subject: Co-location What Is It? [print this page] Co-location is exactly as it sounds put simply, this service uses the systems and the infrastructure of a data centre to host your company hardware and systems at their own site as an alternative to setting up such an infrastructure in your office or company premises.
Co-Location can provide a number of benefits for your business, from technical assurance, to saving money, to security and even backup procedures for your business data.
When running a small business it can become difficult to store hardware and the range systems that are required. This is where co-location comes into play - this service stores, maintains and manages your hardware, systems, servers and CPUs. This alleviates the need to set up special areas within your business that must be dedicated to servers and the like. It also removes the need to purchase expensive cooling and humidity equipment. Therefore, co-location offers you the ability to save office space and not to mention the cost associated to set up such an IT infrastructure. Another great thing about co-location is that minimises or removes the need for highly skilled IT staff to be employed to manage the networks and power systems.
What Can Co-Location Offer?
Co-location will offer you a superior infrastructure to house your hardware, providing it with continuous (and protected) power supply, networking with super fast bandwidth, backup power supply through batteries and generators, as well as backup networks, a highly safe and secured environment and round the clock technical support.
There are unmanaged co-location services available, which ultimately still leaves the need for regular involvement from stakeholders within your business. Realistically, if you are looking to outsource your hardware and system storage to save money and ensure peace of mind, its best to look at a managed co-location arrangement. After all, the cost is quite minimal for this service (in comparison to doing it yourself) and you dont want to take risks when it comes to your company information and intellectual property.
If peace of mind, security, extra space in your office and saving money are all things that are important to you and your business, then co-location could be right up your alley. Just be sure to do plenty of research into co-location providers and what conditions their contracts have. Note down the types of insurances they have and if something happens to your hardware, software and data, how you will be reimbursed for the loss. You want to be completely sure youre covered, the same way you would if you were managing this technology yourself.
