How Data Center Colocation Works: A Practical Guide

Staying competitive in a digitally driven industry means relying heavily on tech solutions. This means finding a robust server infrastructure to keep your online assets running in stellar condition. However, the cost and complexity of maintaining an in-house data center is not an option for many organisations.

One cost-effective and flexible solution for businesses seeking to outsource their data center needs is colocation. In this guide, we’ll explore what data center colocation is, its advantages, and how colocation works to help you better understand if this suits your enterprise.

What Is Data Center Colocation?

Colocation is essentially a rental service. It refers to renting a third-party data center facility to house your servers, storage, and computing and networking equipment. These colocation facilities will provide you with space, power, cooling, network bandwidth, internet connectivity, and physical security.

Some main features of a data center colocation include the following:

• It is generally a shared and secure space
• The environment is generally cool and monitored
• The bandwidth needs are constantly taken care of to ensure maximum uptime
• Clients can rent a rack, cage, or room, depending on the facility
• Some colocation provides offer managed services

7 Advantages of Colocation Data Center

Uptime and Reliability

The biggest hurdle in ensuring uptime for your server is the maintenance fees that come with it. Depending on the tier you choose, a colocation center will guarantee a specific percentage of uptime. This means uninterrupted service and happier customers for your business.

Plus, remember that colocation centers are custom-built for reliability. They have redundant power sources, climate control systems, and advanced security measures in place to ensure your servers remain operational, even in the face of unforeseen events.

Risk Mitigation and Management

Another advantage of a colocation data center is business continuity.

Instances of natural disasters like fire, flood, etc., or instances of theft, outage, and damage at your premises will not affect your server or network traffic -- since your servers are elsewhere.

If your business does not have an off-site location to store servers, invest in colocation and safeguard your server against risks.

Security

Data security is paramount for servers. Losing your customer's sensitive data can have disastrous consequences for your business, including a loss of USD 4.45 million, as per a recent IBM report.

Consequently, around 51% of organisations plan to increase their security investments, and colocation of servers should be one of them. Invest in a data center that has biometric readers, cameras, check-in desks, and security badges -- this is table stakes.

Cost

Managing a data center in-house is a costly affair, and this is where colocation truly shines.

You do not have to incur costs managing and maintaining the data center or other capital costs. This includes costs relating to UPS, power grids, HVAC units, and more.

All in all, you can avoid the substantial expense of building and maintaining your own data center.

Network Connectivity

These facilities are strategically located with robust network connections, thanks to large bandwidth pipes.

So, whether your team is working remotely or your organisation is growing rapidly, you can rest assured that the servers will have high-speed, reliable internet access round-the-clock.

Scalability

As your business grows, you can expand your server space without the headache of relocating to a new physical location. This is possible as most colocation providers offer flexible options for scaling up or down as needed.

Professional Support

You can’t put a price on peace of mind.

Instead of focusing on how to troubleshoot technical equipment-related issues, you can focus on your customers while certified and skilled technicians take over the maintenance and troubleshooting requirements.

To assess if colocation is suitable for your organisation, consider factors such as:

• The size of your IT infrastructure
• Budget constraints
• Compliance requirements
• Growth projections
• Track record of potential colocation providers

• Security measures of colocation providers
• Service-level agreements

Collectively, these factors will enable you to make an informed decision that aligns with your business objectives and expectations.

Run Your Servers with Zero Hiccups

Remember, colocation is not a one-size-fits-all solution that you can choose and call it a day! You need to assess various parameters before you invest in a space.

If you are looking for a reliable and secure data center to host your servers, Vodien offers different tiers of dedicated server and virtual server plans. You can set up a full rack without the hassle of managing the data center — leave the grunt work to us!