on the cover
or server capacity by adding cloud
services to your current colocation
agreement. It is safe to say that any
organisation operating within a
compliance-heavy industry could
benefit greatly from colocation
– predominantly because of the
security, resilience and connectivity
improvements realised by moving
from what might be an aging
on-premises environment to an
enterprise-grade data centre.
However, this doesn’t mean
you have to be bound in red tape
to realise the same benefits.
Colocation offers a wide range of
benefits to organisations of all
types and sizes that are looking to:
Improve resilience: Colocation
helps to mitigate risk and improve
disaster recovery as a part of your
business continuity strategy. By
housing equipment in a resilient,
enterprise-grade data centre you
are gaining access to failover and
multiple sources of connectivity;
eliminating a single point of failure.
Reduce costs: Eliminating on-
premises hardware helps reduce
both capital and operational
expenditure – transitioning to
the cloud eliminates the need
to purchase new hardware
and eliminating on-premises
equipment reduces the associated
costs of power and cooling.
Enhance security: Moving key
servers and storage from a room in
the office to a data centre facility
places your data and equipment in a
more secure environment. One that
features both physical and virtual
security at a level that is likely to far
exceed an on-premises estate.
As organisations transition to
the cloud, they are increasingly
adopting colocation as a way
to experience the benefits of a
cloud-ready environment whilst
leveraging greater value from
their existing investment in
technology. According to Forrester
research, 59% of organisations
will be employing a hybrid cloud
infrastructure in 2017.
Compare pricing and service
level agreements to see who
offers best value for the level of
service you require. Remember,
colocation is not strictly a price
consideration. ONI has produced
a useful ‘Colocation Checklist’ in
their guide ‘Colocation. A Best
Practice Guide to IT’ to make
sure you’re asking all the right
questions when it comes to
evaluating potential suppliers.
The hidden costs
Key things to
look for when
selecting your
data centre.
‘According
to Forrester
research,
59% of
organisations
will be
employing a
hybrid cloud
infrastructure
in 2017.’
The perfect partner
As you seek to take advantage
of the benefits of colocation –
improving IT agility, scalability,
availability and cost efficiency
– it is important to choose the
right colocation partner. The
more complex your proposed
infrastructure, the more likely it
is to feature a combination of on-
premises, public and private cloud.
When it comes to choosing the
right colocation provider for you,
here are six key considerations:
• Where are you located?
• How much bandwidth do
you need?
• How much space do you need?
• What connection speeds do
you need?
• How often will you need to access
your equipment?
• What level of support do you need?
If proximity is important,
shortlist the service providers in
your chosen geography and visit
the facilities to get a first-hand
impression. If you are looking for
more geographic diversity
for back-up and DR, identify
other geographies within two to
three hours of your main site that
meet both criteria. Talk to the
on-site technicians as they will
become a part of your extended
technical team.
Colocation costs are not limited
to the physical amount of space
you rent. In addition to your
footprint costs, which will feature
economies of scale, there are
other charges to consider. Charges
may include: Rack space; power;
internet breakout; bandwidth;
support ; back-up; firewall or set-
up fees. Speak to your potential
provider to get a quote for the
services you will need.
Still Stuck?
As an experienced colocation
provider, ONI has addressed
many of the issues above. Since
the first day that ONI launched
its Tier 3+ data centre in 2011
it has achieved 100% uptime,
meaning you can be confident
that your business critical
infrastructure will never fail.
With every IT leader seemingly
under pressure to accelerate their
journey to the cloud ONI is offering
Colo-Plus. For each colocation rack
purchased, with Colo-Plus you can
get two of ONI’s cloud services
free for up to 12 months, allowing
customers to utilise colocation and
the cloud under one umbrella.
Whether you are looking
to reduce costs, drive digital
transformation or accelerate
your journey to the cloud, Colo-
Plus will help you get there
sooner, at a lower cost and with
less risk.
September 2017 | 13