What to Look for in Colocation

With a growing need for flexibility, scalability, complexity, and power, more and more businesses are keeping their server systems off-site. While cloud servers work great for a number of businesses, some companies need (or just want) to utilize their own equipment. 

Colocation is still very much alive in the 2020soffering a best of both worlds approach to hosting. Businesses get to purchase, setup, and control their own equipment. However, they don’t have to worry about housing, cooling, or powering it. 

That is, as long as they choose the right colocation provider. What should you look for when deciding on a colocation site? 

What to look for in colocation...

Scalability 

One big reason businesses look to colocation is because they simply don’t have the space to house their equipment. But it’s not enough for a colocation space to meet your current needs. As your business grows, your technical needs will grow as well. This doesn’t just mean you need more space, but you will also need more power. 

Before looking at a colocation space, consider what your technical needs might be 5-10 years from now. Make sure that you choose a provider that can easily grow with you, providing the space and resources you need. 

Accessibility  

While colocation systems might be housed off-premises, they’ll still need to be accessible to your team. After all, it’s your equipment. With how dependent businesses are on keeping their systems operational at all times, you need to be able to get to your equipment anytime, day or night. 

24-hour access, 7 days a week, 365 days a year is a must. 

Security 

Servers don’t just need digital protection; they need to be physically safe as well. While protecting your systems from cyber threats might be the responsibility of your team, it’s up to your colocation provider to keep your equipment safe. 

In addition to keeping it secured from unauthorized access and theft, they also need to keep it temperature controlled, safe from power outages, and more. 

Our Colocation Services 

In need of a secure, scalable, and reliable colocation facility to house your servers and equipment? Our Data Center is an excellent choiceWherever you’re operating from, our facility has the capacity and capabilities for both today’s and tomorrow’s needs. 

Here’s what you can expect from our colocation services: 

  • Move-in Ready 
  • Scalable 
  • 24/7/365 Customer Access 
  • SOC 2 TYPE II Certified 

Not entirely sure what you need? Maybe you’re looking for additional help building out your infrastructure? Our experienced team of IT consultants in Dayton, Ohio is up to the task. For all of your hosting, IT, and data center needs, DataYard is here for you. 

Our Data Center is Here for You

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR COLOCATION SERVICES


Deciding Between Colocation vs. In-House Hosting

Cloud-based hosting is the go-to option for many businesses, large and small. It provides great flexibility while keeping things simple. Sometimes, however, you need your own server equipment. Whether it’s to meet compliancy needs, maximize control, or simply because you prefer to own instead of rent, there is still very much a place for physical hosting in today’s cloud-based world. 

However, if you own your own equipment, that means you’ll need to house and power it. While a server is essentially just a computer, it comes with some critical requirements: 

  • Continuous power supply 
  • Digital and physical security protection 
  • Total temperature control 
  • A fair amount of space 
  • And more 

If you’re able to accommodate those needs, you might choose to keep your servers in-house. Otherwise, there is colocation. Colocation is where you store your own equipment in a third-party data center that’s built to handle the special requirements of server equipment. 

Not sure which option is best for you? Let’s take a look at both. 

What's the difference between in-house hosting and colocation?

In-House Hosting

With in-house hosting, you’ll need to setup a proper server room on your property. This will need to be fitted with power-supply redundancies so that your servers don’t crash if the power in the building unexpectantly goes out.  

The primary benefit of in-house hosting is immediate access. If you have the IT staff to manage and support it, they’ll able to get directly to it at a moment’s notice. Of course, that also means you need to have an in-house IT team that can support it as needed. 

If your team is already stretched thin, it can be yet another thing they have to deal with. 

Additionally, many offices, even larger ones, simply aren’t equipped to meet the needs of a server system. It can also increase your utility costs more than you think. 

Colocation 

Colocation is pretty straight forward. You supply the equipment and a data center takes care of the rest. A proper data center is well-equipped to house and supply server equipment, making sure it stays protected and running properly.  

While there is some initial setup cost, along with the on-going rental fee, the expense of colocation is actually comparable to the cost of in-house hosting. That’s not to say you should put your server equipment in just any data center.  

You want to make sure it’s a trustworthy facility that can exceed your needs and provide room for growth. 

Reliable Colocation Wherever You Are 

At DataYard, we can handle almost all IT and hosting needs. From cloud hosting to colocation and beyond, our data center is equipped to meet your storage and security requirements. With colocation at Data Yard, you’ll receive 24/7/365 access, so you can get to your equipment whenever you need to. 

Need additional support or guidance for your server setup and infrastructure? Our team of IT consultants in Dayton, Ohio  can help ensure you have all of your bases covered. 

Contact us today! 

Our Data Center is Here for You

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR COLOCATION SERVICES