touchpoints
Facility operations	BMS, power, cooling, access control	OT segmentation, vendor access, physical security
Hardware management	BMC/IPMI, firmware, out-of-band networks	Isolation, credentials, firmware updates
Virtualisation	Hypervisors and management servers	Hardening, patching, monitoring
Control plane	Provisioning, IAM, billing, APIs	Console and API testing, MFA
Customer onboarding	Registration, KYC, abuse desk	CERT-In records, abuse handling
Backup and DR	Backup platforms, replication	Immutability, isolation, restore tests

6. Trends that change the attack surface

Trend	What is changing	Security implication
AI and GPU demand	Rapid build-out of high-density compute	Firmware, supply-chain and abuse risks
Sovereign and government cloud	Empanelled services for public sector	Higher assurance expectations
Hybrid and multi-cloud	Customers spread workloads across providers	Shared-responsibility confusion
Hypervisor-targeting ransomware	Attackers encrypt at the virtualisation layer	Management-plane isolation critical
Edge sites	Smaller facilities closer to users	Physical and remote-management exposure

7. Mapping services to Codec Networks engagements

If the provider offers…	Recommended starting engagement
Public or private cloud	Control-plane, IAM and tenant isolation testing
Colocation	Facility OT and physical security assessment
Managed hosting	Virtualisation hardening, backup and DR testing
VPS services	Onboarding and CERT-In record-keeping review, abuse process
Services to regulated customers	Empanelment and customer assurance support

Talk to Codec Networks

Contact

Codec Networks Pvt. Ltd.

New Delhi: 507, 5th Floor, New Delhi House, Barakhamba Road, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110001

Gurugram: 707, 7th Floor, Silverton Tower, Golf Course Extension Road, Sector 50, Gurugram – 122018, Haryana

Landline: 011 430 496 96 | 011 437 522 99 Mobile: +91 99716 76124 | +91 88007 88220 | +91 88003 31124

Email: mktg@codecnetworks.com Web: www.codecnetworks.com

Note: Descriptions are general and based on public information available as of October 2026.