Backup Power (UPS)

Colocation assessment: Key questions for both colocation providers and clients

Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic shift in the way organizations tackle expanding IT infrastructure demands. Hindered by cost and complexity ── not to mention ever-escalating physical and cybersecurity concerns ── an increasing number of companies are seeking to get out of the data center operating business altogether, opting to instead hand the keys over to an off-site managed service provider.

For requirements ranging from web hosting services to colocation, many IT organizations faced with deploying additional capacity are choosing to engage with either a colocation data center provider, a public cloud platform, or a hybrid cloud service that offers access to a public cloud platform while storing critical assets in collocated servers. Prior to inking any agreement, it is essential that IT decision makers thoroughly evaluate potential providers to ensure an optimal partnership.

Key questions IT managers might ask colocation providers:

• Given my stated requirements and growth pattern, how quickly could you have me up and running?

• What is your power architecture? N+1, 2N, Catcher?

• Who is your data center power solution vendor?

• Does your data center power solution vendor have local service capability, and do they offer 4-hour response time?

• Can you service your power infrastructure without having to shutdown my equipment?

• Do you charge for power by the rack or by kW per square foot?

• Can I have access to billing grade metering from my rack PDUs?

• If the power billing is passed through to me, are you using the most energy-efficient power equipment to maximize cost savings?

• Does your power vendor provide real-time analytics to help maintain the uptime of the equipment?

• Describe your bandwidth capabilities and latency for my specific applications and locations, including edge data center coverage?

• Are those edge data centers power protected and secure?

• Is HVAC and UPS on a stranded network, or a WAN/LAN? How is the communication secured?

• Are your OEMs under long-term service contracts commensurate with my lease agreement and SLAs?

• Can you link me up with any or all cloud service providers?

• What happens if I need to change cloud providers or add an additional service? And how much will that cost?

Atlantic.net colocation data center uses Eaton solutions

“We like the closeness of Eaton's manufacturing to their technical team, so that they experience lessons-learned a lot quicker than an outside, third-party team that would be doing the support and feeding back to the factory. Eaton's service and engineers were one of the deciding factors for us.”

Bill Johnson, H5 VP of colocation and data center operations

Similarly, colocation companies require a comprehensive understanding of their prospective clients or brokers when offering wholesale or retail services. Because the data center represents the provider’s end product, remaining cost-conscious is imperative to effectively compete with other companies. In fact, power infrastructure components and design are key to minimizing costs for the provider, and by extension, the end user. Because of this, it is not unusual for managed service providers to come to the table with their own set of questions for clients.

Key questions colocation data center providers might ask prospective clients:

• If working with a broker, who is the actual client? (Note: this information may not be disclosed until a deal is close.)

• Are you interested in a 5-year, 10-year or 15-year lease agreement? What is the desired term of tenancy?

• How much space do you need?

• What kind of power redundancy do you require?

• Do you need retail (low margin) or wholesale (higher margin) space?

• Will you require hosted services? (Some clients may opt to operate some of their own systems on site, while seeking a provider to host other essentials.)

• What kind of service level agreement (SLA) expectations do you have?

Colocation data centers rely on Eaton:

When evaluating off-premise IT services, it is critical that discussions involve both the client and the service provider. Assessing the considerations from both perspectives will help ensure that all parties are prepared when it comes time to sign a formal agreement.

Interested in colo data center solutions?

Learn more about Eaton solutions trusted by both colocation providers and IT clients.

Atlantic.net colocation data center uses Eaton solutions

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Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy and helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges.