Server Colocation is an ideal option for enterprises willing to have a more effective way to run their data centers while cutting huge expenses that would have spent in building their own data centers. However, many organizations prefer to build their own data center close to their companies as they need to use more and more Internet. So it becomes inevitable to dig out each and every aspects of server colocation before you finally made a mind.

First, We Try to Understand – What Exactly is Server Colocation?

Server Colocation is typically a practice of leasing out physical space by data center facility to businesses to house their servers. In other words, rather than building their own data centers, some businesses prefer to house their servers with a third-party service provider. In the arrangement, the service provider provides cooling systems, power supply, IP address, bandwidth, and physical security along with physical space (racks & cabinets).

So, What are the Compelling Benefits of Server Colocation Hosting That Convince Businesses to Go For it?

Affordable: Budget, perhaps, is the biggest constraint for startups and smaller businesses. By co-locating their servers in a shared environment, actually, they share costs amongst multiple clients thus saving huge money that would have spent in establishing their own in-house data centers. Besides, it allows them to reap the benefits premium bandwidth at a lower cost and the services of specialized professionals that wouldn’t be affordable for them if running own data centers.

Flexibility to Choose Hardware and Software Specification: With server colocation arrangement, you have an option to choose hardware and software specification of your business needs. The colocation centers only provide the essential network infrastructure along with the physical space in form of racks and cabinets for housing servers. The clients themselves are responsible for purchasing hardware and software that best meet their business needs.

Reduced Risk of Network Outages: Businesses can have constant network uptime, usually 99.982% with a Tier-III data center, when opting colocation service as colo-centers have redundant systems in place that make sure the network is always up, even after unfortunate event of system failure. Colocation service providers also utilize virtualization that offers clients recent system snapshots that may help them recover from nasty system failures.

Furthermore, server colocation centers have technicians available round-the-clock for server monitoring, and if there is any potential issue, clients are instantly made aware of. Clients can also schedule their own planned downtime.

The Cons Attached to Server Colocation

Like anything, Server Colocation does have some potential shortcomings. Here are they:

Huge Upfront-Cost: No doubt, server colocation is a perfect solution for businesses that have budget and resource constraints. But it should not be interpreted that colocation doesn’t require upfront costs. As you would be purchasing your requisite hardware and software for colocation service, the upfront costs will still be huge.

For those businesses who are very much cost-sensitive, the pre-build hardware configuration that a third-party managed services providers usually have is a great option. But it does have the lower degree of flexibility when it comes to hardware or software. So it necessitates you to drill-down this point before you proceed further.

Responsibility to Manage Server: Hardware and deployments are yours so are the responsibility to fix issues whey occur. The onus to fix such problems is on you as you would have been doing in your on-premise data center. If you don’t have seasoned-geek to handle such problems, you may have a tougher time trying to bring server operation in normal condition, making server colocation a big ‘thumb-down’ for you.

Maintenance at Remotely Located Third-Party Data Center: Since your server is housed in a remotely located third-party data center and you yourself are responsible for maintenance, it becomes a time-consuming affair to send your technician at the data center every time there is problem arises.

The Last Words

While considering both pros and cons of server colocation, we found that the pros outweigh the cons in many ways. While the cons demonstrate that server colocation hosting is not an ideal hosting solution for many businesses because of their business needs and other factors. But the server colocation does have some potential benefits that many businesses take advantages of them.