Like every company in the digital age, your startup needs a server. However, before you go out and invest in the traditional form, consider these nine essential facts about colocation.
You Still Get the Servers You Need
Colocation doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice anything. Just because it’s not a prefabricated server provided by a third-party shouldn’t scare you. It should be just the opposite! You’re getting as much or as little server space as your startup needs.
They’re Just Customizable
The major difference is that you get to pick exactly what it will entail. No matter how good a third-party server is, if it’s prefabricated, it’s never going to be perfect for your startup.
For one thing, “perfect” may change over time. You might learn you don’t need certain features you originally thought were worth the extra money. With colocation, you can make those adjustments.
It’s More Affordable
This also helps explain why colocation is more affordable. Go the traditional route and you’ll end up paying for services and features you never use. Your best case scenario is to simply find a server option that overcharges you the least. With colocation, you only pay for what your startup uses.
You Won’t Need Extra Space
Most startups are tight on space. Creating their own server would require they find an extra room to host all the hardware that goes along with it. This usually isn’t an option and, even if it was, that’s space that could be used for a number of other things too.
Instead, with colocation, all of the server-related hardware is offsite in a climate-controlled datacenter.
Scalability Is Easy
Like every startup, you’re probably constantly thinking about scalability. The great thing about colocation is that scalability is built in. When you need more server space, just add it on. If you need to scale back, that’s not a problem either. You’re in complete control of your servers down to the very last screw.
You’ll Need Some IT Acumen
You won’t need to be an IT genius to use colocation, but it will help if you have someone on your startup’s staff who is familiar enough to speak with the provider. Also, as you’re responsible for the hardware, someone with a strong knowledge base is important.
As the market is growing, though, many providers also serve as consultants because they know a lot of people simply don’t have the aforementioned knowledge.
But Many Necessary Services Can Be Purchased
Furthermore, you can always hire a freelancer for help. Like we just mentioned, a lot of colocation providers will also let you buy necessary services a la carte.
Security Is Better
All the flexibility we covered above sometimes leads people to falsely assume that security may lack with colocation. Fortunately, the exact opposite is true. One of the biggest advantages of colocation is that security is better, yet also more cost-effective at the same time.
Think about it: you own all the equipment storing your important information. Amongst other things, this frees you up to encrypt it however you want without having to trust third parties with access.
You Have Options
Lastly, colocation is a growing market all around the world. There is still a lot of competition out there too. This is great for the consumer because it means that you have a lot of options and a lot of companies vying for your business. Therefore, you shouldn’t be shy about being picky and refusing to settle. No matter what your unique needs are, there’s a colocation datacenter provider out there that will be perfect.
By now, it should become clear that colocation is the server solution your startup needs. As time goes on, you’ll see more and more companies of every size realizing the same thing.