| Colocation
is where you locate your servers off site at a secure
data center typically owned by a hosting company. The
hosting company provides a connection to the Internet,
bandwidth, physical security and rack space in which
to mount your servers. Colocation is similar to hosting
with the exception that you own the servers.
Managed
vs. Unmanaged
There
is both unmanaged and managed colocation. Unmanaged
colocation means you are responsible for the maintenance,
monitoring, and upgrades of your system. With managed
colocation the hosting company or a third party takes
on that responsibility. Which one is the right choice
for your business will depend on how important the Internet-based
computer system is to your company and your companyıs
strengths.
If
your Internet-based system being unavailable from time
to time is not a problem for your company then managed
colocation is probably not required. Managed colocation
is normally best for companies that want to proactively
manage their systems to maximize uptime. If this is
not important to your company then unmanaged colocation
is less expensive and when a problem occurs you can
either have your IT staff repair it or pay the hosting
company on a time and materials basis.
Internal
vs. Outsourced
If
maximizing system uptime is important, then you need
to decide if your internal IT staff has the knowledge
and time to keep the system performing flawlessly. If
managing your Internet-based system is the best use
of your internal IT resources and they have the time
to maintain its operational efficiency and security,
then an unmanaged colocation solution may be the correct
choice.
Two
other reasons to consider outsourcing managed colocation
are the tools you will need to proactively manage the
infrastructure yourself and the possible need to hire
additional shifts of IT staff for 24 hour support 7
days a week. To be proactive you will require monitoring
capabilities that go beyond informing you when a piece
of equipment is not working. A sophisticated monitoring
system should generate automated alerts that warn of
impending problems, include a trouble ticket system,
and have the ability to perform trend analysis on stored
measurements. You also will need engineers available
24/7 to monitor and handle the alerts.
Both
managed colocation and unmanaged colocation are viable
alternatives. A little analysis should quickly identify
which colocation method is right for your business. |
