colocation services – Netwise Blog

There are currently over 4,735 colocation data centres in 126 different countries. More companies are recognising the need for colocation services in properly maintaining their business operations. Otherwise, technical difficulties could cause their business to stall or even crash.

Colocation allows you to share data centre space with other companies, when housing critical IT equipment, such as servers. Installing your hardware in an offsite, well-managed data server can keep various operational and technical limitations from hurting your business. Meanwhile, you still have excellent control over costs, support, uptime and security measures.

Still on the fence about exploring a colocation service this year? Here are a few reasons you shouldn’t wait.

1. Save money

How can your company save money and boost profits this year? Colocation could definitely help.

In order to run your business efficiently and effectively, it’s important to look at ways to control costs. It’s extremely common for businesses in all industries to need notable IT infrastructure these days, particularly given the current reliance on remote working (which is likely set to stay).

On-site infrastructure can use a lot of power. The more power needed to run you setup, the more cooling you’ll need in turn. In other words, you’ll have to consider power and cooling costs, which can quickly drain budgets.

What about your bandwidth / connectivity? You’ll need to factor that in as well, and the chances of delivering this to a suitable standard for round-the-clock uptime is unlikely.

You’ll also need to hire well-trained staff to ensure your infrastructure works as intended.

Each one of these costs can very quickly add up.

When you share a data centre through use of a colocation service, you’re also sharing the energy costs. Meanwhile, you won’t have to worry about hiring and training a team. Instead, you’ll have peace of mind that trained professionals are already keeping your critical equipment safe.

Look for a managed colocation service that offers everything you need. For example, you might want to consider:

Space
Power
Connectivity
Security
Support
Redundancy / resilience

Being able to flexibly chose just the services you need to the relevant specification, like your connectivity services, will help you keep costs under control. At the same time, you won’t have to stress about outages anymore. That downtime could cost you money, and clients as well.

By switching to a colocation service, you can save money, focusing on making money instead.

2. Get more space

Access to rack and powered floor space is one of the main benefits of a colocation service. Your IT equipment is likely taking up a lot of valuable space in your office. You don’t really want to cram all of your critical equipment into a less-than-suitable room on-site, for many reasons.

If you’re hoping to expand your business, you might have to move your servers to another location, which could take valuable time. Beyond that, it’s also a stressful process.

You can’t keep expanding your internal comms room space every time your company requirements grow.

Instead, consider an outsourced colocation service. Choosing a reputable colocation provider will give you the high-specification data centre space you need. They can also provide you with the flexibility to make changes whenever you choose.

By using a colocation centre, you can free up space in your own offices without having to worry about where your critical kit will end up.

3. 24/7 support

Does your on-site team know how to fix every problem you might encounter with your servers and other related equipment? By outsourcing to a colocation service provider, you won’t have to worry about this anymore. Instead, you’ll have expert 24/7 support available whenever you need it.

You’ll always have a team of experienced engineers to answer your questions. They can even help to improve your current setup.

Switching to a colocation data centre gives you a source of reliability, too. You won’t lose valuable time and money caused by equipment outages or downtime. Some data centres offer additional disaster recovery plans to help further prevent any possibility of downtime.

When storing your servers on-site, you could end up with a wide range of tough-to-resolve problems. Each problem can lead to unexpected costs as well. You could have a difficult time predicting your budget.

Storing your servers off-site, however, gives you that predictability. You’ll know exactly how much you’re paying each month.

4. Improve your security

Security issues have become a large problem in recent years. By switching to a colocation service, you can give your customers much greater peace of mind. You’ll know their private information is well-protected.

Colocation centres offer world-class security to their end customers. A provider might offer security systems like biometric scanners and coded access panels. Some offer anti-tailgating technologies as well.

What about their facilities? Many colocation buildings are guarded against tornadoes, floods, storms, fires, and other natural disasters.

Others utilise backup generators to make sure your servers keep running, even if the power goes out.

5. Boost uptime

Downtime costs companies about $5,600 per minute. That’s over $300,000 an hour when you’re dealing with a major outage.

Data centres are located in areas that minimise the risk of human-made and natural disasters. They make use of advanced electrical systems that can be relied on 24/7/365. By choosing a colocation service, you can reduce risks and improve uptime.

Does your company have a disaster recovery plan in place? Make a colocation service part of that plan for your business. This will help to ensure your critical systems keep running still running, before, during and after a disaster.

6. Scalability

Is your business prepared to grow? You’ll need to keep your IT infrastructure in mind. Otherwise, you could struggle to upsize (or downsize) based on your unique requirements.

Look for a colocation centre that offers scalable service options. They’ll help you adjust your services based on your current and future needs. That way, you’re never paying for too much space.

If you need to grow, you can scale up your plan as required. Failing this, you could struggle to provide your customers with everything they expect from your business.

Set up for success

Don’t let technical issues and server problems slow you down this year. Instead, consider making use of a colocation service. By choosing a best-in-class provider, you can set your business up for success in 2021!

Want to work with one of the UK’s leading colocation service providers? We’re here to help!

Get in touch with our team today to discover how we can help your business!

Jules Verne was right about so many things.

After all, the concept of nearly unlimited computer systems holding the full store of human knowledge is practically a reality. Experts estimate data storage totalling 175 zettabytes by 2025.

The Jules Verne visions of the modern era viewed through a 19th Century lens look very different from the actual article. The submarine, for instance, is much less a luxurious masterpiece than a precisely engineered marvel.

The same can be said of data centres. Colocation services mean that the clunky, out-of-date in-house comms room is replaced with efficient, modern and cost-effective data centre solutions.

Trends in colocation services

Maintaining on-premise space for IT equipment instead of people is a choice many businesses are weighing up. The cost of commercial space in pricey Mayfair in London, for example, is £115 GBP per square foot. Would you rather have that space occupied by your valuable sales force, or your computer systems?

Even though the trend for server size moves ever smaller, many companies find it more cost-effective to house their servers in a purpose-built space. However, why maintain that space in-house? Much like companies rent office space rather than building and maintaining a facility of their own, colocation services fill the same need.

Old school data centres to colocation

Building and maintaining a server farm is a daunting process. Computer processing equipment used to take up entire rooms and require countless dedicated operators. That slowly changed a single large room of equipment. Now, what used to take dozens of operators and acres of space is contained within just a few racks.

Refurbishment of space and infrastructure can prove costly. Many companies have elected to give up their old in-house data centres. The associated capital expenditures of building, maintaining and updating an in-house data centre rarely pencil out.

Colocation services provide the building, cooling, power, bandwidth and physical security; the perfect environment for clients to house their own servers and storage equipment.

Not everything is in the cloud

Ongoing data breaches and scandals mean that many companies try to avoid cloud solutions for some core proprietary functions. Control over their own servers and data is a growing primary concern. Colocation is the ideal solution to this concern.

Many enterprise management software platforms base themselves on and around critical network architecture. A cloud-based service simply doesn’t work well to this end. For companies with highly customised software, maintaining a proprietary network makes sense.

Companies making the transition to cloud-based services may find that colocation is an important step in the transition, and forms the basis for any fixed workloads in a hybrid solution for the future.

Hybrid cloud

Getting services closer to the end-user is a goal for many IT professionals. Cloud services offer great mobility and access, but do not protect company data as effectively as hardware under direct company control. Apps and tools to make this bridge simpler are part of any modern, agile colocation service.

A mixed approach to infrastructure is often the answer. User automation, micro-services, APIs, easy software-based provisioning; with these elements in mind, the ongoing management of the various different infrastructure types into a seamless whole is the challenge.

The right provider can offer services that let a company’s IT department create dynamic, hybrid solutions; fixed workloads in colocation interconnected with flexible workloads and content delivery networks in the cloud.

Carrier readiness

5G mobile networking is an estimated 100x faster than existing 4G networks. Telecom providers turned London on in 2019, and other cities are expected to have full 5G service in a short time. User-facing service providers need to be ready for the rapid changeover, bringing with it much-increased demands on data, enabled by faster download speeds.

Colocation services offer superior network connections in many different ways, offering a blend of different carriers. More than one carrier is always recommended for redundancy and reliability.

Prepared for growth, prepared for disaster

Unlike self-maintained and owned data centres, outsourced colocation means that changes or interruptions to business are quickly recoverable. Colocation services offer:

Redundant network connections – business-critical applications run around the clock
Redundant power – a combination of the power grid, backup generators, and battery backup systems protect against service interruptions
Room for growth – colocation allows for infrastructure expansion without having to take on additional capital expenditure
24x7x365 support on-site – experienced technical personnel are on-site for emergency and routine maintenance

Our London Central data centre also offers a fully serviced, 33 desk business continuity suite inside our 11,000 square foot facility. The central London location takes advantage of well-developed telecom network access and proximity to many major companies / operators.

Is colocation right for your company?

Trends in colocation services indicate a need for companies to save operating costs as well as protect against business interruptions. Colocation is also an effective way to expand workloads without expanding footprints in existing office facilities.

Colocation will usually provide significant savings in the management of critical IT infrastructure. The day-to-day operational care of the servers, power and cooling will be outsourced to a specialist operator. Colocation services will almost always provide improved resilience over in-house operations.

Companies that have great variability or seasonality in their data resource utilisation may find colocation solutions useful. Spikes in usage are absorbed by the whole, often at a lower cost.

Colocation services offer a combination of flexibility, cost savings, and reliability.

How can Netwise help?

Netwise provides global-level colocation services in private facilities. Our bespoke tools, built entirely-in-house, provide both large and small users alike with the reliability and up-time they need for faultless technical operations, around the clock.

Netwise offers:

Superior London and European locations
100% renewable energy
Sustainable and eco-friendly cooling systems
Fully-stocked build rooms
33 desk workplace recovery suite
Leading SLA
10+ years track record

Contact us today to discuss your critical IT infrastructure needs.

Tag / colocation services

Why a colocation service provider is a crucial part of your business data management