BLOG Go colo or fly solo Jun 10, 2019 STT GDC India SHARE Link copied! Go Colo or Fly Solo: A Decision for Future Enterprise The rapid digitalization in today’s era is leading enterprises to usher into technological processes that hold their businesses together. Today, every business needs reliable digital resources to carry their IT requirements – including assimilating, computing, storing, and managing data. These digital resources revolve around data centres – the primary cog that enables enterprises to function and carry out processes in the modern economy. In this fast-paced digital ecosystem, enterprises primarily have two options to manage their functions. They can either ‘Go Colo,’ i.e., be a tenant at a colocation provider or ‘Fly Solo,’ i.e., build and operate their own data centres. Both choices have their own considerations. Building and operating an enterprise-level data centre is a daunting task and requires enterprises to foray into unfamiliar territory. Whereas, going the colocation route reduces CAPEX and OPEX while the maintenance and performance tasks can be managed through SLAs. Flying Solo – Are You Equipped? Modern-day data centres are some of the most complex buildings and truly engineering marvels. Not only are these buildings getting more complex day by day, but the cost for building a data centre can also touch north of billion dollars. Since the initial cost of mere setting up an on-premise data centre is astronomical, enterprises considering ‘flying solo’ should have a vision, a well-thought-out strategy, and the resilience to see the entire value chain before expecting any return on investment (ROI). Advantages of Flying Solo Complete control over the operating environment Considerations for Flying Solo: How much cooling and power per square area will the data centre require? How will the power be sourced – public utilities or renewable sources? How is the floor space allocated? What is the computational load’s nature in the data centre? Does it comply with a rating standard (as defined by TIA 942)? What is the uptime requirement for the enterprise? Does the data centre require 24/7 onsite personnel support? How quickly does the enterprise need to have systems up and running? Will the enterprise need a secondary facility to run in parallel in events like a disaster? Projections for Scaling-up needs Going Colo – Smart and Efficient Tenanting at a colocation facility is a smart choice for all IT-reliant enterprises, big or small – whether they are driven by consolidation, latency, growth, or time to market and accelerate processes in the value chain. For instance, it makes sense for everyone – from small and medium businesses to large corporations to go the colocation way to achieve robust security, reliable data storage, and processing ability. Furthermore, businesses with a significant web footprint looking to scale their digital foothold can benefit from colocation. Advantages of Going Colo: Exceptional availability Fully scalable IT operations Compliant with corporate governance and industry standards Accountability through SLAs Customized solutions Access to the latest technology and skilled expertise Upgrades and maintenance handled by the colocation service providers Considerations for Going Colo: What is the maximum downtime permissible by the enterprise? How many employees will not be able to do their job? How many customers will not be helped during maintenance or disaster recovery? How much revenue does the enterprise lose during downtime? Is availability guaranteed during planned maintenance activities? If yes, how? Is the data centre carrier-neutral? What is the data centre’s approach toward scalability? Considerations for the security of IT assets – logical, physical, or both? Is IT load time-sensitive or is impacted by revenues? What is the rating for the data centre as issued by TIA-942 standards? Hybrid Cloud – A Promising Crossroad Cloud computing is quickly gaining pace among enterprises to manage their businesses with the utmost efficiency. Gartner predicts that by 2020, more than 90% of organizations will adopt hybrid infrastructure management. However, for organizations with huge volumes of data, moving their critical IT infrastructure to third-party platforms, such as colocation, caters to their scalable needs. Data centres can provide customized cloud solutions based on tailor-made infrastructure for different use-cases. Whether it is computing, ballooning, network, or storage requirement – the hybrid cloud can lead an impetus towards digital transformation. Deploying a hybrid cloud strategy benefits all organizations as it connects on and off-premise resources. It also allows them to scale computing resources, handle spikes in demands, and support a fast-moving digital business transformation. Narrowing the Choice Choosing between going colo or flying solo narrows down to the needs of an enterprise. For smaller organizations, hybrid cloud comes off as a more effective and efficient choice while still offering security, independence, and flexibility. However, for most enterprises going colo is far more advantageous in all parameters. It is because the overhead of operating and managing an enterprise-level data centre can be daunting. Instead, using a plug and play solution offered by colocation provider enables enterprises to focus on their core business activity. In India, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres provides class-leading colocation services through 15 state-of-the-art energy-efficient data centres. With 15 state-of-the-art colocation facilities across 8 cities, our data centres are noted for their carrier-neutral and carrier-dense interconnections. Our data centre in Chennai, Pune, Bengaluru, and others are Rated 3 and 4 by ANSI/TIA-942-B:2017. Furthermore, our facilities comply with some of the stringent certifications, such as ISO 14001, ISO 20000, ISO 27001, TL 9000, among others.