How To Choose Data Center Colocation Over Cloud Computing

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CLOUD VS COLO: COLO WINS ON 4 OUT OF 5 KEY CRITERIA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Reliability ...2 Security ...3 Savings ...4 Support ...5 Scalability ...6 of new security threats, hacking attacks and data

breaches every week. Couple that with major service interruptions and outages experienced with the largest cloud provider, and it is no surprise that business and IT decision makers are only willing to put their applications and systems in the cloud, if they know exactly where that cloud is hosted. And that isn’t even good enough for the core systems — the real

go down. For systems that are critical to always be up and running, secure and highly available, businesses know they need to keep those systems on their own equipment — under their complete control.

the original IT Outsourcing solution: Colocation.

customers today as it always has, and remains the optimal type of outsourcing for a company’s most

reasons companies choose data center colocation over cloud computing: reliability; security; savings; and support. However, there is one additional key criteria

same advantages of cloud computing.

cloud computing for each of those four key criteria, and then discuss the need for complete scalability

important to your business or IT department, this document should prove to be of value to your decision making processes.

Cloud vs. Colo:

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Reliability

Colocation provides the most reliable solution for your IT environment, because it is 100% dedicated to your infrastructure. Only your applications and systems are running on your equipment — no other

or availability.

And with colocation, your applications and systems will continue to run on the equipment you’ve invested in. You selected the hardware that you know is best for your platform, and as your requirements change, you’ll be able to upgrade those servers accordingly. You’re in complete control of determining what equipment to use, and you’ll have the assurance that your IT environment isn’t being hosted on inferior, sub-standard infrastructure.

Fully leverage the investment you’ve made in these critical assets, as well as the personnel you have in place to manage them. Enable those same valuable individuals to focus on ways to improve your systems and help

accomplish overall company goals, and not be preoccupied with the day-to-day maintenance and protection of the servers and server room. Colocation with a Tier III data center provider ensures that your equipment will always be:

• Continuously up and running

• Highly available via redundant top tier bandwidth providers

•

ASHRAE standards

• Secure and protected from threats and human errors

table stakes for any data center provider — and it is their entire business to perform exceptionally well in those areas. So much so, that they provide Service Level Agreements that guarantee their performance. If for any reason they’re unable to maintain the power, connectivity, cooling or security standards that they promise to, they pay for it.

CHALLENGE THE CLOUD PROVIDERS WITH THIS:

• How many other tenants will be on the same equipment that my applications are running on? •

•

CHALLENGE THE COLO PROVIDERS WITH THIS:

• How many outages have you had in the last 5 years? High-density Data Center Power

N+1 Data Center Cooling

Ready To Grow At The Speed of Your Business

N +1

Colocation in a Tier III data center

delivers the most reliability with N+1 redundancy deployed throughout all critical

power and cooling infrastructure, as well

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Security

Who’s in the news for being a victim of a security breach this week? Who was hacked?

heightened levels of security for your IT environment, and that trend isn’t going to change any time soon.

for your IT environment. From physical security of the facility itself, to the processes and procedures in place to ensure no one has access to your equipment unless you have authorized that individual to do so, there isn’t a more secure option out there. Not

level of security that a Tier III data center does. And why would they? Your business isn’t in the business of delivering secure IT infrastructure environments — that’s not your company’s primary purpose. It is however, the primary purpose of a data center provider.

With colocation, the equipment is 100% dedicated to your applications and systems.

of protection from threats and risks of hackers and viruses. Cloud computing is by design a shared environment, which creates opportunities for threats and holes

performance of your systems as a result. And with a colocation solution for your IT infrastructure, you’re able to manage your network security discipline as you see

option that the cloud provider has signed on to help combat security risks. You deploy what you want, and know that it will be in place to protect only your equipment and applications.

CHALLENGE THE CLOUD PROVIDERS WITH THIS:

• How is my IT environment protected from the other tenants on the same equipment that my applications are running on?

• What kind of network security options are available? And are those provided by you directly? Or is a third party contracted for that?

• What kind of control do I have on customizing that network security?

SSAE16

5x

multiple layers of security. Security processes and procedures are audited and

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Savings

With colocation, you’re able to lock in costs

for the foreseeable future. With cloud, you pay retroactively for what you consumed, and many cloud users are shocked when they receive their invoices. So unless your application or system requires extreme

equipment, and only paying for the power, cooling, connectivity and security that you need to keep it up and running at all times.

can save money — usually for test and development applications, or seasonal

spikes in usage. For those applications, a cloud environment is best, because you won’t have to pay for the maximum

compute resources throughout the whole term of your agreement. You’ll pay for the additional usage when you experience it, and when normal levels are restored, your fees will follow.

few and far between. Best practices today are to not lump all of your IT applications and systems into a single outsourcing option. For the predictable, constant applications

option of colocation. For those ancillary applications where you need the elasticity,

premiums added on to the hosting fees for the cloud orchestration system that allows you to manage the compute and storage resources as often as you need to.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THIS:

•

• Which applications and systems are consistently consuming predictable levels of resources?

With colocation, your investment in IT is consistent each month, and cheaper

than paying the premium for cloud

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Support

One of the biggest selling points of cloud computing is how much direct control IT leaders have with the compute and storage resources. Cloud computing is a great option for those companies with resources that are experts with virtualized equipment

types of users in mind, that system design and solution engineering services are rarely included as part of what you receive when you sign on with a cloud provider.

But not every company has resources

unless that is your primary business — why would you need resources like that?

With colocation, you have a team of experts that extend your own IT team, and can help

extended team of data center experts have no other responsibilities than to support client infrastructure — and the critical data center equipment that keeps your environment powered, cooled, connected

to continuously monitor and report on how well everything is performing, and to provide any remote hands support that is

and they are proven experts in supporting all maintenance and trouble-shooting issues that come up.

•

• What kind of contributions can my IT team have on my core business goals, if they’re not tied up with routine maintenance and monitoring?

With colocation, you gain an extension of your IT team for routine maintenance

and support.

on site 24x7x365 to monitor and report on all activity

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Scalability

We’ve covered the four areas where data center colocation competes and wins versus cloud computing — but what about

completely understand just how scalable your IT environment needs to be. Do you

in compute resources due to the nature of your test & development schedule? Or are there seasonal impacts on your environment that warrant paying a premium for your outsourced solution, by only paying for what you actually consume? If either of these examples align with your priorities,

for your business.

But as we’ve discussed throughout this document, the choice between colocation or cloud shouldn’t be an all-or-nothing

is best per each application and system,

requirements and priorities accordingly.

of your systems. You may have systems

to pay retroactively for what you end up consuming. For most businesses though,

infrastructure environments.

environment will be able to grow within a data center colocation solution. Colocation providers are built to serve multiple tenants, each in their own private cages or cabinets, and they have capacity in their data center to accommodate your growth. And colocation

are many options to choose from to right-size a solution for your requirements today, as well as available options to move into as you grow.

•

• Where can I save money while gaining the additional reliability, support, scalability and security of an outsourced IT solution via colocation?

• How much space, power and cooling do my core systems require today — and how much will that really change in the coming months or years?

options available with colocation cabinets ranging from partial

cabs to full cabs.

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In conclusion, the decision to outsource your IT environment should be a decision you make per each

some of your applications to a cloud computing solution, but your business must be willing to pay

as settle for a reduced level of reliability, security and support.

For those applications that don’t need variable levels of compute resources, your best option is to go with a colocation solution in a Tier III data center. You’ll gain

of physical security as well as an ability to control

your own network security. You’ll also be able to leverage an extension of your IT team to help manage the day-to-day maintenance and monitoring of your equipment, so your IT leaders can focus on helping your business grow.

One more reason that colocation is often preferred — it is much more accessible. You’ll know exactly where your equipment is, and you can meet the team that is on-site 24x7x365 to keep your environment protected, connected and always up and running. Choose a colocation provider that is convenient to get to, and you’ll always have an ability to manage and optimize your equipment whenever you need to.

SV Colo delivers supportive, scalable and secure IT colocation services for small to midsize businesses and start-ups in northern California, so they can stay focused on growing their business. SV Colo supports the back end — keeping IT infrastructure secured, powered, cooled and connected in their state-of-the-art Tier III data centers located right in the hestate-of-the-art of Silicon Valley — all for a fraction of the CAPEX costs required from a dedicated in-house environment. Starting as an ISP in 1994, SV Colo’s focus on aligning customer needs with the proper solution, combined with a core focus on service, provides the

require from a data center provider.

A professionally-run data center, SV Colo provides highly secure, environmentally controlled facilities with multiple layers of electrical and mechanical redundancy. SV Colo’s carrier-neutral data center services are reliable, scalable and secure; all backed with industry- leading service level agreements (SLAs) and technical experts.

SV Colo delivers quality service to our customers for guaranteed uptime of their mission critical infrastructure.

solutions, 24x7x365 expert help at no additional cost, and complete transparency in all our interactions. To discuss your business’ requirements with an SV Colo expert, call 408-541-2009 or visit