Why are companies moving primary data centers to wholesale colocation facilities like Lifeline Data Centers? Part 7

Why are companies moving primary data centers to wholesale colocation facilities like Lifeline Data Centers? If data center power costs are high, selecting the right outsource data center can significantly reduce the long-term costs of power.

Are the data center power costs too high at the company’s primary data center? The cost of power per kilowatt hour can vary greatly from region to region.

Are the costs of data center power too high at the company’s disaster recovery center? You should evaluate the regional costs of power in all data center sites to make sure you that the long-term costs of power make sense. Chicago colocation power costs are some of the highest in the Midwest. Colocation facilities and the associated costs of power vary significantly from region to region.

What are the power costs at wholesale colocation facilities? Companies should clearly understand the wholesale data center provider’s cost of power from the utility and whether that cost varies based on usage.

How does the outsource colocation provider charge for power? This may be the most important question to ask. Many outsource data centers charge by the circuit size rather than by the actual power used. That means the company using the data center is always charged for more power than they actually consume. Companies should look for data centers that bill for power based on actual usage. Companies should also understand how the data center provider bills for the data center cooling power, along with the overhead costs of operating (not purchasing) generators, UPS systems and redundant HVAC systems.

Why are companies moving primary data centers to wholesale colocation facilities? Data center power costs are a significant part of the overall operating costs of a data center. The right outsource data center can reduce the company’s cost per kilowatt hour and bill for data center power as a company uses it.

In Part 8 of this series, we’ll address how wholesale colocation can help when a company is swapping primary data center and disaster recovery center sites.

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.