Colocation hosting service is very much similar to dedicated hosting. It offers you multiple ways to upgrade your website and resources. Colocation hosting suits big websites with high traffic. It is also suitable for startups that do not have enough money to build their data center or hire IT experts. 

With colocation hosting, you will get a more secure environment as compared to traditional hosting. Moreover, it offers complete control and flexibility as you can configure your hardware in any desired manner. All your gears will be placed in a highly secure environment that is climate controlled and backed up with generators. 

Colocation hosting is one of the most secure and reliable hosting solutions. In colocation hosting you do not use the hosting company’s servers, you buy or rent hardware and software and then rent the space in the data center.

Colocation hosting helps in improving business operations, cutting capital costs, and improving the quality of services. Usually, in colocation, the client’s existing infrastructure is moved from their location to the colocation provider’s data center. 

From an organization point of view, the benefits of colocation hosting are:

1. Outsourcing the expensive network infrastructure management costs to specialized hosting experts. 
2. Reduce energy costs by using the colocation service provider’s contracts.
3. Exclusive access to colocation service providers expensive network with various facilities.

Colocation hosting allows organizations to focus on managing their operations and improving their products. At the same time, they can focus on lowering their IT costs using serves that are already purchased.

What is colocation?

Colocation is transferring an organization’s physical servers to a hosting company’s data center. The company providing the colocation facility is responsible for providing all types of promised services like management and security. The organization puts its servers in the service provider’s rack and uses their power and network connections.

The colocation hosting service provider offers the following services

1. Physical security
2. Uninterrupted power supply
3. High-speed internet
4. Heating and cooling facility
5. Disaster management

Colocation service providers have very deep knowledge and understanding of maintenance and resource provisioning for a wide range of organizational needs. This centralized knowledge helps businesses to avoid costly investments in technology, the internet, and infrastructure. 

Hiring a team of IT experts, paying them salaries, and paying for network hardware can be expensive and time-consuming for an organization. Expert and trained IT staff with a few years of experience in the hosting industry can take care of the server round the clock. Rather than paying premium salaries to IT staff on call and training them in the latest methods, colocation offers business peace of mind and reduces IT costs as compared to on-site IT operations.

How does colocation works?

Colocation allows you to purchase your server hardware and software. While the hosting service provider manages the network, power, and housing demands for maintaining the server requirements. However, colocation service providers do not touch your physical servers till you do not purchase a direct administration known as remote hands.

You are responsible for setting up and configuring the server and meeting all your business demands. Moreover, you will be responsible for managing the physical parameters like replacing the old server. Organizations that use colocation facilities should have detailed knowledge about how to use colocation hosting. You should be aware of the practices followed for maintaining the hardware and software and fulfilling hosting goals. 

It is one of the most common things that colocation customers know as they have picked their current IT infrastructure and moved to a collocation provider’s data center. Furthermore, the organization’s servers are controlled via console thus they can be accessed remotely. Colocation offers geographic flexibility as the expert IT staff helps to manage physical issues at the data center in case of any emergency. Additionally, the main benefit of the collocation service is that you can leverage the power of the data center and use bandwidth capacities. In case of an emergency, remote hands are available at hourly rates. If the server needs larger bandwidth and maximum uptime then your organization can manage the installation, maintenance, and software supervision internally. Colocation helps in saving your business from huge risks while keeping your server on-site.

What is the cost of colocation?

The cost of colocation is not fixed, it varies according to:

• The physical space that servers take in the data center.
• The total number of on-site support services required.
• The need for the degree of network connectivity
• How power is to be delivered to the cluster

Choosing colocation hosting allows your organization to pay for the amount of physical space covered by the server. Colocation is a realistic and affordable solution for all organizations functioning on a low budget. 

For pricing specific colocation services, you can contact one of your network architects or any expert sales staff. However, colocation hosting plans are customizable and flexible. You can easily get everything at a lower price than imagined. 

Advantages of colocation hosting?

Expert assistance

Moving your servers to the data center will ensure that you get 24 hours of support. Colocation service providers help in the day-to-day operation and relieve your in-house IT team from all the duties. Everything like power, cooling, security, and network and hardware is handled by the service provider thus you can focus on the business.

Network security

Data centers have high security in both ways, online and offline. Every data center has top-notch data and network security that includes the latest firewalls and authorized IDs that have system access. Moreover, in terms of offline security, there are CCTV cameras, alarm monitoring, and keycard access to stop intruders.

Scalability

Colocation hosting is a flexible resource that allows you to scale as per your needs. Moreover, you do not have to make huge capital investments. Thus it allows the customers to expand their business and standstill in the market. It is essential to build a successful business.

24 hours availability

Businesses shift to colocation hosting because it allows their customers to access the data anytime. Moreover, everyone wants consistent uptime which is the time when the server is operational. However, servers may be physically inaccessible thus clients have complete control over them.

Cloud migration

You might have to shift to cloud computing in near future then colocation can help you in the smooth transition. You can easily move your equipment to an offsite facility with increased capacity and performance. It helps in supporting business news and ensures a smooth cloud migration. 

Reduced costs

The biggest advantage of colocation hosting is that it reduces network and power costs. Building a high-tech server and environment requires huge investment and time. However, if you switch to collocation hosting then you can enjoy all the facilities without minimal expenses.

Conclusion

Colocation hosting offers lots of benefits to businesses and enterprises. It is a trending hosting solution that is similar to dedicated hosting. Additionally, it is suitable for huge websites that handle a large amount of traffic. It offers you a more flexible working culture and 24 hours of support. The best part of colocation hosting is that you can switch to the cloud anytime as it offers a smooth transition to the cloud.