Although originals remain in the vault, Corbis sells rights to use the likenesses, which ensures that Corbis is self-sufficient. Even though famous photographs of celebrities -- such as Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and Franklin Delano Roosevelt among them -- attract our attention, the vast majority of images have never been seen and may later be used by historians, writers and researchers to offer fresh insights that help illuminate that period when analog photographs played a prominent role.
Although those objects capture the past, they also represent the future. That notion is reflected in the world of business information. Though much of what we think of as valuable has since lost its immediate usefulness, its preservation helps ensure its ability to provide value and context at some later point.
Of course, the Underground is home to information stored in modern data center environments. The facility includes datacenters owned by customers such as Marriott and Iron Mountain itself.
The company is proudest of a highly efficient and innovative data center called Room 48, which is possibly the most environmentally friendly data center that exists. Many years ago there was a movement toward fully automated "lights-out" data centers, which turned out to be more hype than substance. However, Room 48 is truly lights-out except when someone walks into the room. In Room 48 the servers sit directly on the limestone floor (remember the limestone is dry) and are cooled from ducting above rather than using raised floors. Blowing cold air down is easier than blowing cool air up in the raised-floor model because cool air naturally falls.
Speaking as the former manager of a Fortune 500 data center, another nice aspect of Room 48 is the elimination of the rat's nest of cables underneath the raised floor. Trying to fix or replace cables and eliminate issues such as crosstalk in a raised-floor environment is not pleasant.
