6 Data Center Colocation Trends to Watch in 2021

About Data Center Colocation
A colocation data center is additionally referred to as “colo”, is a type of large data center facility provided by companies that offer a shared, secure area for enterprise businesses to store hardware related to data storage and other equipment. Colocation facilities offer infrastructure, power, cooling, and physical security for the server, storage, and networking equipment of other organizations. The space at this facility is either leased or rented by the room, cage, rack, or cabinet colo services depending on the requirement of the client. It is a common facility where companies share the resources provided by the data center.

All this sharing comes with significant cost reductions bundled with perks like redundancy/ reduced downtime, higher security, flexibility, scalability, and 24/7 IT Support. It can also be a step towards cloud migration. Switching towards colocation means more focus on revenue projects and overall improvements instead of managing an on-site data center. Data center colocation could be the right choice for any business of any size, in any industry.

This industry has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. In 2020, despite the demands of social distancing and the work-from-home model, this sector still performed well and should continue this year. Infiniti Research published that “the global data center market is projected to grow 18% annually to exceed $270 billion through 2024.”

So what can we expect in 2021? We’ve identified the top 6 trends that will shape the colocation business this year.

Top Trends to Dominate in 2021

  1. Market Growth: COVID-19 pandemic and the associated work-from-home economy has accelerated digital transformation, resilience, and edge strategies for service providers. This in turn has boosted demand for IT services in which colocation serves as a major pillar. As we move into 2021, many industries and individual companies are looking to downsize their commercial real estate and facilitate remote work. They are transitioning into cloud-based frameworks. They have already started to turn to colocation as a flexible option.
  2. Interest In Remote Offerings: The continuing COVID-19 pandemic has put restrictions on travel. This means that enterprise customers can’t always rely on their staff to manage the necessary operation at data centers. The interest of industries will be more towards the colocation companies that offer remote help when their personnel is unavailable to visit the site.
  3. Remote workforce Security: Due to the work-from-home culture, businesses have quickly deployed approaches such as VPN tunneling to ensure secured access to applications for employees working from home. These organizations will look forward to colocation services for more robust security. A colocation facility with a VPN or IP routing, equipped with managed firewalls, which in turn can control access to websites and cloud-based applications will be looked forward to in 2021.
  4. Evolution Of Edge Computing: Edge computing will go mainstream in 2021. The global rise in data use, the continued push towards innovative technologies, the growth of 5G networks, and a long-term remote workforce will all drive increased demand for edge computing. Colocation facilities need to weigh these effects on colo use cases, technology, and investment strategies.
  5. AI Demands On Infrastructure: AI compute as a service will significantly affect colocation data center services. Automation and robotics will play a key role in facility management. This can include the use of robots to install servers in racks, swap out failed servers, manage disk storage and interconnection, and site security. This is due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which demands less reliance on human resources.
  6. Focus On Environmental Impact: One major trend of colocation facilities will be how the service providers will make more energy-efficient solutions and commitments to address both customers and regulatory requirements. Innovation around on-site renewable energy generation for power will be at pace this year. Colocation centers need to minimize their impact on the environment and move towards sustainable practices for energy consumption.

Conclusion:
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the colocation landscape for many organizations with a continuous emphasis on securing business continuity with its IT systems. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), 80% of businesses will boost their cloud and IT infrastructure at twice the current speed by the end of 2021.The expected result is that the colocation data centers are set for vigorous growth in 2021.