As the demand for secure, fast, and efficient data storage is only predicted to grow, Lex Boost, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Leaseweb USA explains how colocation can provide many benefits for companies looking to take advantage of robust data storage.Â
The demand for secure, fast, and efficient data storage continues to grow as industries proceed with digital transformation efforts. In recent years, digital reliance has increased in sectors such as healthcare, financial services, and media. That trend is only set to continue as innovative technologies continue to revolutionize businesses. This growth in digital services comes along with a major dependency on data and, consequently, the storage of said data.
While there are multiple avenues businesses can explore to tackle the growing reliance on data, a solution that could make financial and operational sense as defined by business needs is colocationOpens a new window . Colocation allows companies to benefit from robust data storage without accruing the fees associated with maintenance and the headache that comes with security and upkeep. And implementing this via a hosting provider (or more specifically, an IaaS provider) ensures companies reap all the following benefits:
- ScalabilityÂ
- Security and complianceÂ
- Service and support
- ReliabilityÂ
- Cost
Scalability
As a business scales, demand for storage capacity, bandwidth, and other key resources increases. With colocation, scalability is easily achievable as it keeps costs low and reduces time spent on the upkeep of these resources when compared to on-premises solutions. Reducing the pressure of finding more space and the funds to expand provides more growth opportunities.Â
Security and Compliance
Cyberattacks are a real threat to any business in modern times. A cyberattack such as ransomware can cost companies an average of $111,605Opens a new window if the demand is paid. To make matters more complicated, businesses that do pay the ransom can now receive penaltiesOpens a new window from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Aside from cyberattacks, there are also physical attacks that can be launched on data storage facilities. With a colocation solution, the IaaS provider ensures several security guardrails to protect against all types of attacks.
Also, as the law begins to catch up with data storage, more compliance measures and regulations are being enacted to ensure that companies handle the public’s data safely and securely. Keeping up with compliance mandates can be extremely time-consuming, nuanced and costly. But with colocation, that becomes the job of the hosting provider, freeing up IT decision makers’ and employees’ time to focus on business operations.
Learn More: On-Prem vs. Colocation vs. Cloud: Which Is Right for Your Business?
Service and Support
The level of service and the type of support offered by a hosting provider is crucial. While an IaaS provider should have the staff and tools available to deal with any emergency situation or maintenance needs, one may decide to use their own technicians. An efficient hosting provider would not only allow this but also offer the support needed for the technicians to best maintain company data. The IaaS provider will also offer services such as data backup, disaster recovery, and additional security measures built into the service.
An IaaS provider also offers hands-on 24/7 support to help with provisioning, backup, recovery and any other service requirements. The hosting provider would be familiar with a business’s needs and goals to ensure that they offer the support and service needed to help reach defined goals.Â
Reliability
A colocation solution means that there is a level of reliability available concerning company data. Colocation allows teams to benefit from fast uptimes and little-to-no downtime, which is crucial in business as data becomes a key factor in more industries.
A colocation solution also benefits from built-in redundancy features, such as disaster recovery and automatic backup. Built-in redundancy features are important because they can prevent disruption of system operations in the case of a technical failure or natural disaster by creating a system of continuous data storage and contingencies in the case of a cyberattack or outage. These features help to achieve an increased level of reliability by reducing—or even eliminating—downtime.
Learn More: Protecting Data Storage Systems – the New Security Priority
Cost
Colocation makes financial sense for modern business for several reasons. Being able to offload the stress of maintaining a data center to a third-party hosting provider means that the costs of maintaining and running a data center are removed from the budget but still allows for high-quality service and protection. This allows teams to focus more on business operations that lead to revenue
As the demand for secure, fast, and efficient data storage is only predicted to grow, so will the need to securely store and protect data. The worry of what this can mean to a business’s bottom line can be easily assuaged with a colocation solution. Colocation brings with it many significant perks that reduce the time, manpower, and cost associated with securely storing data that can be easily accessed.
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