In the world of colocation data center services, there has been a lot of change. Some of these emerging trends are really affecting the way that business is done and in competitive ways. The biggest players in the market are making changes and purchasing acquisitions to maintain their place in their sector of the business world. What are the biggest trends?
High-End Luxuries or Affordably Pure
As providers incorporate higher-level technologies such as cloud, hosting, and interconnection services, other providers are turning to basic services. These providers can deliver low-cost space, power, and cooling to customers looking for good-quality, affordable options.
Customer Use Flexibility
Another trend is the desire for increased capacity and density options. Customers are becoming more familiar with the role that data centers play. They want flexibility in capacity, the ability to adjust the amount of colocation capacity, and the freedom to pay for only what they are using.
New Management Software
Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software is finding its place and impacting both colo providers and customers. For example, the providers are enjoying increased efficiency, more information for decision making, and plenty of high-tech add-ons. Customers enjoy clear visibility into the levels of power they’re consuming, one of the things that most affects their colo costs.
Increasing Numbers of Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions have been a normal part of the colo industry, but lately there’s been an increase in acquisitions. These exchanges can lead to more opportunities and a broader reach, both geographically and in product selection. Big acquisitions can also lead to gorilla providers in control of pricing and availability.
New Business Relations
Today representatives of the colocation providers are discussing terms and pricing with different buyers than they did in the past. The rep from the data center may be speaking with cloud architects and others within the customer organizations. This trend is affected by the natural alliance between cloud and colo services.
Edge Market Services
Another important trend is the storage of a wide variety of data from edge markets in colo centers. To provide these services, edge data centers must also provide connectivity, internal interconnection, and WAN capacity, as well as attracting content providers, long-haul carriers, and last-mile ISVs.
The Internet of Things
Both inside and outside of the IT world, the Internet of Things is a popular topic. The data necessary to run and track the use of everyday objects needs to have a home somewhere. This network connectivity allows companies and consumers to both send and receive data. It wouldn’t be possible without the colocation providers.
