Why Your Business Needs Colocation Services Instead Of In-House Servers

November 18, 2014

Your business could invest a large amount of money to construct an in-house server room for your information technology equipment. A better option today is to choose colocation. This means placing your servers with a service provider that will watch over and potentially maintain the equipment. You should know why your business needs colocation services instead of in-house server rooms.

Affordability
One thing to consider is that using Volico colocation services is actually very affordable. If you choose to maintain your servers in-house, then you will need to build and maintain complete network infrastructure. This includes creating a server room that provides proper cooling, protection from damage, and stable environmental conditions. It can be very costly to create and operate a server room. All off this is taken care of by the service provider with colocation. Your servers are cooled and kept in a safe environment that is maintained by the service provider.

Scalability
A second point to consider is that colocation provides a scalable solution for your network and server needs. You can add more servers or other features to your colocation service without having to make major modifications to your business. You can request large amounts of bandwidth, more storage space, and higher processing power whenever you need it. You can have new servers added as needed. This is very important because it means your servers can grow seamlessly and without limits alongside your business.

Security
Colocation hosting increases the security of your servers in several ways. The physical building is very secure and has multiple layers of access control in order to prevent intruders. Different security protocols and monitoring are used to protect the active network that links your server to the Internet. Keeping your servers in an off-site location also protects them from disasters that could hit the main offices. This makes disaster recovery a much simpler process. Colocation keeps your servers in an offsite location so that a fire or flood in your office will not destroy the equipment. This keeps your servers and data safe.

Reduced Overhead
One of the benefits you will notice first is that colocation hosting reduces overhead. Building a server room, managing utilities and even having specialized staff on hand can all cost a significant amount each year. Colocation allows for professional hosting for much less. All of the costs are rolled into a single fee that is predictable so that IT budgets can be created accurately. Your business does not need to spend money maintaining a basic IT infrastructure for the server.

Fast and Scalable Network Access
An advantage of colocation is fast and scalable network access. The network lines running into the hosting service as well as the infrastructure are designed to provide the fastest speeds possible. Colocating your servers to this environment will mean higher speeds for customers or employees. Additionally, the bandwidth can be scaled upward as needed. A colocation center could even perform bursting in order to allow temporarily higher bandwidths during sudden spikes in volume.

Professional Support
Colocation centers are staffed by IT experts who can help your business. These professionals can help to maintain your servers. Managed services can take care of software tasks, server changes and even regular data backups. This support can make installing new software and modifying server settings simpler. IT staff at the hosting company can even help to resolve problems and conflicts that are affecting performance.

Flexibility
Colocation services provide more flexibility than what can be achieved with an in-house server room. Your business is free to choose from multiple carriers for network service. You can switch carriers if you become dissatisfied with the performance of your current selection. You also have the flexibility to choose between shared or private services. You have the option to choose between quarter racks, half racks, full racks, or even a cage of racks. This flexibility makes it easier for your business to get the exact service needed.

Ready to See How Volico Can Help You?
Got questions? Want to talk specifics? That’s what we’re here for.

Have one of our friendly experts contact you to begin the conversation. Discover how Volico can help you with your colocation hosting needs.