Data centers and colocation providers are challenged with meeting the demands of the digital age. Rapid growth, increased storage needs and high-performance hardware are driving advancements in data center technologies to keep up with the changing colocation landscape. Understanding the latest in colocation services and the trends on the horizon can help determine the best provider for your organization.
Below are five trends of data center colocation services that organizations need to consider when planning infrastructure for 2016.
1. Specialization
Certain industries have unique infrastructure requirements, and specialized data centers are purpose-built to accommodate the needs of specific verticals.
In the video below, Michael Frank, Internap’s VP, Data Center Services, discusses the drivers behind data center specialization.
2. Hybrid infrastructure
Hybridization allows you to host applications or workloads using different types of environments, such as colocation, managed hosting or cloud.
A hybrid infrastructure provides multiple options to accommodate your applications, allowing you to create the optimal environment for your workloads.
Data centers with hybrid capabilities are beneficial to your business throughout your application’s lifecycle because as the needs of your application change, you can seamlessly shift workloads from one environment to the next without the risk of data loss, increased latency or downtime. Ultimately, a hybrid approach allows you to create the best-fit environment for your applications.
3. Future-proof colocation services
A middle ground is beginning to form between retail colocation and wholesale colocation. Traditionally, these colocation services were divided, but now, there is an increased need for colocation providers to accommodate both markets.
A flexible colo facility can provide multiple options, allowing customers to grow from a small, single-retail colocation cabinet to a multi-thousand square foot wholesale space.
4. Security & compliance
Protecting personal information will become increasingly important, which is why more and more regulations and security measures are being mandated to data center colocation providers.
While data centers already have standard security measures, certain verticals must adhere to specific federally issued compliance rules. For companies that process cardholder information, new PCI DSS v3.1 standards were recently issued to ensure increased safety of customer data. In order to protect personal information, expect more strict security and compliance regulations for data centers.
5. High power density
As the power demands increase within a colocation footprint, many organizations are forced to relocate or invest in additional space to access additional power. High power density data centers are designed to provide access to more circuits, allowing companies to add equipment within an existing footprint and scale up in a cost-efficient manner.
Learn more: Powerful trends: Scalable density is on the rise
