Colocation Data Center

A colocation data center is a third-party leased facility in which enterprise-owned compute, storage, and networking assets are placed. Colocation facilities offer scalability, continuity, and security for applications, data, and systems and often provide access to the most advanced data center technology, while removing the need to build, staff, and manage in-house server rooms or data centers, giving customers the ability to focus on their business.

Typically, colocation data centers provide the building infrastructure, cooling, power, bandwidth, and physical security while the data center customers provide the servers and storage. Many colocation providers today are expanding their portfolios to include managed services that support their clients’ business initiatives.

A colocation data center is generally classified as either a retail colocation facility in which a customer leases space within a data center—usually a rack, space within a rack, or a caged off area—or a wholesale colocation facility in which a tenant leases a fully built data center space at a reduced rate but with fewer power and space requirements. Hybrid cloud-based colocation, a third classification that has recently become popular, is a mix of in-house and outsourced data center services.

Some of the reasons an organization might move their data centers to a colocation facility include:

• Predictable and operational expenditure model
• Flexibility and scalability that allows additional capacity (space, power, and bandwidth) to be brought on quickly and cheaply
• Better access to space, power, and capacity
• Experienced professionals dedicated to data center management managing your infrastructure
• Ecosystem of partners in the same facility
• Lean infrastructure to manage during times of rapid business change
• Resiliency and uptime obtained with best-in-class tools providing a better road map for disaster recovery
• Up-to-date facility infrastructure responds to cooling, power, and environmental changes
• Secure facility ensures data integrity
• Service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure services are received as negotiated

Often, colocation providers and customers leverage Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software to improve data center operations. Providers use DCIM software to improve efficiency and resiliency and to make more informed decisions about their infrastructure, forecasts, and billing models. Customers use DCIM software for remote asset management and capacity planning, improved uptime and power utilization, and to aid in critical decision-making when negotiating contracts for future space.

Want to see how Sunbird’s world-leading DCIM software makes it easy for you to remotely manage colocation infrastructure? Get your free test drive now!