Looking for a more efficient way to manage your IT operations?
Budgeting for the IT requirements of your business can be a handful at the best of times. Have you ever considered making use of colocation data centres? It may be the best alternative for your data storage and application delivery needs. Find out about colocation, what it is and what it does in this article.
Colocation definition and concept
What is colocation? A colocation facility or ‘colo’ is a third-party location that houses servers and data equipment. The idea of colocation first started when businesses began moving equipment out of their offices in the 90’s.
Back then, rented spaces are getting charged on per-rack settings. It soon evolved into wholesale data centres and now work at a hyper-scale level. Clients may turn to colocation facilities to rent space for their critical IT equipment.
However, rack space isn’t the only thing clients can get from a colocation facility. Clients of colocation facilities will also get resilient power, high-performance connectivity, world-class security, and state-of-the-art cooling, amongst other things.
What is a colocation data centre and what does it do?
Colocation data centres are buildings or warehouses that offer rental spaces for companies. They accommodates their networking equipment, servers, and storage systems.
These data carrier hotels not only provide their clients with the space needed to host their equipment. It also offers necessary services for the best data storage and application delivery, such as:
Power
A colocation data centre provides power for your systems all around the clock for seven days a week. They are also equipped with backup generators in case of power interruptions. This is crucial for businesses that rely on their data servers to deliver service to their clients.
Cooling
Overheating can cause your systems to malfunction and delay progress. Cooling systems can help you prevent this. Colocation facilities provide ample HVAC systems and other cooling technologies to keep your equipment in mint condition.
Bandwidth
A colocation data centre offers high-speed internet access. This allows clients to access their server’s processing power even if they’re away from the colo facility. If you have plans of collocating, you will only need to provide your business’ physical servers and data storage.
Unlike other kinds of data centres, colocation data centres have more flexibility. Its use can range from data storage to the delivery of applications. Many businesses turn to colocation providers for data management as it gives them the freedom to build diverse and well-integrated networks.
Scaling IT infrastructure more quickly and more affordably
The construction and operation of your own business data centre can cost a fortune. This major investment leads companies to sacrifice the quality of work for quicker development. Smaller businesses may also not have the liberty to build their own data centres.
This is where colocation data centres come in. Businesses can cut expenditures for data storage and management. These colo facilities also help their clients with operational costs.
Colocation providers help you minimize costs without foregoing the scale of your IT network. If you’re working on a budget, check out these best offers of rental racks.
Guaranteed uptime in mission-critical services
Colocation data centres protect your uptime by distributing your IT network to more locations. You can rest assured that your business will keep running even if one location goes down. There will always be another location to take over.
You don’t have to worry about losing crucial data like reports or confidential customer information. A colocation centre serves as an extra layer of disaster recovery.
However, it’s crucial to remember that your provider must be within the same tier as your business needs. Checking on your colocation provider’s network mix and tier carriers is also a good thing to do.
Physical security of your data and IT equipment
Traditional data centres focus on IT network storage and computing within their properties. This makes your company data susceptible to physical threats, like theft. Most office buildings are not designed design to prioritize the safety of data servers.
A more centralized network will not only increase the likelihood of break-ins. It’s also more vulnerable to natural disasters that can destroy the equipment itself, such as hurricanes and tornadoes.
With colo facilities, you can ensure that your servers and equipment are secure. Colo facilities are often built based on industry standards for IT governance. Buildings may also adhere to the standards of other forms of security operations in your state.
Colocation providers are responsible for storing your systems, servers, and equipment. As an extra measure, they may review the physical security of your data. This ranges from perimeter security, video surveillance to 24/7 guard presence and biometric scanning.
Testing products and services for cloud fit
It’s important to note that not all applications are cloud-ready. Some applications can still be sensitive to latency. Some can even have heightened security risks.
For these cases, colocation data centres help their clients by testing whether the products and services can fit the cloud. Your chosen provider will create private clouds to test the products and services in a limited time. This can help you confirm if it’s ready for the public cloud.
Building an edge network
With the growth of the Internet of Things, networks must connect with more devices across bigger distances. Colo can close these gaps between your network and its data sources. They help in building edge networks and even support fog computing.
The closer you can bring your network to the edge of its data, the quicker and more secure you can process them.
How you can benefit from a colocation data centre
Colocation data centres have become a prominent way to store and manage business data. Whether it’s a financial relief to a business’ budget plan or securing the physical safety network, a colocation data centre can cover all your IT needs. Here are some of the benefits of colocation and how it can boost your business operations.
Interested in migrating to a colocation data centre? That’s where we come in. Get in touch with us for your colo inquiries and needs.