Technology keeps evolving and one of the most noteworthy changes is colocation. Instead of using data centers, businesses these days come together and share space with other companies. This is known is colocation and although the concept is fresh, there are tons of businesses that are showing interest in it. One of the reasons why colocation benefits your business even from an SEO point of view is because it manages to get you maximum uptime for your website. This enables you to get more visitors and almost never keeps you off the grid.
One of the major reasons colocation is becoming more popular is because it is highly affordable. Since multiple businesses are sharing space, they also end up sharing the expenses and this makes it easy for you to maintain your servers at a lower price but with better facilities.
Data servers don’t have a physical space that you can check out and visit in times of a problem so when an issue arises you are usually left hanging in the air till the problem is rectified, however with collocation you can always visit the location to see what the problem is and even contribute to finding a solution fast.
If you’re considering investing in this form of virtualization, the pros far outweigh any cons and are worth the initial cost. See below.
1. Increased Security
When you put your data into the cloud through a third party server or computer equipment provider, you’re no longer the only one responsible for the security of that data. A third party provider is in the business of keeping its clients’ data safe and secure, employing IT experts around the clock to keep anti-malware software and other security measures up-to-date.
A colocation facility will also work with you to provide security measures you might not have even considered, like restricting access to the business network to only the people you approve through methods such as passwords and mobile device pre-authorization.
2. Lower Costs
How does an initial investment in the colocation process translate to lower costs? When your servers and/or equipment are no longer onsite, you’re no longer paying to power them 24/7. Your first month’s power bill after colocation will surprise you; all that computer equipment requires power around the clock, and it adds up to hundreds or even thousands of saved dollars.
Another way it will lower overall company costs is through IT overhead. When you opt to colocate, you’ll have access to the third party provider’s team of IT experts. They’ll be there in case any issues arise, so you won’t have to hire other consultants. Additionally, if you have a digital database backup of all of your important business data, you’ll never have to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars on IT people trying to recover your data in the event of data corruption, hacking or deletion.
3. Backup in Case of Disaster
Unfortunately, businesses have to take into account the possibility that their buildings may be broken into, and that their computer equipment may be broken or stolen. There’s also the chance that fire or natural disaster will destroy your equipment. Destroyed servers and hardware is not something that an IT team can easily fix; your data might be lost for good. Think not only of the cost of replacing the equipment, but of the additional hours required for staff to make up or retrieve the lost data.
If your data is stored remotely, the chance of losing all of your work in one of these instances is next to zero, since you’ll have that digital, remote copy of everything you need.
4. 24/7 IT Help
In addition to lowering what your business spends on IT, having that IT staff available through your third party colocation provider is a blessing, because they’ll be there for you around the clock. Tech emergencies don’t conveniently happen only during business hours. It’s a load off of your shoulders to know that you’ll have someone to reach out to in the event of a tech issue or even if you’re just not sure how to perform a task on your virtual system, no matter the time of day or day of week.
5. Greater Bandwidth and Digital Storage Space
If you pay for your own servers and network, you’re limited by the physical space you have and the amount of money you’re willing to pay. You can get a far greater amount of digital storage space and bandwidth at a better deal if you go through a third party provider that makes its business in providing servers and equipment to other clients; they have greater space to devote to the equipment, and they can afford to charge individual businesses less for greater digital storage space and bandwidth because they sell to multiple clients.
6. Free Up Floor Space
Along with opening up your business to greater storage space and bandwidth at lower costs, you’ll no longer have to devote space in your building to bulky servers and computer equipment. When you have a small business, every square foot of floor space counts. Colocate your servers, data and equipment, and you might even find that the extra room provides you an additional office, waiting area or storage closet.
With all these benefits to colocation, it’s easy to see why so many businesses decide to go this route. It saves your business’ additional overhead costs as well as provides a safe and secure means to store your data.
