When considering the data center, the good news is that there’s really no wrong answer to the question of whether to keep it entirely in-house or to use colocation or outsourcing systems to get a similar result. The bad news is that there’s really only a “right for you” answer, because there are advantages and disadvantages to both sides.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Colocation?

Colocation has a range of benefits, but it’s not without drawbacks.

Pros. Colocation offers some terrific cost advantages, often available to its end users for flat monthly fees. Colocation means that data is well-protected, because colocation services need to keep up with security to compete effectively in the market. Colocation also delivers on disaster protection fronts, because it’s often located a good distance away from its end-user’s location.

Cons. Colocation comes with a bare minimum of control. You take what the provider offers, without much say in when upgrades are done or how. There can also be latency issues, as the physical distance between end user and colocation point means that a signal has to travel therein. Also, regulators will look at you, not your colocation provider, for any lapses.

What Are the Pros and Cons of an In-House Data Center?

In-house data centers also have a mix of pros and cons to consider.

Pros. In-house data centers are customizable. You have total control over every upgrade, every access policy, and every scrap of data in the facility. Once you’ve put it in place, you don’t pay another nickel until it’s time to upgrade, and if there are regulatory requirements involved, you can live up to them to the letter. Plus, you establish the kind of security you want over the process.

Cons. In-house data centers represent a massive expense. The price of absolute customization is that you buy every component yourself. You also pay for power, security, maintenance costs, and everything else. If you experience a disaster at the office, the data center is on ground zero. If you should ever need to expand geographically, you may find the data center an anchor rather than a help.

What to Do When You’re Considering Colocation

Colocation offers great options in disaster preparedness, cost savings, and more. When you’re ready for colocation, just get in touch with us at EmconIT. We deliver customer satisfaction like we’re a small firm, but offer the kind of power that makes major operations like HP3 Par, NetApp, and DellEMC turn to us for help. So just reach out to us to get started on a path to colocation, or to an improved in-house data center.