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3 Reasons Why Businesses Are Demanding Colocation

by Eva Gilbert

As the demand for reliable and dependable data management grows, so does demand for colocation services. According to the Stack's Mark Turner, the value of retail colocation reached $2.83 billion in 2013, with a projected high of $5.27 billion expected as soon as 2018.

So what's the big deal with the demand for colocation? As it turns out, there are several factors that continue to drive the colocation market, especially as cloud services grow in popularity among both businesses and consumers.

Colocation Provides Plenty of Bang for the Buck

Prior to the advent of affordable colocation, most businesses depended on in-house solutions for their data management needs. Keeping the nuts and bolts of the data management operation in-house offered plenty of flexibility in terms of upgrades and customization, but it also proved a drain on finances and resources. Factor in the cost of purchasing, installing and maintaining dedicated equipment along with salaries and training for IT staff and you have a rather hefty impact on your company's bottom line.

Third-party colocation, on the other hand, offers a lot of bang for the corporate buck by outsourcing some of the most expensive aspects of data management. Gone are the expensive in-house equipment and the legions of personnel needed to keep it all intact. Instead, your company only has to worry about monthly fees that are much less expensive than maintaining in-house data management.

For those worried about whether colocation has the muscle to handle their data needs, the equipment used in colocation facilities also packs a healthy punch. The typical equipment used by colocation services is not only more powerful than most in-house builds, but they also offer a smaller dimensional and environmental footprint.

Colocation Makes It Easier for Businesses to Keep up with Technology Trends

Staying abreast of the latest technologies is a given for most businesses. But keeping track of changes beyond a company's core competencies can be an energy-intensive task, especially when new developments involving data infrastructure come at a lightning-fast pace.

This often makes it difficult and expensive for businesses with in-house equipment to stay ahead of the curve with software and hardware changes to their data infrastructure. It's especially difficult for companies that have large sums of money invested in pre-existing data infrastructure and a limited financial and personnel budget to accomplish any major changes to existing systems.

With data infrastructure as its core competency, a colocation facility is better positioned to remain ahead of the curve. Colocation providers can respond to new and pending developments, offering improvements in bandwidth and overall performance much faster than businesses with in-house infrastructure. With the help of a colocation provider, businesses can remain at the forefront of new and improved technologies without taking on the costly and time-consuming burden of continuous development and personnel training.

Colocation Providers Can Handle Security Issues with Relative Ease

The digital arena has always had its fair share of dangers, especially when it comes to sensitive and confidential data. Not only must businesses contend with keeping their most valuable data secure, but also navigate the labyrinth of federal compliance measures such as HIPAA and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

These concerns have made colocation an attractive solution for companies concerned with digital and physical security, but without the impact it would have on staff and operations had it been left up to an in-house team. Instead, businesses are leaving the security and compliance aspects of data management to off-premises experts who are well-versed in dealing with ever-evolving security threats and compliance statutes.

In addition to dealing with data storage, archiving, encryption and retrieval demands, colocation providers also handle facility security. It's not uncommon to see 24/7 video surveillance and well-guarded access customers and personnel.

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