– Carl Brandt, US Director of Sales,(DCS) with Colt, says:
Data center and colocation services are the infrastructure that fuels our daily business operations. It is because of their tremendous market demand as well as customers’ increasing IT requirements and the need to access new technologies that industry analysts at 451 Research predict the worldwide colocation market to total $36.1 billion in annual revenues by the end of 2017. Further research by MarketsandMarkets reports this number to grow to $43.34 billion in 2018. As technology continues to grow as the very lifeblood of organizations, business critical operations as well as the customer perception of company brands will become increasingly dependent on the performance of these services and the viability of organizations’ data center strategy.
As data center and colocation services mature, providers are recognizing the need to adapt their service offerings to provide customers with a true business solution, not just a technology management function. Forward-thinking providers are implementing new strategies and capabilities that make rigid pricing and service structures things of the past, replaced by new value offerings that provide a true solution to the dynamic, unique needs of companies’ businesses and their customers. Data center and colocation customers can now negotiate exactly what they need in terms of flexibility, service levels and customization.
Recognizing this highly progressive trend, independent technology and market research company Forrester Research recently released a brief titled “Change Buying Habits for New Data Center Solution Packaging”. The brief offers today’s data center and colocation purchasers independent insight into how forward-thinking providers are adapting their solution packaging in order to help their clients better serve their own customers. It also identifies the truly important considerations to look for in a facility.
According to the brief, traditional methods of sourcing colocation services focused on capacity, dictated specifically by cost and real estate. At Colt, we believe serving customers’ needs should be the main focus, and quality of service is where true value lies. While space, power, and cooling are all vital needs within a data center, the revised goals of infrastructure sourcing should focus on economics, flexibility and latency. Furthermore, Forrester makes mention of progressive providers offering more available services, including carriers expanding data center services, colocation players offering more managed services and cloud, and even some vendors providing direct-connect services into other tenants and service providers within the same facility. Colt offers a variety of additional services at our data centers, including remote hands support, disaster recovery space, cross-connects, and ‘swing space’, which allows customers to host their equipment in our data centers, at reduced cost, while they migrate into our site. We also provide direct, low-latency partner connections in our facilities as well as secure connections into all major cloud platforms, financial services platforms, content delivery networks and Internet exchanges.
The brief also emphasizes that one size does not fit all. Realizing this, innovative providers are now embedding more flexibility in their contracts, offering items such as variable resiliency levels, penalty-free scalability and one rate across locations per contract. Lastly, Forrester attributes redefined roles of data center decision-makers as well as more stakeholders getting involved in the sourcing process to data center decision-making becoming more strategic now than ever before.
The recommendations outlined in the Forrester brief closely mirror the forward-thinking strategy and capabilities that Colt already has in place. Operating 29 carrier-neutral data centers across two continents, we’ve learned a thing or two about how to serve our customers, helping them stay ahead of the market leveraging our innovative network, voice and data center capabilities. Customized solutions that enable our customers to success are the foundation of our business, providing critical flexibility that molds to businesses’ unique needs. Service is at the heart of everything we do, and through a combination of traditional best practices coupled with forward-thinking strategies and capabilities, Colt is a driving force in the world of network, voice and data center services.
If you’re interested in Forrester’s brief in detail, please visit our website and download your free copy of Forrester’s brief.
