Find answers to common questions about data center colocation and our brokerage services
Data center colocation is a service that allows businesses to rent space for their servers and computing hardware within a third-party facility. This includes physical space, power, cooling, and network connectivity, enabling organizations to house their IT infrastructure in a purpose-built environment without the capital expense of building their own data center.
Using a colocation broker like AlphaDTS provides several advantages: access to our extensive market knowledge, relationships with multiple providers for better pricing, objective comparison of facilities, streamlined procurement process, and ongoing support. We can often secure better terms than clients approaching providers directly due to our established relationships and volume of business.
Our brokerage process begins with understanding your specific requirements, including technical needs, geographical preferences, and budget constraints. We then leverage our database of providers to identify suitable options, arrange tours if desired, facilitate proposal requests, and help evaluate responses. Finally, we assist with contract negotiations and provide support throughout the implementation process.
Organizations of all sizes can benefit from colocation brokerage, including enterprises requiring mission-critical infrastructure, cloud service providers needing edge locations, financial institutions with strict compliance requirements, e-commerce platforms seeking high-performance hosting, and managed service providers looking to expand their footprint. Any business that relies on IT infrastructure can benefit from our expertise.
Key factors include geographical location (proximity to users, disaster risk profile), physical security measures, power redundancy and reliability, cooling infrastructure, network connectivity options, compliance certifications, scalability for future growth, and total cost of ownership. The importance of each factor varies based on your specific business requirements.
Retail colocation typically involves smaller deployments (from single servers to several cabinets) with standardized power densities and terms. Wholesale colocation involves larger footprints (typically 500+ kW) with customized power, cooling, and security configurations, often with longer contract terms. AlphaDTS helps clients navigate both markets based on their specific requirements.
Power requirements are typically calculated based on the nameplate ratings of your equipment, with consideration for actual utilization patterns and redundancy needs. AlphaDTS helps clients analyze their current and projected power consumption, ensuring sufficient capacity while avoiding over-provisioning. We consider factors like equipment efficiency, growth projections, and redundancy requirements.
Quality data centers implement multiple layers of physical security, including perimeter fencing, 24/7 security personnel, biometric access controls, mantrap entries, CCTV surveillance, and cabinet-level security. They should also have robust logical security measures, compliance certifications (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001), and regular security audits. AlphaDTS evaluates these factors when recommending facilities.
Remote Hands services provide basic physical tasks performed by data center technicians, such as power cycling equipment, cable management, and visual inspections. Smart Hands services involve more complex technical tasks requiring specialized skills, such as hardware installations, component replacements, and troubleshooting. AlphaDTS helps coordinate these services across multiple facilities through a single point of contact.
Our data center migration assistance includes comprehensive project planning, equipment inventory and dependency mapping, transportation logistics coordination, installation scheduling, connectivity cutover planning, and risk mitigation strategies. We work with both source and destination facilities to ensure seamless transitions with minimal disruption to your operations.
Data centers typically offer various interconnection options, including direct cross-connects to other customers within the facility, carrier meet-me rooms with multiple network providers, cloud on-ramps to major cloud platforms, internet exchanges for peering, and software-defined networking platforms. AlphaDTS helps clients identify facilities with the optimal connectivity ecosystem for their specific requirements.
Our disaster recovery assistance includes analyzing your recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs), identifying geographically diverse secondary locations, designing appropriate replication architectures, coordinating with facility providers on infrastructure requirements, and establishing testing protocols. We help balance resilience needs with budget considerations to create practical, effective recovery solutions.
Colocation pricing typically includes space charges (per cabinet or square footage), power charges (per kW or circuit), cross-connect fees, remote hands services, and network bandwidth. Pricing models vary between providers and markets. AlphaDTS helps clients understand the total cost of ownership, including both recurring and non-recurring expenses, to make informed decisions.
Colocation contracts typically range from 12 to 60 months, with longer terms generally offering more favorable pricing. Enterprise and wholesale deployments often have 3-5 year terms, while smaller retail deployments may have more flexible options. AlphaDTS helps negotiate terms that balance pricing benefits with flexibility for future growth or technology changes.
Potential hidden costs include power overages beyond contracted amounts, cross-connect installation and monthly fees, remote hands services billed at hourly rates, shipping and receiving charges, and setup or decommissioning fees. AlphaDTS helps clients identify all potential costs upfront and negotiate comprehensive agreements that minimize unexpected expenses.
AlphaDTS typically receives compensation from the data center providers we work with, similar to how real estate brokers are compensated. This arrangement allows us to provide our expertise to clients without direct fees while maintaining our provider neutrality. Our recommendations are always based on the best fit for your specific requirements, not on provider compensation.
Contact our team for personalized answers to your data center colocation questions.
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