A colocation data center is often simply referred to as a ‘colo’ and it’s basically a large data center that rents out space to other service providers, or third parties, to use as their network equipment. This is a popular service that is used by businesses that may not have the required equipment or resources needed to maintain their own data center.

What is Colocation?

The term colocation refers to many aspects of this type of data center. It mainly references the fact that equipment and service from many different companies are physically located in one data center.It also refers to the concept that one company can have its equipment or even servers located in many different locations. They may have servers in two or three different data centers, and this gives real meaning to the term collocation.

For some companies it’s important to have a global footprint and they want to make sure that their computer systems are located close to their physical offices.

Data center colocation service offers the infrastructure, power, cooling, physical security, bandwidth, etc. while the clients provide both servers and storage. Today, many colocation data centers are expanding their portfolio in order to extend managed services that back their client’s business initiatives.

Colocation facilities offer continuity, scalability, and security for data, applications, and systems and frequently provide access to the most innovative data center technology while preventing the need to build, manage and staff in-house server rooms or data centers, thus giving clients the potential to focus on their business.

Colocation Services and Features

Facilities

With data center colocation services you will have space in a provider’s data center for your own IT hardware. These facilities are also regularly audited to make sure that the equipment is reliable. These facilities can often house a lot of equipment at the same time, so it’s important to make sure it’s up to standard.

Security

Maintain very high levels of security, including physical, on-site security guards that provide security 24/7/365. This includes surveillance and biometric authorization.

Cooling

Colocation data center servers provide cooling systems to protect all the hardware, and this typically includes redundant HVAC systems and chiller configurations, such as centrifugal chillers, water loop pumps, cooling towers.

Power

In terms of power, colocation data centers often have backup generators available, with varying levels of redundancy. They often also have battery backup systems or interruptible power supplies available, depending on the requirements of the facility.

Economies of scale

The large scale of colocation data centers will allow you to benefit from sharing power and space. It can be more cost-effective than owning your own data centers. If you are placed in a geographic region where real estate prices are high, colocation data centers will be able to provide reasonable space.

More redundancies

Colocation data center services are extended to different customers. These facilities offer a number of multiple solutions in order to accommodate the needs of your organization. You will generally get multiple ISPs with different varieties of bandwidth support. You will be provided with a wide range of options and also have access to other solutions if in case one of them fails.

Security

Colocation data centers provide several layers of technical and physical security. Better cameras, technology and security staff provide an enhanced level of protection than what you can afford on all by yourself.

Expert 24/7 Support

Every time an issue comes up in your data center, you will be totally responsible for it. This indeed can be a huge challenge for small businesses that have limited infrastructure experience. With colocation providers, you can get experts who can help you 24×7.

Business continuity

Colocation data centers protect your data against disasters such as flooding, fire, etc. These data centers also take precautions to ensure that the hardware does not get overheated. The temperature in the data center is centrally controlled by air-conditioning and cooling systems prevent the temperature from reaching dangerous levels. To ensure redundancy, you can also choose to have your data stored in two data centers, meaning two different locations far away from each other. All these measures will allow your employees to continue working from a temporary location if a disaster occurs.

With all these benefits, you need not spend too much time wondering how to get in touch with a colocation data center provider. At Zero1zero Innovations, we are aware that small businesses are frequently loaded with managing their IT in-house. These small companies and even bigger companies will eventually turn away their focus from business operations as they will have to deal with maintaining, updating and integrating technology. All these tasks can be managed by an efficient colocation data center provider. Zero1zero Innovations will provide a team of highly skilled IT consultants and engineers who will be responsible for designing, implementing, and supporting your IT infrastructure, thus helping you increase productivity and profitability.

Zero1zero Innovations is ready to work with you and understand your technology requirements in order to get your business running efficiently and quickly.

Colocation Data Center Vs Colocation Server Rack

When you are researching colocation data center options, you will need to understand the difference between a full colocation data center and a colocation server rack. These terms are often used interchangeably, but strictly speaking, there are differences between the two. A data center colocation is when a data center company rents out the entire facility to another company. A colocation rack is when they rent out rack space within the data center to multiple companies.

People often referred to the difference as a wholesale colocation when they speak about renting the entire facility. They also then speak of retail colocation when they are just renting out a certain amount of rack space within the data center to various companies. Most companies, however, will be looking for colocation server racks so that they can have access to the amount of equipment they need.

Many retail colo data centers will also allow companies to rent entire racks, which can then be located in separate cases, for even more security. They can also choose to rent just individual spaces within the rack. Regardless of the facilities that the data center has, colo data center solutions are often the ideal option for many smaller businesses.

In-House Data Center Management Versus Data Center Colocation

While there are a lot of benefits to data center outsourcing, some enterprise organizations prefer to manage their own data for several reasons.

• Data control. If you put important equipment in the hands of someone else, you always run the risk of damage to your equipment or even accidental data loss. Fortunately, most data centers are set up with highly effective redundancy protocols to reduce the likelihood of this happening. But some enterprise businesses with the resources to handle their own data in-house, feel more comfortable doing it this way. They will also be able to immediately fix server issues, which is an added benefit for them.

• Contractual constraints. Enterprise businesses often find that they are unpleasantly surprised when it comes to the limitations in their rental contract. Some of the clauses may include vendor lock-in, or nonrenewal, or even equipment ownership that may not meet their needs.

Choosing a Data Center

When you choose a data center for your company’s needs, you’ll need to ask a few questions, to make sure that you choose the right solution:

• Is the data centre flexible to meet our needs?
• Does the facility support our power needs now and in the future?
• Is network carrier neutral?
• Is this the best location for my data?
• Is the security up to standard?
• Is the center certified with the Uptime Institute?
• Is the data center scalable to support future growth?

If you can answer yes to all of these above, then it might be time to change to a data center that can support your needs and allow your business to grow.

What’s Next for Data Center Colocation?

One of the biggest changes in the industry comes from cloud service providers. They use these colo data centers to meet their heavy storage requirements but at the same time, the industry will always remain fluid as the laws change with regards to cloud storage requirements.

While there is an increase in the demand from cloud service providers, the need for colocation data centers are on the increase and new technology offers rack storage density options that allow these facilities to handle the demand for increased hardware space.

A combination of these aspects will drive significant growth for colocation companies for the next few years. And as the demand increases, so too will the need for virtual and physical security. The ability to ensure the highest standards for security will always be one of the most important aspects that keep the data center on the map.

How Does Colocation Compare with The Public Cloud?

The main difference between a colocation server and a cloud is the way in which data is stored and managed. It is, a matter of having physical assets, compared to virtual ones. Much like colocation, cloud-based infrastructure offers cost savings because of the shared facilities. But, this is also where the similarities end.

With cloud services, the provider manages your servers, storage, and network equipment. the provider’s staff is responsible for setting up these elements and this reduces your operating costs. Colocation requires businesses to set up their own equipment, so this can lead to additional expenses.

The cloud is very convenient, but it can have its downside. Although it’s a great benefit to have cloud providers manage your data for you, the problem comes whenever data needs to expand. More data means additional storage and costs. That’s why industry experts feel that it is more affordable to build a physical data center as opposed to co-location. It is more flexible as businesses only rent the space for its assets. It is different from renting the asset itself which will be limited based on subscription.

Colocation Data Center in Minneapolis

At Zero1Zero, we offer a highly effective, affordable and reliable Minneapolis colocation data center. We know that small businesses are frequently unable to handle their own data and technology needs, which is why we take control of your network and infrastructure.

Zero1Zero Innovations will provide a team of highly skilled IT consultants and engineers who will be responsible for designing, implementing, and supporting your IT infrastructure, thus helping you increase productivity and profitability.

Looking for a reliable colocation data center in Minneapolis? Contact Zero1Zero today at (612) 268-6626 and see why we are a leading MSP in Minneapolis.