In step with today’s developments in the computing industry, colocation is one timely innovation. Most of the businesses now (save for the biggest ones) employ colocation to take care of their IT needs.

Because of the speed in the rise of internet business, big corporations are now slowly outsourcing their data centers. Instead of building and operating one, companies are now into colocation.

Companies are now beginning to see the many benefits of colocation. The major reasons include the following list.

Redundancy

Many colocation providers offer multiple-level systems redundancy. In layman’s terms, this ensures the client will have outage protection, temperature regulation, network reliability and security.

These redundancy measures are too expensive for client-companies to provide in an in-house business setup. Colocation providers ensure that their customers’ network is up at all times.

Security

Today’s colocation centers offer increased physical and network security measures. Some facilities require escorts for customers, others employ PIN codes, and still others use proximity card access systems for customers.

Server cages and cabinets have the standard state-of-the-art locks for security. Many data centers have round the clock monitoring staff assigned. Sometimes, colocation providers offer security audit and periodic security advising services.

For in-house setups, your sensitive data is always at risk. You may invest in tape backups, video surveillance, and armed security guards, but colocation is more effective and affordable.

Lower bandwidth costs

In an in-house setup for your server, you are paying more in anticipation for any spike in your web traffic. Most of the time, you are using only a small portion of the bandwidth you paid for.

When you are leasing bandwidth from a colocation provider, you pay only for the small bandwidth you actually need. Any spike that may occur is always taken care of because many data centers have huge data pipes.

Secure power supply

A colocation provider will always have redundant power sources that cannot be duplicated in an in-house setup because of the prohibitive costs. These colocation companies provide full surge and lightning protection, multiple battery backups, and generators for extended outages.

This full service package comes with professional expertise and equipments that most companies with standalone IT setups may not be able to meet.

Connection

Colocation provides a higher level of convenience for the client because they often use more than one ISP (internet service provider) or multiple optical fiber circuits. The client will not have to provide space for their servers.

Moreover, clients can upgrade power, memory, and software as needed because of ownership of server equipment. The client’s server will also stay up even during a company move.

Protection

Colocation facilities are designed to protect your data and keep your servers running even under severe conditions (fire, floods, humidity, air pollution, etc.) Depending on the location, your data may also be protected against earthquakes and hurricanes.

This extra protection is a lot cheaper (compared to an in-house setup) because it is shared by all the other clients of the colocation provider.

Overall considerations

For most SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses), colocation can provide tremendous cost and other types of benefits compared to setting up the same system in-house.

Colocation is one practical choice for a company that still lacks the financial resources and physical space to maintain internet hosting operations.

Colocation is basically a service supplied by a data center company to IT companies to locate their network, server and storage systems inside the facilities of the data center company. This service usually includes interconnectivity to a variety of telecommunications and other service providers.

With today’s busy internet traffic, online businesses are looking at ways to cut down costs, which is mostly consumed by bandwidth expenses.

Large businesses have the money and the space to build and expand their own data centers and hire more staff. Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) generally choose to place their IT infrastructure in another company’s facility.

The following are the major components needed to make your company’s forage into cyber business a success.

Operating systems (OS)

There are several network operating systems to choose from. However, the two most popular ones are Linux and Windows NT.

Linux is a practical option well suited to the demanding network setting. It might be more complex than the others, but it is more secure and efficient. Less susceptible to malware infection, Linux runs on almost any type of hardware.

It might not be as comprehensive as the others, but experienced IT administrators liked its superior functionality. Linux systems permit access to its kernel source code.

Windows NT is popular and brings with it the familiar Windows interface to the network server environment. It is easy to use and allows its simple point-and-click method in server operations.

It is also a perfect environment for 3rd party software with database access to systems like MS Access, DB2, Oracle and MSSQL.

Hardware

For colocation hosting, the hardware to be used is as important as the operating system. The most widely-used platforms now are Cobalt, Intel, and Sun.

Cobalt is perfect for managing multiple sites and is popular in the field of server hardware. Sun is not far behind in reputation regarding fast and efficient hardware. This is also true for Intel which is typically more affordable for average administrators.

Network card / hardware / memory

Because NIC (network interface card) is what enables an internet connection, be sure to avoid cheap products sporting unknown brands. You will reap long-term savings by investing reliable NIC that can support your network activities in the long haul.

Different servers need different memory and hard drive speed. Choose reliable, top-of-the-line hardware (or those approximating its standards) that your company can afford.

This is to preclude frequent changeover since newer, faster models are always on the horizon. Of course, the more memory you can buy, the more web pages you can store. The faster is your hard drive, the faster your server can access data.

These are some of the major components needed in setting up your IT business by way of colocation.

Colocation – wave of the future

As a business setup, colocation is now favored by most of today’s companies and organizations for its security, reliability and redundancy – all for a minimum cost and complexity.

Also, with colocation, there are reduced traffic back-haul costs and your company enjoys the benefits of freed-up internal networks for other uses. Moreover, there is greater bandwidth capacity and considerable improvement in access speeds to websites if network traffic is outsourced to a colocation service.