In the age of digitalisation, many businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on their digital infrastructures. However, a good majority of these organisations are reluctant to invest in an in-house data centre, and for good reason: it can be expensive, have low availability, and cause a drain on resources.
Server colocation services are an excellent alternative to consider. Read on to learn more about server colocation and how it benefits your business.
What is server colocation?
Server colocation, or “colo,” refers to hosting services where a business or individual can rent space in a third-party provider’s facility for their servers or other networking equipment.
Time and cost savings
Building an in-house data centre is extremely time-consuming: you would have to look for and purchase the right land and go through several approval processes, which may take up to several years. Furthermore, you would have to channel a significant amount of financial resources to support this endeavour.
If you urgently require a facility to house your equipment, server colocation services are the better option; they allow your company to quickly access and utilise the new capacity. Additionally, these data centres benefit from economies of scale. As they support multiple customers simultaneously, they are typically more cost-effective.
Lower personnel requirements
When operating an in-house data centre, you need personnel to deploy, configure, and maintain different data centre components and technical processes.
There is no need to worry about these tasks in a colocated data centre: your Managed Service Provider (MSP) will attend to these duties, reducing the need for in-house technical personnel.
Smooth operation
As an in-house team’s attention is typically split between various tasks, such as providing help desk support to other employees and assessing potential cyberthreats, it is challenging for them to react immediately when a problem arises.
Colocation providers employ sufficient experienced employees who can effectively protect your resources 24/7.
High levels of availability
Unplanned downtimes and disruptions are detrimental to your business; if your IT systems fail, your clients may be unable to access your digital offerings, and your employees’ productivity may suffer. As such, every business benefits from high levels of IT availability.
High availability is more easily achievable by data centre providers with comprehensive technical and organisational measures like fire protection systems, cooling systems, and emergency power supply.
High scalability
Colocation services allow businesses to scale their infrastructure capacity without undertaking costly construction or facility leasing.
While the availability of physical space limits an in-house data centre’s capacity, colocation allows you to increase or decrease server needs over time; hence, it will be easier to accommodate changes in traffic demand.
Sustainability
Fewer resources are required to build a single, large facility than multiple, small data centres. For example, a big data centre can be optimised for power, cooling, and data storage capacity needs, thus reducing energy consumption.
Conclusion
Server colocation services can benefit your business, offering time and cost savings and allowing for greater scalability.
If you’re looking for high-quality yet affordable colocation services, check out IT Block. We are an MSP that provides IT management services. We provide IT services such as on-site support and IT consultation.
