Where Does Colocation Fit Into Your Hybrid Cloud Strategy?

Cyber Wurx

Colocation

Posted February 19, 2018 by Chris filed under Cloud

Once a business has identified a need for infrastructure, its options range from integrated public cloud, on-premises data centers to colocation deployments – a combination known as a hybrid cloud. A hybrid cloud allows businesses to choose the best infrastructure modality for their needs, rather than being constrained by the strengths and weaknesses of any single option.

Colocated hardware acts as a central element in hybrid cloud platforms, enabling businesses to deploy their custom-owned infrastructure within a world-class data center without the expense of building and managing their own data center.

Private Cloud

A private cloud offers a single-tenant cloud environment, utilizing virtualization technology similar to public clouds but only allowing the owning company to launch virtual machines, store data, and execute code on the underlying colocated servers. It provides many of the benefits of public cloud platforms while mitigating security and privacy concerns, especially since the discovery of vulnerabilities like Spectre and Meltdown.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

Disaster recovery planning helps organizations prevent potential data, hardware, and software losses caused by unforeseen events, including natural disasters, technology failures, and human error. Colocated servers with backup systems and data ensure minimal recovery time in the event of a disaster, making colocation the ideal choice for hybrid cloud disaster recovery.

Colocation allows businesses to create geographically diverse redundant systems without the significant investment required for owning and managing multiple data centers.

Security and Privacy

Vulnerabilities like Spectre and Meltdown posed significant risks to multi-tenant environments like public clouds. While owned hardware doesn’t make servers immune, it is less susceptible to exploitation by third parties if only a single organization can run code on them. Colocation guarantees that specific aspects of a hybrid cloud will not be accessed by other organizations.

Cost Control

Contrary to popular belief, public cloud platforms are not always less expensive than private clouds or bare metal servers. For more predictable workloads, colocated hardware can be significantly less expensive while offering greater control, reliability, and performance. Hybrid cloud platforms are gaining popularity, with adoption growing by a factor of three last year.