A data center colocation facility is generally classified as one of two types: retail or wholesale. A third type has recently become common, hybrid cloud-based colocation facilities.
A customer leases space within a data center, usually a rack, space within a rack, or a caged off area.
A tenant leases a fully built data center space, generally at a cheaper rate than retail vendors, but with lower power and space requirements.
Hybrid cloud based colocation is a mix of in house and outsourced data center services.
The Uptime Institute has a grading system for operational sustainability to augment tier standards. The tiers focus on the design of the colocation data center facility; the operational sustainability grades target how well the facility is actually run.
The decision may not always be clear when it comes to a build or move choice. Here are some reasons you might want to move to a colocation facility.
A predictable and operational expenditure model.
Flexibility and scalability that allows additional capacity (space, power and bandwidth) to be brought on quickly, cheaply.
Better access to space, power, and capacity.
Gain experienced professionals dedicated to data center management managing your infrastructure.
An ecosystem of partners in the same facility.
Lean infrastructure to manage during times of rapid business change.
Resiliency and uptime obtained with best-in-class tools providing a better road map for disaster recovery.
Up-to-date facility infrastructure responds to cooling, power and environmental changes.
Secure facility ensures data integrity.
Colocation service level agreements to ensure services are received as negotiated.
