While virtual and containers are decreasing the number of hardware resources required for a server, growing enterprises will unavoidably require more physical space to host servers. A purpose-built data center, on the other hand, is out of range for so many budgets. As a result, colocation data centers are a better alternative than traditional on-premises server rooms.
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What Is a Colocation Data Center?
A colocation data center is a big data center that allows third-party companies to install their servers equipment. Many businesses cannot afford to construct and maintain their own data centers. Therefore colocation providers fill the void by renting out their space.
It’s critical to distinguish between colocation and cloud computing. “In the cloud, the cloud provider owns the servers, and data is controlled remotely,” according to Interxion. Servers in colocation aren’t owned by a colocation facility, but rather by the company leasing the space.”
Many businesses choose a hybrid approach, in which some operations are physically hosted on-premises. In a personal data center, or through a colocation service, others are hosted on the cloud.
Providers of the Best Colocation Data Centers
There are a lot of colocation providers to choose from, and it can be hard and time-consuming to navigate through them all. Here are our top selections for such best colocation data center providers, in no particular order, to help you narrow your search:
Colocation Data Center Equinix
Equinix has one of the largest global data center footprints, with over 220 data centers in 67 markets and 27 countries spanning five continents. This supplier also has over 2,500 internet connections and uptime of over 99.9999 percent, which is industry-leading.
Equinix offers a wide range of options. You can configure and maintain your deployments in cages, suite, or server cabinets solutions, or even in pods that act as discrete rooms, based on power requirements. There are various risk-mitigation alternatives for financial services organizations, as well as a variety of virtualization options.
Overall, the number of possibilities can be daunting, and small business customers may not receive the same customized attention that the other SMB-focused colocation suppliers can provide, as with many large service providers.
Cyxtera
Cyxtera has approximately 60 data centers located over four continents, with the majority of them in the United States. This extensive coverage is owing in part to its acquisition of CenturyLink’s hardware resources, however, CenturyLink continues to provide network connectivity.
As you’d anticipate from a large corporation, Cyxtera provides a plethora of possibilities. It also offers various degrees of support and specs depending on the demands of the organization. It’s also important to note that the Cyxtera data centers are evenly distributed across the United States, ensuring that latency and lag concerns are minimized across the country.
You can take your cabinets if you don’t want to utilize the ones offered, which could be useful if you have a highly customized server installation and configuration – however keep in mind that Cyxtera experts will have to install it for security reasons.
Overall, this is yet another large provider that should be capable of giving you the necessary hardware support.
Colocation Data Center Sungard AS
With its colocation services, Sungard Availability Services (AS) focuses heavily on security and recovery. Sungard AS is a top Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) provider, thus this is unsurprising. This company also provides a lot of help with cloud migration.
Sungard AS has 45 data centers and disaster recovery facilities throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. From space utilization and the per pricing to the cage and private suites, it offers a wide range of scalable lease choices.
Sungard AS is not recommended for organizations that want complete control over their server management. Businesses of all sizes, on the other hand, will feel right at home if they require a large number of support services.
China Telecom
China Telecom is a behemoth, with 456 data centers across mainland China and 187 data centers spread over 71 metro hubs worldwide. This telecom is the world’s largest broadband operator, with hundreds of data centers.
Colocation leasing is available from this seller in the form of cabinets, cages, and suites. While China Telecom provides PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and ISAE-3402 compliance, other collocation providers of this size typically support much more.
China Telecom should be on the list of colocation suppliers for Asian companies. Midsize and big organizations with a distributed worldwide workforce might consider China Telecom, even if their needs don’t extend to China. Companies that operate largely in North America, on the other hand, should seek elsewhere.
Colocation Data Centers Tierpoint
Tierpoint, including over 40 data centers across the United States, is another prominent provider. The most important thing to remember is that some of these tend to be in eastern states, which suggests that they are best suited for US and European activities in terms of connectivity, but latency difficulties may be an issue when connecting to Asia.
As one might anticipate, there are a plethora of colocation alternatives available. A contingency planning workspace is a very useful feature because it allows you to isolate yourself in a private location while you try to sort out a large task or recovery procedure. Tierpoint also offers migration services, which make switching from another supplier as painless as possible.
Tierpoint provides a standard set of options, which means it should be simple to satisfy and support you. This company is a major player and should be able to deliver; simply keep an eye outside for a location that works best for you.
Colocation Data Centers Digital Realty
Digital Realty has more data centers worldwide than Equinix, but it is only slightly ahead of them in the share of the market. Having said that, this vendor is still a colocation behemoth as well as a market leader in connections and hybrid cloud hosting.
Digital Realty completed its acquisition of Interxion in 2020, significantly expanding its European footprint. In total, the company operates more than 290 data centers in 49 markets, 24 countries, and six continents. Individual cabinets, cages, and private suites are among its housing options. Digital Realty achieved 100 percent renewables protection in North America and Europe last year.
Because it does not offer rack space leasing, Digital Realty is not a good fit for smaller companies. Organizations that approach existing network access and bandwidth options, or who want to implement a hybrid model, should look into this provider.
Data Foundry
Data Foundry is a significant player in Texas, having owned some data centers in Austin and Houston. While this may appear to be a geographical limitation for the company. Texas has proven to be an excellent central hub for control and data across America. Using carrier-neutral data centers means that you should be able to reach your customers in any US state with minimal lag or latency.
Data Foundry advertises that not only has business made – to – order its data centers. But all engineers are company employees instead of contractors. This means that all of the expertise you require is already on-site.
The one caveat is that you should keep a close eye on contract lengths because you may like to avoid having signed multi-year commitments if your IT needs to be updated during the contract period.
Colocation Data Center CoreSite
CoreSite is also another significant player in the US market, including over a dozen data centers spread across the country, primarily along the coasts, but also in some central locations in the middle. This positions the company as being particularly optimized not only for the US market. However, it is also applicable to the marketplace in Asia and Europe.
While it provides standard colocation packages such as cabinets, cages, and private suites, CoreSite also enables colocation companies to connect up their hardware across multiple data centers, making them particularly Cloud and network providers, as well as enterprises, will find this useful.
Overall, CoreSite is a solid provider with a good variety of locations and an impressive range of colocation options, backed by excellent network hardware and IT infrastructure.
Who Need the Service of a Colocation Data Center Provider?
Any company that wants to move their data centers off of not constructing their own data centers. It should consider using a colocation data center provider.
Furthermore, large enterprises with their own data centers. May choose to use a colocation provider to implement their servers in additional locations. In a recent interview with eWeek, Karl Strohmeyer, Equinix’s Chief Customer, and Revenue Officer talked about the theory behind this practice.
“Sophisticated CIOs are leveraging cloud-based services in a best-of-breed capability set, and what we provide them is a platform from which to consume that,” Strohmeyer explained. “They’ll want to accommodate some personal workloads in the data center,” says the expert. They do, however, really want these workloads to be proximate towards the clouds and apps they’ll be using.”
Selecting a Data Center Colocation Provider
Each organization will have unique requirements. But there are many distinguishing factors to consider when selecting a colocation data center provider.
Price
Because the colocation market is competitive, pricing should be able to compete and accordance with your company’s space requirements.
Colocation Data Centers Location
If your company is geographically dispersed, it’s worth considering a provider with different data centers. Alternatively, if your team requires regular maintenance, selecting a data center close to the head office will be advantageous.
Reliability
Because they specialize in power usage planning, backup or recovery data, and low-latency networking, most colocation data centers are extremely dependable.
Colocation Data Centers Security
The physical security of the data center should prioritize by the colocation provider. That should implement measures such as locking racks, security guards, and limited entry points. It should be noted that your company will still need to apply server security software on its hardware.
Conclusion
The best Data Center Companies for you will differ depending on your needs and budget.
CoreSite Enterprises that have distinguished themselves from the competitors in the market have focused on bridging the gap among information, applications, partners, and users, resulting in improved performance and customer.
IT Transformation for Resilient Business Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS) assists businesses in transforming their IT environments to ensure resilience and recoverability. We use our experience across a wide range of IT landscapes to match the right people with the right jobs.
