What Are Colocation Services?

Colocation represents the best solution for businesses aiming to maintain control over their hardware. It involves renting physical space for data centers, placing servers and other computing hardware in a third-party facility. Data Center Knowledge report shares colocation data center market shows annual growth from 10% to over 14%. The colo facility typically offers a cabinet, cage, rack or room on lease.

Many colos offer additional IT-managed services for greater business benefits. Cognitive Market Research forecasts global Colocation Market size USD 61.2 billion in 2024. The Data Center Colocation Market projects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) 5.8% from 2024 to 2031. It results from the rapid adoption of cloud computing and the growing demand for flexible and scalable data storage solutions.

What is Colo?

Colocation, derived from ‘co-location,’ means to locate together. Often referred to as ‘Colo,’ some of its key offerings include:

• Provides extended access to more robust infrastructure
• Offers nearly 100% uptime the SLA (uptime, latency and bandwidth)
• Intelligent monitoring of servers, networks and other devices
• Upfront operational costs making it budget-friendly for businesses
• Super connectivity, security, power, cooling and communication

Global Data Center Colocation Market Sales Revenue in 2030 is expected to touch $ 193.42 Billion

Who Needs a Colocation Establishment?

The organization can virtually rely on colocation services to enhance their IT operations and network security solutions. Whether you’re a startup or looking to recover from a setback, the best colocation solutions can strengthen your existing IT infrastructure both temporarily and long-term. There are several reasons businesses prefer data center colocation services over in-house options.

• Huge capital expenditure associated with premises
• Updating and maintenance of vast computing and networking facility
• Shift from private enterprises to cloud service providers for quick resource expansion

Unlock Colocation Features

Do you want to secure, boost and improve your data servers for uninterrupted business operations? Let’s fret not! Like every other business, features and support values may vary from one organization to another. Colocation providers have their protocols and procedures. Keeping the services transparent, and due diligence by prospective customers is mandatory before contracting with a colo. Let’s understand the key features of the co location facility here.

• Physical security in the form of biometric scanners
• Heating vents and air conditioning resources like a dedicated AC system
• 100% integrity with reliability
• Professional cross-connectivity
• High-speed internet connectivity
• Negligible local telephone company access
• Networking equipment and infrastructure inventory
• Top-graded power supplies with backup generators
• 100% compliance with various regulatory protocols
• Complete on-premises technical support

A variety of configurable enclosures and equipment racks are available for customers to house their data servers and other IT devices.

Comprehensive Guide About Colocation Security

Colocation centers provide storage space to businesses, prioritizing security to avoid mishaps. They implement measures such as erecting fences or dedicated cages to close off areas, and installing quality locking gates to enhance security. Tenants must pass through multiple security checkpoints, ensuring only authorized personnel gain access. These measures collectively restrict access to the data center facility, minimizing the risk of unauthorized entry.

Additionally, colocation providers employ ‘remote hands’ services for hardware maintenance and installation, allowing skilled technicians to manage equipment without tenants being physically present. This practice ensures the proper handling of hardware while maintaining stringent access controls. By utilizing these comprehensive security protocols, colocation centers effectively safeguard each tenant’s hardware, maintaining high levels of security and operational integrity.

Uncover Colocation vs Public Cloud Facility

Both colocation and cloud service providers are handy enabling businesses to streamline their workflow. With the existing difference between the two, let’s dive into the differentiating aspects of both for higher benefits.

Colocation Data Facilities

These facilities provide the required physical data space to businesses with the following capabilities.

1. HVAC service
2. Best network connectivity
3. Enhanced server security and storage
4. Smoothly run workloads in a remote data center

Cloud Service Providers

Cloud services also go to great lengths to ensure streamlined business operations in a secure environment. Some key strengths are jotted down.

• Use their hardware infrastructure
• Support multi-cloud and hybrid cloud computing configurations
• Business run workloads on cloud data center
• It can be located physically anywhere
• Consumption-based pricing

Colocation Faces Challenges and Advanced Solutions

Given the growth rate and knowing the key benefits of colocation services, it is important to look into the challenges as well that serve as an obstacle in harnessing the capabilities of colocation.

Cost of Energy: More pollution Causing

Increasing data center demand invigorates electricity consumption and demands continue to grow by more than 52%. Useless power hogging contributes to pollution and more carbon footprints. The best way is to lean on green data centers backed by renewable energy resources like solar and geothermal. Another way is to use electricity as a backup option and keep the core reliance on renewable options.

Market Consolidation: Raising Security Bar

The colocation data center market is growing like an overnight sensation in the tech industry. Similar is the pace of revenue growth. The unrestricted rise in buying and consolidation of firms is ringing the alarm and raising the security bar, compliance and regulations. The viable solution is to lean on small and mid-sized colocation data centers to come together in the competitive market.

Containerized Data Centers: More Data Control

One of the major problems that colocation data centers measure is the reluctance of CIOs to provide complete authority over IT infrastructure and assets. It ends up in containerized and modular data centers. The best way to resolve this hitch is that colocation data centers should also have containers and modular designs. It helps in harnessing extended benefits.

The colocation data center is evolving with extended facilities to equip businesses and promote an inclusive approach. Before choosing a colocation vendor consider the following factors: cost, competence, and market value. Are you looking for the best colocation services near you in Chicago? Don’t worry. There are multiple leading colocation service providers like AdvancedIT to offer the services that best resonate with your business preferences.