The advantages of colocation data solutions

In this article we explore what colocation services provide for businesses and the many positive benefits. 

The Benefits of Colocation

Colocation facilities can be valuable partners in reducing IT costs, improving flexibility and creating robust, highly available infrastructure that connects seamlessly to multiple clouds. In addition, colocation facilities provide not only rapid setup in professionally managed data centers, but also reliable on-ramps to the internet through shared high-speed pipes.

Colocation Data Centre Definition

Although some businesses perceive a two-way choice between an in-house data centre or hosted infrastructure, colocation data centres are the third option. The principle of a colocation data centre is that an organisation leases space in a similar fashion to a cloud-based model. In contrast to the cloud model, the network infrastructure and data servers are privately owned and managed by the company taking out the lease.

Types of Colocation Facilities

There are a few different types of colocation data centres:

Retail

Clients lease space in a retail colo data centre e.g. a fenced-off space or a rack.

Hybrid Cloud

This consists of a combination of outsourced data centre solutions and onsite facilities. 

Wholesale

For wholesale, the client leases a fully-constructed data centre space.

The Advantages of a Colocation Data Centre

Deploying IT assets in a colocated data centre bestows a number of advantages:

• Flexibility Of Location: You can store your data and IT resources at  colocation data centre facilities in any location. You have the freedom to house your infrastructure closer to clients and staff, or in a location with faster internet connectivity or less vulnerability to natural disasters.
• Higher Reliability: A colocation data centre has the necessary resources to deploy and maintain redundant and resilient systems. This provides a higher level of reliability than many in-house systems.
• Lower Labour Costs: Housing your data in a colocation data centre reduces the need for  technical staff to manage in-house facilities. At IP House our staff manage your data for you.
• Reduced Costs: Colocation services enable economies of scale as we support the data of multiple customers in one data centre. Therefore,  clients can build data systems at a lower cost than if they stored their data in-house.
• Scalability & Affordability: As your business expands and seeks to advance digitally, a colocation data centre allows scaling both rapidly and at affordable rates to suit your data requirements.

Colocation & Cloud Computing

With the rise of cloud computing over a decade ago, many organizations began to divest themselves of servers and storage entirely as they shifted infrastructure responsibility to cloud providers. Initially, some people said that the cloud was a threat to the colocation industry because hyperscale computing would obviate the need for businesses to own equipment. Yet ironically, cloud is fuelling a rebirth and a resurgence of colocation in a new form.

The Global Colocation Market Growth and Interconnection

A survey of more than 300 IT professionals by Enterprise Management Associates found that 84% expect their cloud traffic to grow over the next three years. The global colocation market is expected to reach $90 billion in 2024, up from $35 billion in 2017, according to Global Market Insights. A principal driver of this growth is interconnection, or private data exchange between businesses. Interconnection is best done in a vendor-neutral data center where a large ecosystem of vendors, customers and cloud providers are clustered together. The interconnection market is growing even faster than the colocation market, with revenues expected to more than double from $3.48 billion in 2019 to reach $7.65 billion in 2025, according to Mordor Intelligence.

IP House Colocation

IP House offers an ultra-resilient, private facility in the London docklands. As a Carrier Neutral operator, you can access virtually any connectivity service through a choice of Tier I and Tier II providers. From Dark Fibre to Fully Managed MPLS/LAN/WAN, we can help drive your business through the power of efficient networks. We have quarter, half and full rack colocation hosting in the UK with A + B dual power feeds included. All of our racks are situated within secure, cold aisle containment. With 24/7 and 365 day access and support, IP House is always on hand to serve the data needs of businesses. A guaranteed optimum blend of uptime, security, and accessibility. 

With IP House colocation services, your business's technical infrastructure is securely located in our dedicated racks and protected by industry leading technologies.



Would you like to find out more about IP House's Colocation Data Centre services for your business? Please fill out the contact form below and we will get back to you.

(Based on an article from 2020 called 'The Colocation Solution')