European demand for data centre colocation is up 59% this year, despite fears over an economic slowdown in the Eurozone. Though there is still some uncertainty over financial stability, it clearly isn’t slowing down the future plans for many businesses. When it comes to colocation, which side of the fence does your business sit on? Are you one of the growing number of businesses opting for it, or one that would like to know what all the fuss is about? If it’s the latter, allow me to explain what colocation can do for your business.
Firstly, let’s explore why I’m well-placed to provide an overview on the subject matter. Known for one of Europe’s largest networks, Colt also own and operate 20 carrier-neutral data centres across Europe, 7 partner data centres in Asia, and connect to 430+ third-party data centres globally. We’re builders, operators, and customers of data centres. So, I think it’s safe to say we have some valuable experience in the field of colocation, although it’s not something we’re well known for.
Colocation is trending because for many businesses, it has become a fundamental part of their overall strategy. As budgets become squeezed and technology more complex, organisations are increasingly looking for technology partners which can add real value to their business by providing them with a complete solution. Colt recently commissioned research – the Tech Deficit – to find out how organisations are supporting their business and how future-ready their technology infrastructure is to support business ambitions. The research found that businesses are keen to explore opportunities with reliable external partners, particularly in the critical area of data management, with colocation expected to increase (by 33%).
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise to me – in today’s fast-paced business environment, even more pressure is put on organisations not to fall behind. There is also a growing need to meet the expectations of customers with higher demands and growing competition in the market.
In such a busy environment, it can be hard to know where to focus. Do you concentrate all your efforts on keeping customers happy? Or in outdoing your competitors? Or in just keeping pace with fast-moving markets and technology? Or in minding budgets? The inconvenient truth is: all of the above.
Organisations need to find ways to become leaner and to build strategic partnerships that will help support the future of their businesses. But the fact is that many organisations don’t have the data centre infrastructure to support future needs. Almost three in four businesses (72%) have either a significant or moderate tech deficit – where their infrastructure is not ready to deliver the critical services needed to meet future business needs, according to the Tech Deficit study.
Thus, we’re seeing more organisations opting to simplify the number of services, applications, storage and network resources they have in place. These businesses are opting for flexible, simplified models and choosing specialist partners, such as colocation providers, to support their infrastructure and streamline future planning. A second Colt report Planning Anxiety found that 79% of IT managers are confident that their colocation strategy will meet their business needs.
A strategic move to colocation allows businesses to migrate between technologies and locations, rationalising their data centre strategy and having a local team that is ready to support them when it’s most needed, enabling organisations to focus on their core business.
At Colt we’re able to provide our customers with solutions that address their business and IT needs. We offer simplicity by enabling organisations to have a data centre strategy that keeps up with the pace of their business and technology, whilst minding budgets and remaining competitive, ensuring that they can concentrate on keeping their customers happy.
If you’d like to find out how Colt colocation services can help you keep up with and plan for your evolving business, check out our video.
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This blog has previously appeared on our main corporate blog – www.colt.net/blogs. We thought it was also relevant to our SME audience, so have republished it here for you.
Make Do
19 December 2014
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