Colocation, also known simply as “colo,” refers to a data center in a shared space. You rent server storage space in a data center, similarly to renting your own locked garage in a self-storage unit. When you purchase space at a self-storage unit, they provide the square footage, the structure, the locked doors, and the security. You simply drive up with a truck and unload all of that stuff that doesn’t fit in your own garage!
For colocation, you typically supply the equipment (servers and other hardware), and the colo company provides a cool, monitored environment that’s the ideal climate for servers. They also provide necessary bandwidth and guaranteed uptime. Colocation gives you access to the facility and you have the ability to access your hardware at any time.
The following 7 advantages of colocation for your business can help you decide if it’s a fit for you:
- Caters to businesses of ALL sizes. Any industry, and any size of company, from a few employees to thousands, can find the right choice of data center. Broadline has real-time knowledge and instant access to practically every data center in the world. We’re perfectly suited to help you find the best solution for any size project.
- Consistent uptime. Have you ever stepped back and calculated the cost of keeping your servers up and running onsite? When you add up the payroll costs, maintenance fees, utilities bills and more, many businesses find these advantages as big, instant savings!
- Flexibility to scale. Rather than having to construct a larger data center on site when your business grows, with rented space, you simply expand your rental square footage, no hard hats required!
- Manage risks. Off-site data centers continue to run should your business lose power or suffer from a natural disaster. Colocating typically means that you’re teamed up with a data center that provides layers of redundancy, which are expensive for companies to pay for in-house.
- Bandwidth included. Enterprise client servers need a lot of bandwidth to function properly, which can be costly for businesses to pay for from a provider. Renting space in a data center means you now have large pipes of bandwidth. No need for your business to pay a premium from a cable company simply to support servers when the rest of the business needs far less!
- Save on capital expenses and payroll. Don’t stress over the high costs of buying equipment required to run your servers such as UPS (uninterrupted power source), generators, or even the HVAC units to keep it all cool. You will also save money on the cost of hiring the IT staff needed to maintain the data center 24/7.
- Security. Just like you’d expect top-notch security from a self-storage unit, colocation delivers top-notch security for your data center. You can expect the facilities to be monitored at all times, every holiday, every hour, all year long. And the monitoring is typically done both physically and on the cloud, but only to authorized parties. You don’t want to worry about somebody gaining access to your valuable data. You don’t want to worry about a breach affecting your business’s brand. You can count on the data centers having the latest in security technology!
Broadline: Your Colocation Provider
Broadline offers colocation solutions to meet your needs, providing you with all the benefit at a lower investment. Whether you are looking to deploy a single server, a high density cluster, or footprints in multiple markets, we will deliver. We will provide you with expert guidance and take you through our proven sourcing methodology.
YOLO is an overused acronym, which stands for “you only live once”. Unless your business is a cat, with nine lives, you may only live once in today’s industry with the rapid pace of digital disruption. Your servers and data center are often the heartbeat of your business presence as we depend so much on technology to deliver. Colocation can provide you with the support you need to not only compete, but lead the digital disruption in your industry. Live your business life to the fullest, knowing that your data is protected and your investments are strong. Let’s put our service to work finding your ideal solution with Broadline’s services, with our home base in Minneapolis.