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If you're an organisation that does not have the room or finance to possess your own on-premises server room to house your IT Compute storage and network equipment, you may have heard someone mention to you about considering looking at using a colocation facility. Although, you may have heard of the term, you may not know what it is and how using one could benefit you and your business. With the Global Data Colocation market expected to grow to $51 billion by 2022, according to marketresearchfuture.com, it is probably something you should be considering if you haven't done so already.
Known as either 'colo', 'co-location', or 'colocation', this type of third party facility enables companies to house their servers and networking equipment offsite removing the need to invest in a server room in-house. By renting out space in a colocation facility you can be assured that your IT Compute is held within a facility that will provide security, resilience, availability, and connectivity whilst allowing you access as and when you require.
One of the major advantages of opting for a colocation facility solution is that you can have as little as 1'U' of rack space enabling even smaller organisations to have their IT Equipment located in state-of-the-art facilities, which can be easily scaled up as the company grows. There is also the added benefit of having no surprise bills, with data centres utilising vast amounts of energy consumption it can be costly, but by renting colocation space you will pay a fixed monthly fee for your power and connectivity enabling accurate budget forecasting.
What is a 'U'?
Space within a colocation rack hosting facility is rented out as 'racks' and 'cabinets'. A rack is a frame which houses equipment and hardware. The equipment that is placed in a rack is measured in rack units (U). The cost of renting space is calculated by the number of units required. An average full-sized rack is 42U and is known as a 'cabinet' and can be rented out in its entirety or as much as is required.
Benefits of Colocation
Colocation facilities often possess the latest technology enabling small businesses to benefit from the latest cooling and fire suppression systems. Additionally, they often provide higher levels of bandwidth and have the guarantee of a reliable power supply 24/7 equipped with UPS and backup generators. Heightened levels of security are also in place as well as onsite support to ensure constant availability of your Compute functionality.
As your company grows, it is easy to increase the number of 'U' that you require and if need be it can be decreased as well providing complete flexibility. Ideally you want to be able to access your equipment as and when required therefore location is key, but colocation hosting is the perfect cost-effective solution if office space or resources are limited.
Workspace Technology provide a colocation rack hosting facility in Sutton Coldfield offering space from 1'U' to unlimited racks. For more information contact 0121 354 4894 or email sales@workspace-technology.com.