Technology

What Are Colocation Data Centers?

Since the dawn of the modern computing era, companies, especially online businesses have been relying on data centers for the collection, storage, processing, and distribution of a large amount of information to support and manage their online activities.

Today, with the ever-growing volume of data used every minute on the internet, businesses started looking for means to efficiently store these data and provide solutions. Aside from data storage, there’s also a great demand for servers, computers, networking apparatus, security programs, storage, and data management systems that the aging IT infrastructure could not sufficiently support.

This is when colocation data centers come into play—these are third-party data centers available for rent to different enterprises looking to address the limitations of their current network setup.

What Is Colocation?           

The term colocation refers to the housing of physical facilities where privately-owned servers and network equipment are housed along with other entities.

In other words, various companies’ servers and network equipment are ‘co-located’ in one third-party data center. The servers and other assets are still maintained by the respective companies renting the physical space but sometimes, hardware maintenance is covered in the colocation service. If that’s the case, your hardware will thus be maintained by the data center staff.

A data center colocation, otherwise known as colo, is the opposite of in-house data centers located within an organization’s premises. A colo is also different from a public cloud service, in the sense that the servers and network equipment are owned by the cloud service providers themselves and you only pay for the equipment used.  

Succinctly put, you rent the facilities in a data center colocation and rent the equipment in a cloud service.

A full colocation data center is also different from a colocation server rack. The former refers to the leasing of an entire facility to one company, while the latter means renting out rack spaceto multiple companies exclusively.

Additionally, a full colocation data center is also called ‘wholesale colocation,’ while the colocation server rack is also often referred to as ‘retail colocation.’

Colocation is popular among many businesses with limited resources, but want to enjoy all the benefits of a robust data center.

Benefits Of Colocation

There are many benefits to renting a colocation data center. The most significant ones are the following:

. Cost-Effective

Colocation data centers make it possible for businesses to have a lower operational cost. First of all, instead of building your own data center from the ground up, opting for a colocation data center will save you from all the costs associated with building and maintaining the facility.  

If a data center staff is included in the colocation services you paid for, you need not hire technical staff and an IT department to handle day-to-day data center operations.

. Reliability

Colocation data centers are highly reliable. While no one is truly exempt from internet outages, you can expect better protection from colocation servers. They have several backup servers in place, so there’s no need to fret in case of an outage.

Their network setups are also optimized to process high-volume data with minimal delay. Delays can be costly for businesses, particularly for those that require real-time access to data like banking entities, particularly for banking apps.  

. Security

Colocation centers practice rigorous measures for securing and protecting data from unauthorized access. They also utilize security devices like fire detection and suppression systems, mantraps, and CCTV monitoring systems.

. Scalability

You don’t have to worry about scaling your operations when you hire colocation services. As your business grows, you can easily add new servers without stressing about power sources, room temperature, cabling, space, and other aspects that necessitate upgrades every now and then.

. Better Bandwidth

Colocation data centers provide higher levels of bandwidth. Data centers are typically constructed in places designated not just for uninterrupted electrical energy access, but also for internet connectivity. Thus, if you lease colocation data centers, you get a better data transfer rate for the same amount of money you would have spent in a regular office server room.  

Takeaway

While colocation data centers may not be for everyone, there are many benefits in renting one, particularly for businesses aiming for better data processing, storage, and management solutions at lower costs.

Moreover, colocation data centers will help your business adapt to rapid changes and meet new demands. It’s time to assess your business model and its technical needs to determine whether you need a colocation data center for your long-term goals.

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