Top factors that affect colocation costs
Most of the time, business owners are unsure about what they are paying and why it’s important to pay for that certain feature. They don’t even know whether this feature is important for their business or not. The fact is, if you are unaware of your colocation costs factors, then you are definitely losing a lot of money on things that are not an essential requirement of your business. If you want to save yourself from this problem, it’s better to consider the guide presented by Grid hosting experts. They advised about the common factors that affect your overall colocation costs and how you should take notice to get rid of future troubles.
Here is a breakdown of all the factors that badly impact your colocation prices.
Rack space colocation costs you need for your servers:
Colocation is often called colo, which is much similar to renting out the apartment in any building. By choosing colocation for your servers, instead of the entire space or building, you are just renting out a small space and hours your servers or other equipment in some specific cabinet or rack in the data center. Now consider the example of your apartment size which in turn affects the amount you pay, its similar to the amount of space that you have rented out in the colocation center for your servers; which ultimately affects the overall costs of colocation.
Now you will be charged on the basis of space your hardware takes. If your server is taking just a small amount of space, then the costs would be simply determined by the space your server is taking in the colocation rack. Businesses may need space according to their needs, some require a full rack, some of them need a half rack and some prefer to choose a quarter rack.
Power, redundancy, and cooling colocation costs:
As we all know that servers need some highly incredible amount of power so that they can run more efficiently. Besides powers, they also need cooling, and redundancy support so the colocation service providers ensure you about complete stability. Providing maximum power is one of the biggest parts of your overall colocation costs.
When we compare Chicago colocation pricing with UK’s colocation, you will come to know that the UK offers comparatively lower costs. And they provide this efficiency because they have a well-managed colocation hosting facility which ensures that you will always have the required power to run your equipment in case of power outages. When you consider the help of colocation services, it’s better to search for the power backup reliability so you can ensure that it would be enough to meet all the server needs. When you will pay less for the provider who doesn’t utilize the power you need can offer you high costs in the long run.
Cooling charges are always included as part of your power costs because they also play an integral role to keep the servers function at its best. Sometimes, providers charge you cooling costs based on per square foot space. And sometimes, you will be paying as data center pricing per kw according to the usage. In the case of a metered contract, you may end up paying a specific percentage included with the overall metered charges.
Connectivity and bandwidth in server colocation:
Connectivity is another critical element to consider while choosing your colocation provider. If your company needs some high-speed and high-performing Internet that can help keep the business run & stable, then you should never make a compromise on connectivity. So considering a perfect data center that can provide you access more like an internet service provider, then it means if one network goes down, then you will have the option to choose another.
Bandwidth is also an incredible factor which can affect the colocation costs. You should always choose the services that can offer you a reliable amount of bandwidth you may want for your business, but people also don’t want to pay fees for the bandwidth they have not been using. So generally, it looks much affordable as well as flexible to choose a colocation facility in terms of bandwidth usage and connectivity than considering your in-house facility.
Risk mitigation that helps keep the data safe:
Risk mitigation is mostly like power redundancy as it simply ensures that your hardware and servers are safe and secure. Almost half part of your colocation costs usually goes towards the techniques you apply, the equipment you use, compliance problems, and advanced technologies needed to protect your data center.
Strong physical security:
Another most crucial factor that affects colocation prices is the strong security offered in the data center. All the data centers that offer colocation would have some strong and perpetual physical security services that you must be required to pay for the features, including:
- 24 hours of tracking and monitoring
- Highly restricted access
- Strong video surveillance
- Biometrics solution
The location, and supply & demand
Your data center colocation greatly influences the costs of colocation. So a data center located in some busy downtown area would offer high costs. For example, NYC colocation pricing would be higher than the UK’s colocation. On the other hand, supply & demand also plays a significant role in pricing. Therefore, if the market is saturated with multiple data centers, then your pricing would be quite lower, as your data center would be already competing for success.
Maintenance costs:
If you have decided to add a maintenance package in your costs plan, then it would certainly affect the colocation costs. Many data centers present you with different options of pricing plans so you can easily choose for yourself according to your business needs. These maintenance costs also include technical support charges as part of the overall maintenance plan.
Is colocation the right option?
Yes, colocation is always an ideal option for any business because they are not required to pay overhead costs for managing their equipment. Instead, they can consider the best service provider that charges reliable colocation costs in the UK so you can streamline your operations efficiently. If you have any confusion about the colocation pricing plans, consult with Server colocation professionals and let them handle the thing according to your requirements.
