Cloud Hosting vs. Colocation Services: Choosing the Best for Your Business

The debate between cloud hosting and colocation services has arisen due to the fact that even today companies are not sure whether company-owned or virtual servers can better match their corporate goals. The cloud vs. colocation war isn’t very simple. To make the picture clearer, here is what both terms mean for your company’s IT infrastructure:

• Visualize cloud computing, with 99.995% uptime, as a computer room which is full of network hardware & software, equipment, servers, and connectivity. All you have to do it is use it in exchange for a monthly fee.

• Now, visualize colocation (also known as wholesale data centers) as a computer room which is empty and you have to install your own network hardware, software and other equipment in order use it for your business purpose.

Who are the best candidates for colocation?

Multinational companies and large enterprises which have fully established Information Technology (IT) departments and staff often go with the colocation option. The reason is that they want to own and operate their own IT systems as a matter of trust. Cost management with cloud services is not the issue but colocation provides better flexibility for growth to large companies. Big giants can look for providers offering la carte option so that they can control the functions they want and rest will be managed by the provider. There is also an option to outsource managed services to a third party for your wholesale data centers.

Who should consider cloud hosting services?

Small and medium-sized companies and emerging start-ups prefer using cloud hosting services as cloud computing does not require much operating costs. Another reason is that companies are not required to have internal IT expertise as cloud service providers offer networking, storage, and connectivity services. Also, the barriers for companies to enter cloud option are very small.

Things to keep in mind while considering colocation

Since collocation option is selected by companies, which want to have complete control over their websites and the way they are being operated, so these three important factors should be considered before choosing colocation hosting provider:

• Service monitoring contracts: Choose a provider that takes the responsibility of monitoring your network server.

• Hardware support contracts: A user can sign a hardware support contract with collocation provider to get hardware maintenance services from the provider.

• Your service size: Server size should be considered while selecting a collocation host. The host must have a reliable and 24*7 accessible data center in order to support your systems.

Things to keep in mind when vetting cloud service provider

When you choose a cloud service provider in Canada or other countries, ensure that the company has:

• Reliable network connectivity

• Capability to easily integrate your current network into cloud servers

• Flexible cloud service options for you

• 24/7 support

Both approaches have their own pros and cons. But each offers a number of benefits to user companies. It’s important for companies to determine their business requirements and select a solution that works best for them.