Colocation is a natural choice for businesses undergoing the process of digital transformation. Here is a quick guide to how colocation can help your business along this journey.
Here are five specific ways using colocation services aligns with the infrastructure requirements of digital transformation initiatives.
For many businesses, colocation provides better overall value for money than either the public cloud or on-premises data centers. As with the public cloud, businesses can get started with little to no upfront investment. They also benefit from shared infrastructure costs and the potential to leverage economies of scale.
In contrast to the public cloud, however, businesses are charged according to the level of resources they access, not the volume of traffic they store and/or process. As a result, the more data businesses generate, the more they save by using colocation. This is hugely relevant to modern, data-driven businesses.
Another major benefit of colocation is that it offers both scalability and customization. This means that businesses can right-size their capacity while also having full control of their equipment. For example, if they wish, they can use highly specialist hardware for AI applications (e.g. hardware accelerators).
Digital transformation is dependent on robust networking. Colocation facilities typically offer best-in-class network infrastructure. To begin with, they are typically situated in highly strategic locations. For example, they are likely to be near key network hubs and/or key user groups.
They will then maximize the benefit of this by implementing top-quality networking infrastructure. This is usually based on fiber optics to maximize not just speed and bandwidth but also reliability, particularly over long distances. It’s now increasingly common for colocation facilities also to support 5G.
Colocation providers often guarantee close to 100% uptime. In fact, some colocation providers do actually guarantee 100% availability. To ensure this guarantee is met, colocation providers implement high levels of redundancy in literally every aspect of their operations.
Firstly, they deploy extra infrastructure for every key function, including power, cooling, and network connectivity. Secondly, they generally have multiple providers for essential services (especially power) if at all possible. Thirdly, they ensure that they have enough staff and/or contractors to ensure all essential human functions are always covered.
Security has long been an important consideration for all businesses. Now, it’s increasingly likely that businesses will need to be able to show compliance with a range of specific data security standards.
In addition to industry-specific standards (e.g. HIPAA), they will need to comply with standards imposed by local authorities (e.g. CCPA). The ever-growing number (and rigor) of these means that increasing numbers of businesses will themselves coming under their remit.
With colocation, the provider will take responsibility for ensuring the security and compliance of the data center facility and its infrastructure. This leaves businesses free to concentrate on securing their own equipment and data.
Here are five specific ways colocation facilitates agility and adaptability for organizations undergoing digital transformation.
With colocation, businesses can easily scale their capacity to ensure that it always aligns with their expected workload. Colocation is synonymous with horizontal scaling. This involves adding and removing resources such as servers in line with fluctuating workloads. Clients can also implement vertical scaling through technologies such as virtualization.
The headline benefit of support for hybrid and multi-cloud strategies is that it enhances the scalability of colocation even further. In particular, it enables businesses to expand or burst into the cloud as necessary, for example, to support unexpected spikes in traffic.
A further benefit of cloud support is the fact that it gives businesses even more flexibility in how they operate. At a basic level, this could be something as simple as using colocation in areas where there are enough users to justify it and leveraging CDNs for other areas. At a more complex level, it could involve developing highly customized, best-in-breed solutions for specific use cases.
Likewise, support for edge computing provides businesses with even more flexibility in how they operate. In particular, it enables businesses to get the best results from latency-sensitive applications such as many Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications.
Support for 5G is arguably necessary for businesses to make the most of edge computing. It also has a wide range of applications outside that environment. For example, having access to 5G enables mobile workers to access the same applications and services as workers in fixed locations. This really does have the potential to transform service delivery across multiple industries.
Colocation facilities are designed to be highly flexible and adaptable. This means that colocation providers are always quick to support new technologies. Moreover, they ensure that these technologies can be easily and seamlessly integrated with existing infrastructure.
Related Resources:
Research Validates the DataBank Difference: Empowering Digital Transformation
Tapping Into Managed Services from Your Colocation Provider Saves You Money
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