There are pros and cons when regarding whether or not to outsource your data storage or keep it in-house. Keeping your business data in-house gives you complete freedom and accessibility over your data storage. However, over 65% of IT equipment failures are directly caused by inadequate, poorly maintained, or failed air conditioning in the server rooms. That’s more than half of these failures being caused by the inability to maintain these server rooms. It can be quite expensive and time-consuming to manage this within your business. Not to mention you need to educate yourself on the different types of server racks that there are in order to successfully manage your own data. So, it begs the question, do you outsource to a third-party data center, or store and manage your data within your business?
What is an In-House Data Center?
Choosing to store your data on the site of your business is called an In-House Data Center. This is seen with smaller businesses, who choose to host their data by themselves. Doing so means that your company will need to have a dedicated storage space for all of the data racks and equipment needed. If you don’t have the space for the various types of server racks, then you would store data at a standalone data center. The standalone center would not be in a shared rented space, something that happens when choosing colocation. When you choose in-house storing, it grants your company the flexibility to make modifications or expansions to data storage whenever you choose to. Having all of this accessible to your business can be costly, however, with data upkeep, maintenance, and other equipment costs.
What does Colocation mean?
When your business chooses to use a third-party data center to store the company’s data, the third-party can supply racks and other equipment. That is the process of Colocation — outsourcing your data and not having your business manage its own data. Storing your data within your business means that you will need the storage space to store the varied types of server racks and other equipment. With colocation, you don’t need to worry about needing a space to store your data. The data is stored in a shared rented space with colocation. Even though the company’s data is stored in an off-site facility provided by a colocation supplier, your company will maintain the same amount of control obtained when storing your data in house.
Colocation or Enterprise Centers?
In recent years, businesses have begun to use colocation methods to store their data instead of in-house centers. Studies have found that it is cheaper for businesses to outsource data rather than managing and maintaining it themselves. This is especially true if your business does not have the space required to store the necessary types of server racks needed for data storage management. The privately-owned storage spaces tend to offer better security for a company’s data, though it doesn’t offer the same freedom those who store their data in-house have. With colocation providers, you’ll tend to obtain better deals from internet providers, giving your business a faster connection through the colocation provider. As the years go by, colocation is becoming the more popular and less costly options for businesses small and large.
Colocation has become the popular option over these years for a reason, as it is cost-effective and requires less maintenance. Not every business owner has the knowledge needed to maintain the types of server racks and other various data equipment. Not knowing what you’re doing when storing data can end up being very costly, whereas with colocation it’s not a worry. Through colocation your business data is secure and well-maintained, checking that off your list of things to manage.