What is a Colocation Data Center?
Types of Colocation Facilities
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.
Retail Colocation
A customer leases space within a data center, usually a rack, space within a rack, or a caged off area.
Wholesale Colocation
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
Hybrid cloud based colocation is a mix of in house and outsourced data center services.
Data Center Tier Standards
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.
Tier 1
- A single, non-redundant distribution path serving IT equipment.
- Non-redundant capacity components.
Tier 2
- All Tier 1 requirements.
- Redundant capacity components.
Tier 3
- All Tier 1 and 2 requirements.
- Multiple independent distribution paths serving IT equipment. Generally, only one distribution path serves equipment at any given time.
- All IT equipment is dual-powered and fully compatible within the topology of a site’s architecture.
Tier 4
- All Tier 1, 2 and 3 requirements.
- The facility is fully fault-tolerant, through electrical, storage and distribution networks.
- All cooling equipment is independently dual-powered, including HVAC systems.
Top 10 Benefits of Moving your Data Center to a Colocation
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.
1.
A predictable and operational expenditure model.
2.
Flexibility and scalability that allows additional capacity (space, power and bandwidth) to be brought on quickly, cheaply.
3.
Better access to space, power, and capacity.
4.
Gain experienced professionals dedicated to data center management managing your infrastructure.
5.
An ecosystem of partners in the same facility.
6.
Lean infrastructure to manage during times of rapid business change.
7.
Resiliency and uptime obtained with best-in-class tools providing a better road map for disaster recovery.
8.
Up-to-date facility infrastructure responds to cooling, power and environmental changes.
9.
Secure facility ensures data integrity.
10.
Colocation service level agreements to ensure services are received as negotiated.
Top 10 Benefits of Moving your Data Center to a Colocation
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.
1.
A predictable and operational expenditure model.
2.
Flexibility and scalability that allows additional capacity (space, power and bandwidth) to be brought on quickly, cheaply.
3.
Better access to space, power, and capacity.
4.
Gain experienced professionals dedicated to data center management managing your infrastructure.
5.
An ecosystem of partners in the same facility.
6.
Lean infrastructure to manage during times of rapid business change.
7.
Resiliency and uptime obtained with best-in-class tools providing a better road map for disaster recovery.
8.
Up-to-date facility infrastructure responds to cooling, power and environmental changes.
9.
Secure facility ensures data integrity.
10.
Colocation service level agreements to ensure services are received as negotiated.
1. A predictable and operational expenditure model.
2. Flexibility and scalability that allows additional capacity (space, power and bandwidth) to be brought on quickly, cheaply.
3. Better access to space, power, and capacity.
4. Gain experienced professionals dedicated to data center management managing your infrastructure.
5. An ecosystem of partners in the same facility.
6. Lean infrastructure to manage during times of rapid business change.
7. Resiliency and uptime obtained with best-in-class tools providing a better road map for disaster recovery.
8. Up-to-date facility infrastructure responds to cooling, power and environmental changes.
9. Secure facility ensures data integrity.
10. Colocation service level agreements to ensure services are received as negotiated.
Top Colocation Providers Worldwide
Equinix
Equinix controls an astonishing 11.5% of the global data center colocation market, according to a recent report, far outpacing the competition. That kind of market share means Equinix is well positioned to serve large enterprises; this demographic is a key element of its strategy, via the construction of hyperscale data centers.
Equinix colocation data centers offer suites, built-to-order private cages, cabinets, and custom cabinet configurations. It has over 220 data centers spread across 52 markets in 24 countries on five continents. In 2020, 91% of Equinix’s energy consumption came from renewable sources.
Small businesses may want to look into other providers, as Equinix doesn’t lease rack space. That said, larger organizations will appreciate Equinix’s global footprint and focus on enterprise customers.
Sungard AS
Sungard Availability Services (AS) places heavy emphasis on security and recovery with its colocation services. This is unsurprising, as Sungard AS is a leading Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) vendor. This provider also offers significant cloud migration support.
Sungard AS has colocation data centers and disaster recovery centers in 45 locations across North America, Europe, and Asia. It offers a wide variety of scalable leasing options, from rack space and per-unit pricing, to cages and private suites.
Organizations looking to retain absolute control over their server management are ill-suited to Sungard AS. However, businesses of all sizes who are looking for a lot of support services will be right at home.
Digital Realty
Digital Realty boasts more data centers globally than Equinix, but lags just beyond them in market share. That said, this vendor is still a giant in the colocation space, and a market leader in interconnection and hybrid cloud infrastructure.
In 2020, Digital Realty completed the acquisition of Interxion, significantly expanding its footprint in Europe. All told, the brand has more than 290 data centers across 49 markets, in 24 countries on six continents. Its housing options range from individual cabinets to cages and private suites. Last year, Digital Realty achieved 100% renewable energy coverage in North America and Europe.
Digital Realty is not a good fit for small businesses, as it lacks rack space leasing options. However, organizations that need flexible network connectivity and bandwidth options, or are looking to adopt a hybrid cloud model, should consider this provider.
China Telecom
China Telecom is a goliath, with 456 data centers in mainland China alone, as well as 187 data centers across 71 metro hubs globally. Aside from its hundreds of data centers, China Telecom is the largest broadband operator in the world.
This vendor offers cabinets, cages, and suites for colocation leasing. While China Telecom supports HIPAA, ISAE-3402, and PCI-DSS compliances, other colocation providers of this size tend to support significantly more compliance.
Businesses operating in Asia should shortlist China Telecom among colocation providers. Even if your needs don’t extend into China, midsize and large businesses with a distributed global workforce should consider China Telecom. However, companies that primarily operate in North America should look elsewhere.
Cyxtera
Cyxtera offers scalable colocation solutions for businesses of all sizes. Further, its data centers are carrier and cloud-neutral, providing flexibility for growing organizations. While it’s not the biggest provider on this list, Cyxtera is an affordable, reliable option.
Cyxtera operates more than 60 data centers across 29 markets in North America, Europe, and Asia. It offers a wide range of colocation leasing — including rack space, cabinet, cage, and suite options.
Cyxtera is ideal for organizations that prefer to handle their own server management, but it does offer tiered support subscriptions to handle day-to-day maintenance.