– Rich Recchio, Marketing Manager at Caronet, says:
Why Colocation is still Relevant and Critical in IT Infrastructure
It’s difficult to argue that IT isn’t constantly evolving and heading in new directions. Over recent years, cloud computing has become well known as a financially efficient solution that solves IT infrastructure needs and requirements, specifically when analyzing operational aspects. Surprisingly enough, IT is in fact evolving towards more of a complete cloud computing solution. But is public cloud computing right for everyone? Is public cloud computing completely replacing the need for colocation and managed services? The short answer is no, well at least not completely.
Back to the Basics
Colocation has always been the key building block for organizations to continue to grow and evolve with technological advances. While, cloud computing may be where our technology is headed as a whole, colocation still plays a part in implementing the cloud. Not every organization is willing or capable of putting their entire infrastructure in someone else’s cloud. For example, public clouds are not suitable for every application. Organizations in the manufacturing, finance, and healthcare sectors have compliance regulations and standards that they are required to meet by utilizing private infrastructure opposed to a shared environment. While this is just a small sample size of the market, other factors come into place for organizations when deciding if a complete cloud computing solution is the right fit.
Backup storage and recovery are also critical factors when implementing cloud. Storage options are available and easily accessed in the cloud; however, organizations with immense data requirements quickly realize the high costs of storage in the public cloud as well as limited control of valuable data. This is where colocation proves to be invaluable. Colocation offers a flexible environment where you can build your solution to suit not only your disaster recovery needs but your financial needs as well.
It’s often a misconception with colocation that you have to have staff on site in order to support your physical infrastructure. These days, many quality colocation providers are offering what’s called managed colocation. With managed colocation, the provider becomes an extension of your IT staff in order to keep your staff in the office doing what they do best. Some providers will also consult with your organization to help you build the right total colocation solution for you.
Putting it all Together
As mentioned previously, cloud computing is not just a fad in the IT world. It’s critical for organizations to enable their infrastructures to evolve into the best architecture available for their solutions. Hybrid IT can assist in creating the most cost effective and productive environment for organizations. Utilizing cloud computing and colocation together can provide you with a more complete package that suits all of your IT needs. For example, by implementing colocation via a provider, you are not only able to build a solution that’s custom tailored to your organization’s needs and managed by staff you control but you are also able to control your longer term financial expenses and pay only for the raw materials of the cloud and not all of the margin and services provided in the public space.
There are endless ways to implement hybrid IT in your organization. Instead of looking at your IT solution as one big picture, it’s best to break down each and every aspect in your organization to better understand where each piece of the puzzle fits. Determining which applications are best suited for colocation, cloud, or dedication solutions and keeping in mind what the requirements and security measures you need for each will help you to create the most effective and efficient infrastructure for your company. Embracing technology for its capabilities of integrating together will prove to be the future of IT.