How Savvy Data Center Managers are Driving Change in the Colo Industry

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Michael Bord

Up until recently, the colocation model was pretty straightforward.  You brought your servers and storage devices to your provider’s facility.  In return, your provider supplied the infrastructure, power, cooling, physical security, and so on.  But new trends and smarter data center managers are forcing colos to up their game. So going forward, providers will need to offer more flexibility, transparency, and services.

Yevgeniy Sverdlik of Data Center Knowledge recently wrote:

"Customers are getting smarter about what they want from their data center providers; enterprises use more and more cloud services, and the role of colocation data centers as hubs for cloud access is growing quickly as a result; technology trends like the Internet of Things and DCIM are impacting the industry, each in its own way."

The article goes on to discuss how data center managers today, demand a better understanding of their workloads.  As a result, they may ask for several power density options within the same block of space. It also notes how DCIM software adoption is helping providers to improve efficiency and resiliency, while driving more energy efficient behavior from  direct customers. 

Read more of Sverdlik’s article in the latest edition of the Hot Aisle.

But the people and trends that are driving these changes have been in motion for some time.  In 2013, Raritan customer Choice Hotels adopted remote power management, DCIM, and KVM-over-IP for its colo applications.  

In early 2015, Box shared how it was able to triple its capacity without adding cabinets, using Raritan rack PDU metering.  And more recently, Raritan cohosted, “Technology Trends for Highly Effective Colocation Deployments,” with 451 Research and Equinix.

So what’s the take away? First, it’s clear that these trends will continue to shape products and services offered; along with data center managers' expectations. Second, although it may cause short-term disruption, in the long-term these changes will benefit end users, data center managers, and providers alike. 

Learn more about remote power management tools in Raritan rack PDUs.