Tailor data center colocation services to your IT needs
Editor's note
Data center colocation services provide organizations a streamlined way to expand processing capabilities and grow their facilities without building everything from the ground up.
A main use case for colocation is data backup, but these services also are effective at reducing -- or eliminating -- capital expenditures associated with a data center facility. As with any service contract selection, there must be a certain amount of research and negotiation to ensure comprehensive support and continuous uptime.
This essential guide to data center colocation services offers information on site evaluation and contract bargaining so any IT department can select the best provider at the right cost.
1Is colocation the right choice?
Colocation is an effective way to expand any organization's data center. It not only offers managers more hardware resources, it alleviates the stress of facility management. But with the variety of data center expansion options available today, colocation might not always be the correct choice. Learn about the use cases and common configurations for data center colocation and what services are often included.
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Colocation vs. cloud: Quiz yourself on these workload expansion options
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Should my organization consider systems management services?
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2Generate a rock-solid colocation setup
When selecting data center colocation services, an organization should evaluate multiple locations, figure out the use case for the hardware and determine what level of access IT staff members need. This information can help contract negotiations with service providers and ensure that all components -- and tasks -- are covered by the proper parties.
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What's the difference between SLO vs. SLA?
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A guide to IaaS provider selection
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Colocation data center outage response and support
Navigating data center malfunctions when hardware is off premises can be tricky. Organizations must have strong SLAs with their colo provider to ensure appropriate response times. Read Now
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Pick the right colocation site for your organization
Colocation is more than signing a contract and installing hardware. Evaluate redundancy, rack space real estate and distance to ensure a successful colo partnership. Read Now