As expenses of operating and maintaining in-house data centers climb, organizations are evaluating their infrastructure and aiming to decrease on-premises data center capacity. Colocation data centers are gaining popularity as they give consumers a convenient and affordable alternative to building and maintaining their own data centers. According to data, as of right now, there are 1,585 colocation facilities in the US that number is predicted to continue growing.
If you’re thinking about employing a colocation provider, selecting the best vendor to meet your data center requirements may be a challenging choice that requires careful consideration of a variety of factors. With the typical colocation contract lasting three to five years, it’s crucial to choose a provider that matches your requirements now and in the future to avoid the hassle, expense, and downtime of shifting data centers every few years.
In order to make the best decision for your business, keep in mind the following factors when choosing a colocation data center.
Evaluate Your Needs
You can narrow down potential data centers that provide colo services by understanding what you need. Determine your short-term and long-term goals, your technological and commercial needs, and your expected rate of expansion.
Starting with what you already have, projecting your scalability requirements, and figuring out what services you need will help you find the best colocation data center. If you’re unsure where to start, consider engaging a consultant or meeting with industry specialists to help you evaluate your needs.
Location
When deciding on a colocation data center, consider if its location is the greatest fit for your company. Choosing a colocation facility close to your in-house IT department makes for easier maintenance and disaster recovery. Distant locations may be difficult for IT professionals to reach and may need external or remote assistance. To further reduce network latency, it’s ideal for businesses to position their IT assets in close proximity to their workloads.
Moreover, natural calamities such as earthquakes, floods, and storms occur more often in one place than another. Data centers in disaster-prone areas are built to the greatest structural safety requirements and are outfitted with disaster-response technology.
Ensure They Have a Disaster Plan
Although certain areas may be more susceptible to natural catastrophes like earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, or hurricanes, all colocation data centers should have a disaster recovery strategy in place to prevent expensive downtime or data loss.
To make sure your service is not interrupted, research the colocation facility’s policies on equipment protection, service restoration, data backup, and emergency drills.
Scalability
A colo service provider should be able to handle your present demands while also accommodating future growth. The scalability that colocation data centers provide is one of their primary advantages as it eliminates the exorbitant expense of developing and maintaining additional data center space.
Growing in your colocation should simply be a question of acquiring extra capacity, but you should be confident that your provider can manage your planned expansion.
Security
While looking for a colocation data center, it is essential to consider both physical and cyber security. Physical security measures might include a walled or gated perimeter, a single point of entry, stringent facility access requirements, security personnel, cameras, locking cabinets with RFID card access, and so on.
Review any governance and compliance requirements if your company is in a highly regulated field to make sure you are securing your assets and data by industry standards. Decide what degree of security is necessary for your equipment and data and validate that your colocation service provider can deliver it.
Sustainability
Understanding the extent to which a prospective colocation data center is committed to sustainable practices is crucial for businesses that want to have a positive impact on the environment. Find out whether the data centers you’re considering for colocation use green methods to cut down on energy use.
Managed Services
You won’t have your own personnel on-site at a colocation data center, so you’ll need to depend on the managed services or remote hands services they provide. A certain degree of assistance is often included in the cost of colocation; however, emergency or specialty services may come at an extra fee or be restricted to certain hours or days. To find the best match, establish the services you need and ask whether the potential colo data center provides them.
Final Thoughts
Moving to a colocation data center has several advantages, such as a stable and manageable cost structure, increased availability of space, power, and capacity, simplified management in the face of accelerating business transformation, and a safe and secure environment in which to store data. Many businesses find colocation to be an appealing option, but it’s important to make an educated selection when choosing a provider.
