Moving to colocation hosting could be an option for your business regardless of whether you are a small, medium or large enterprise. Many businesses are finding that moving to this kind of data solution not only saves them money but with additional factors such as space, IT support and maintenance, moving to colocation hosting brings many other benefits too.
What is colocation hosting?
Although similar to dedicated hosting, colocation hosting has one major difference. The hardware is still owned by you, the company, and you only rent server space in the data centre. Dedicated hosting means that you rent the servers as well as the infrastructure that houses and maintains them. As you own your server, you will have to physically transport your server to the data centre you choose to host with, and you will maintain ownership and control of the server. Even though you are only renting space in the data centre you will be able to change your level of support easily depending on your business needs.
Security
One of the main reasons that businesses are opting for a colocation hosting solution is for the additional security benefits it offers. Certain industries such as Healthcare, Government and Finance have specific compliance rules they must adhere to legally for the storage of their data and its privacy. Storing your data with a legally compliant data centre will ensure that you are meeting industry standards.
Other benefits
Speed: As your server is connected to your colocation provider’s network you will have access to cost effective high connection speeds directly to many different internet service providers. This will ensure you have top performance and redundancy should there be any connection interruptions or overloads.
Risk Management: Although your office may once have been full of staff, in all likelihood in today’s world your office may represent a ghost town. With less staff on site, the risk of theft, flooding and fire can increase. With your data now stored off-site however it will have state of the art protection to eliminate these potential disasters happening.
Expertise: When you move your data to a colocation solution not only will you have the security protection of the data centre, but you will also have access to their staff. Their experience and knowledge of the industry and how they can best support the needs of your business will be invaluable.
Cost: Investing in an in-house server room within your business is an expensive project. You will need to consider heating, cooling and security as well as the amount of space you need. If your business goes through an unexpected growth surge you may find that your carefully planned server room is no longer adequate to house the hardware that your business needs. On the flip side, if you make your server room to big you will be paying over the top running costs for a space that is not needed. Moving to a colocation data centre will ensure that you only pay for the space you need when you need it.
You can find out more about Data Compliance by visiting this website: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/