What Companies Need to Look for in a Colocation Center

With the demand for colocation centers increasing, companies face the challenge of choosing from among vendors that best accommodate their needs. In 2015, colocation services climbed to $27 billion — a record for the industry, said 451 Research.

The trend can be traced to the increasing demand on data centers and the cost-savings that result from outsourcing instead of building out the data center infrastructure internally, TechTarget noted in a recent article

Here are 4 core areas you should look for in a partnership when outsourcing.

1. Innovation. With data center demands steadily increasing, companies must keep up. A vendor should be able to accommodate your requirements as they shift to meet market demands. This requires a partner that is committed to staying innovative in a wide range of areas, including in the areas listed below.

2. Focused on green initiatives. Not only is going green good for the environment, it can be significant in keeping operating costs down. Also, government mandates are moving toward requiring companies to decrease their dependency on traditional sources of electricity by 2025 — relying on clean sources instead. IDC researcher Kelly Quinn predicted that 2017 will usher in a heavy emphasis on green energy within the data center and colocation industries.

3. Security. Along with heightened security to guard against physical attacks against the facility, colocation centers should be investing in advanced technology to protect clients against the growing threat of cyber attacks.

4. Uptime. Colocation centers should also invest resources in ensuring high levels of uptime — especially with industry demands to maintain connectivity 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Inquire about redundancy and the colocation’s ratings from the Uptime Institute to determine reliability.

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Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.