In this day and age, businesses have a range of options when it comes to storing their critical
data and applications. While some opt for the public cloud, others prefer keeping their data on-
premises. In addition, there is a third alternative for storing data: third-party data centers.
Organizations benefit immensely by incorporating colocation into their IT strategy. For those
who don’t know, colocation is an arrangement where a company rents rack space to house its
servers in a third-party data center. The colocation service provider assumes the responsibility
of managing these servers on a day-to-day basis, offering power, cooling, and connectivity,
while the client maintains the ownership and control of the servers. This means the client
enjoys the freedom to do anything they want to with the server, including resolving any issues
that may arrive in due course.
That said, choosing a colocation service provider, moving your equipment into their facility, and
running the same costs a lot of time and money. If you make the wrong move, the cost of
moving out can exceed the cost of choosing a service provider. In other words, you cannot
afford to go wrong when choosing a colocation provider.
In this blog, we will talk about the factors that you should take into consideration when
choosing a Colocation in India. So, let us dive you in and discuss about colocation hosting
service.
1) Physical Location
One of the key considerations when choosing a colocation provider is the physical location of
the facility. This depends largely on the requirements of your business. Every business follows
different approach. If you are using the data center for storage or cloud access, make sure the
facility is close to your office.
When the facility is within a few miles of your office, your staff can easily drive down to the
facility and do the necessary maintenance, repair, or upgrade work whenever required.
If, on the other hand, you are looking for a facility to provide services to customers, an edge
data center located close to the end-users would be a good fit. This way, any kind of latency
issues would be done away with.
2) Connectivity and Carrier Diversity
Colocation goes beyond just housing your servers in a data center. In the absence of a reliable
and redundant internet connection, your performance will suffer. It is, therefore, important to
go for a data center that offers a range of connectivity options. This way, your business will
have the resources it needs.
Carrier-neutral data centers allow clients to connect with different internet service providers
(ISPs) instead of being locked up with a single network provider. Carrier diversity not only brings
down the cost on account of competitive pricing but also creates network redundancy, allowing
clients to switch their carrier if the need arises.
3) Compliance
Every business is required to comply with certain regulations that apply to their area of
operation. These may include PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOC 1, 2, 3, ISO 27000, and so on.
While your organization is eventually responsible for fulfilling these regulations, audits and
security controls deployed by your data center can simplify the task for you. So, when choosing
a colocation service provider, prioritize providers that regularly undergo audits by third parties.
Data centers compliant with standards such as HIPAA and PCI DSS can help maintain the
security of your infrastructure. Make sure you check the attestation reports of your prospective
vendor before signing up for their service. Also, find if they are willing to lend support during a
compliance audit.
4) Security
Security encompasses not only the physical security aspect of your facility but also the security
tools and data protection protocols that have been put in place.
When assessing the security aspect of a colocation facility in India, here are a few things you
can look for:
● Secure Location: The facility should be in a place that’s not prone to natural disasters. The
premises should have been secured with fencing or high walls and have a single entry point.
● Secure Access: There should be stringent guidelines on who can access the facility and
when. The identity of all visitors should be confirmed through their IDs, biometrics, etc.
● Security Tools: High-resolution cameras, fire alarms, multi-factor authentication
checkpoints, cabinet locks should be in place in order to monitor the premises rigorously.
5) Power and Cooling
Your hardware requires adequate power, cooling, and humidity for functioning optimally. So,
your service provider should meet the recommended range for each of these.
Cooling: Cooling is a crucial aspect of data center management, as overheating leads to
equipment failure in many cases. Your colocation provider should have employed best practices
for optimal cooling. These may include hot and cold aisles or a raised floor layout. Also, it is
good to have equipment for real-time monitoring of air quality.
Power: Power accounts for a large percentage of the overall cost of running a data center.
Choosing a provider with lower electricity charges will lower the total cost of your colocation
plan.
6) Technical Support
Regardless of how efficiently you may run your operations, you may face a glitch at any time.
Having a partner who responds to and resolves your issues quickly and efficiently can be of
immense help.
Find the level of technical support your prospect offers. Ideally, technicians should be present
on the data center premises 24*7*365, so that an issue arising at any point in time can be
addressed immediately. Reliable service providers allow their clients to monitor their hardware
at all times and provide authorized access instantly.
The Final Word
In addition to the aforementioned factors, things like service level agreements and budgetary
constraints also play a vital part in the selection of a colocation provider in India. If skeptical, do
not hesitate to clarify your doubts. Try to get answers to whatever questions you may have in
mind. Also, check references from the provider’s customers and third-party auditors.
