Colocation

How colocation providers can deliver a value-added service and keep ahead of the pack

By David Fiore, Senior Software Product Manager, Opengear  According to a recent research study, published by Facts & Factors, the global data centre colocation market was estimated at US$ 39 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach US$ 60 billion by 2026. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 10% from 2020 to 2027. It is a positive picture but in the years to come, the success of colocation service providers will be key to this ongoing growth. Today, we are seeing these providers increasingly looking to differentiate themselves from the competition by finding new ways to add value to their service offering to potential tenants. Delivering competitively-priced units and rack space is no longer sufficient. Providers will be looking to add other feathers to their cap. One of the main ways in which they can distinguish themselves is through their ability to monitor and manage the systems they look after for their tenants more efficiently and effectively. In doing this, colocation providers will above all be looking for a single pane of control to enable them to remote access and provision, troubleshoot and re-configure.  Underneath this, they will need to work with a fully functional network management capability.  A potentially key part of this will be providing customers with tools for out-of-band management (OOB), which give them direct access into their network and the ability to manage devices like switches, routers or firewalls, without needing to purchase and maintain the equipment. Delivering an always-on independent management plane, OOB gives users reliable access to monitor and manage their IT infrastructure. That capability can be combined with NetOps automation tools, in turn allowing engineers to automate and orchestrate key functionality and maintain business continuity. This way of operating is ideal for organisations renting space within a colocation facility. It also benefits the facility providers themselves who can utilise it to offer a ‘remote hands’ service to tenants, applying relevant access controls and permissions and then segmenting out capability to them from an out-of-band device. Just being able as an administrator to get onto a laptop and access the services that sit inside the colocation facility, without needing to do complex networking, will also be a key benefit for colocation providers, and will help them provide reassurance for tenants. Further opportunities will be laid open by the emerging capability to segment customer traffic, data and permission levels across these tools.  Yet, it is worth remembering that all this depends on having implemented a centralised and streamlined network monitoring and management infrastructure. Colocation service providers won’t want to have to bring up one portal to access their servers, one to manage their network equipment and yet another to access security authentication. They will want to have a single place where they can manage all this capability.  At the same time, they may well want to be able to readily see all of their power or data consumption in a centrally-accessible location rather than spending time and effort digging into processes to understand key trends or to attain key metrics. All this benefits the service provider in making their operations more efficient and that by extension will bring complementary benefits to tenants. Yet, all this capability will not necessarily be easy to achieve.  Any provider will be faced with complex decisions about the solutions they should buy. There are a diverse range of different networking products available today, each with their own configurations. When you pick a single provider there may be concessions to make in terms of areas that provider does not cover or where their solutions are more expensive than a best-of-breed solution elsewhere. That’s a challenge for a colocation service provider. They will either have to pick a networking platform that doesn’t do everything and stick with it in the hope that it will do most of what they require or alternatively they will have to use multiple platforms: something which brings its own challenges, not least in terms of having multiple different management consoles and multiple different ways to facilitate changes.  If the latter is the case, they will benefit significantly from having an overarching solution that offers the capability to manage all these networking devices from a single pane of control, and which can link to networking devices and provide all the data they need in one place rather than having multiple endpoints to go and get data and make changes. They no longer have to remember, for instance, where do I go to control my firewall, or to put updated policies into my intruder prevention system? Delivering these kinds of capabilities will assist colocation service providers in their bid to stand out from the crowd but will also benefit the whole sector.  Looking to the future  Today, the colocation market is demonstrating robust growth. In some parts of the world, larger providers are taking over and buying up smaller providers because they are confident they can build systems that allow them to deliver services across the board. In other regions, smaller colocation facilities have come to life to fill the void that the big ones don’t cover.  Both large and small service providers have the potential to survive in the colocation market of the future. Yet, both will nevertheless be reliant on the quality of networking systems and solutions they can access and their ability to make use of a centralised management system to drive operational efficiencies; faster time to insight and competitive edge.

Echelon Data Centres and Biocore Environmental agree to co-locate

Echelon Data Centres and Biocore Environmental have reached an agreement to co-locate a biogas production facility on the Echelon DUB20 data centre site in Arklow, Co Wicklow, Ireland. Biocore specialises in producing methane gas through the anaerobic digestion process, gas which can be used to power combined heat and power (CHP) generators producing electricity, or which can be processed further and supplied directly to the national gas network. Echelon, which has six sites in Ireland and the UK with up to 500MW of capacity, is committed to sustainable operations, one element of which is exploring ways in which its facilities can be powered cleanly and sustainably. Niall Molloy, CEO of Echelon Data Centres, believes that as demand for data processing, management and storage facilities continues to increase, driven by society’s increasing reliance on tech and its application in everyday life, data centre operators must focus on, and facilitate, the provision of clean and sustainable power to their facilities. “The inconvenient truth is that data centres are huge consumers of power – but equally inconvenient is the fact that without them, we would not be enjoying – relying on – the benefits of 5G, e-commerce, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence (machine learning) and virtual reality. Given, therefore, that data centres are here to stay, it’s up to us – the facilities’ owners and operators – to make provision to power them sustainably, cleanly and with least impact on the grid. “Our agreement with Biocore, which would see a renewable biogas facility co-located with a 100MW data centre on our DUB20 site is a landmark initiative which could assist in providing a renewable back-up power solution for the facility, while also making productive use of organic material and returning value in terms of fertiliser stock for Irish agriculture.” “We recently signed an agreement with SSE Renewables to co-locate a substation on our DUB20 (Arklow) site which will facilitate the development of Ireland’s largest off-shore windfarm, supplying some 520MW of renewable power through the substation to the national grid. The substation will also supply power to our data centre. “On our DUB10 (Clondalkin) site, we have planning permission for a 100MVA gas-fired energy centre, which will help smooth the flow in the grid (enabling the transition to 100% renewable energy), while providing back-up power for the facility thereby doing away with the need for diesel generators.“ Declan Murray, Managing Director of Biocore Environmental, welcomed the agreement with Echelon, highlighting the mostly untapped potential in biogas production, both as a completely sustainable and eco-friendly method of producing fuel and also as a way of solving problems associated with the recovery of biodegradable material. “Biogas production is a virtuous circle – we take organic materials that can, themselves, become environmental pollutants, and transform them into gas either for supply to the gas network, or for use in generating power. “The residue from the production process is dried and re-supplied to the farms from which much of our organic feedstock can be sourced. This residue makes an excellent fertiliser – and means that none of the organic material goes to waste. “Our relationship with Echelon will be a symbiotic one – we can use the heat that is generated by the data centre to maintain our biogas production process, and the biogas produced can assist the data centre in terms of producing power for storage in back-up battery arrays. “One of the by-products of the gas cleaning process – before it is introduced to the gas network, for supply to homes and businesses – is carbon dioxide. This is an effective fertiliser for plant products cultivated under cover and, of course, the Echelon DUB20 site has the space to host such enterprises in the future.”

Dansk Telemedicin choose DigiPlex for Colocation services

DigiPlex, the Nordic leader for sustainable, scalable, and secure data centres, welcomes Dansk Telemedicin A/S to its Copenhagen data centre. As a leading and well-known supplier to the healthcare sector across Denmark, Dansk Telemedicin specializes in developing flexible, internet-based systems for collecting, structuring and sharing medical data. Working with hospitals and care providers, Dansk Telemedicin creates data services and workflows that meet the specific needs of the sector. This includes handling confidential and sensitive personal data. Security, resilience and availability are crucial to the company’s service to its customers so it needed a data center partner that could guarantee the same. DigiPlex’s reputation and track record in these areas was key in the company’s decision to move to the DigiPlex facility in central Copenhagen.   Moving to DigiPlex not only provides Dansk Telemedicin with a flexible resource for its data center needs but places it into an ecosystem providing connectivity to current and potential partners, suppliers and customers. “We believe that our systems should adapt to our customers, not the other way around,” says Thomas Berner, Head of Sales and Compliance at Dansk Telemedicin. “The flexibility and stability, as well as the understanding of our area of work, weighed heavily in the choice of colocation-provider.” “Dansk Telemedicin is a recognized name in Danish healthcare IT and we are pleased to welcome them to DigiPlex,” says Fredrik Jansson, DigiPlex CCO. “Any organization dealing with healthcare data needs 100% confidence in the security and stability of the infrastructure they rely on. We are pleased to be able to deliver this confidence to Dansk Telemedicin.” DigiPlex was established in Copenhagen in 2018 following the takeover of an existing data centre from Telia, which subsequently became one of DigiPlex’s key customers. The data centre is 1,600 square meters. See here for site specifications. Just last month, DigiPlex announced it had expanded its Danish portfolio further through the acquisition of a plot of 110,000 m2, secured enough renewable power to support the development, as well as onsite water, planning and building permissions to construct five data centres for a major new campus site. This second DigiPlex datacentre site in Denmark will feature waste heat recovery technology to feed into the existing district heating system as part of a significant environmental sustainability commitment.

Amito acquires Luminet colocation customer base

Amito Limited has acquired a significant colocation customer base from leading wireless microwave and fibre connectivity provider Luminet. Based in Reading, Amito owns and operates an award winning Tier3+ data centre renowned for its innovative operations management, and industry leading support teams. Ed Butler, CEO, Amito says, “We are delighted to have successfully completed this acquisition with Luminet. Despite the challenges of the last year we have maintained a strong growth in the market and this acquisition is a really positive step for our business development strategy.  Luminet are also the latest carrier to have a point of presence (PoP) at our Reading datacentre which is great news for the customer.” London based Luminet took the decision earlier this year to focus on their connectivity solutions. Sasha Williamson, CEO, Luminet explains, “We always want the absolute best service for our customers, so we took the time to find a best of breed partner to take on our colocation clients. We believe we have found in Amito a highly experienced team who can offer a deeper level of expertise in colocation solutions and share our vision for excellence. This is a great move for our customers and a great solution for both Luminet and Amito.”

Riello UPS extends NextEnergy range with 600 kVA version

Riello UPS upgrades its NextEnergy (NXE) series with a new 600 kVA model. The NXE 600 is designed to protect larger data centres including hyperscale or colocation facilities and is capable of powering parallel installations up to a massive 4.8 MVA. It joins the series’ already popular 250-300-400-500 kVA versions and shares the same advanced transformer-free technologies that enable it to deliver unity power (kW = kVA) and TÜV-certified operational efficiency up to 97% in online UPS mode. With front to top ventilation and full front access for maintenance eliminating the need for rear clearance, the NextEnergy range offers operators fantastic installation flexibility (i.e. against the wall, side-to-side, back-to-back). It also works with or without a neutral connection, reducing distribution costs for data centres not requiring a neutral line. Like the rest of the range, the new NXE 600 incorporates a host of energy saving features that reduce operators’ power consumption and running costs. These include an innovative Active Eco operating mode that offers enhanced efficiency of 98.5% by powering the load using the bypass line, which filters harmonics on the mains whilst avoiding the need for any power factor correction. It also incorporates an Efficiency Control System that optimises power consumption in parallel installations at low loads by automatically putting some UPSs into standby and sharing the workload amongst the rest, ensuring they run at the highest possible efficiency. Leo Craig, Managing Director of Riello UPS, comments: “With the addition of the NXE 600, the NextEnergy range caters for data centres of all sizes, from smaller server rooms right the way through to hyperscale facilities. “You can parallel up to eight of the new UPS systems together, meaning you can protect large-scale mission-critical applications up to 4.8 MVA of power. And its Hot System Expansion capability enables you to easily add UPS when it’s time to scale up without having to transfer to bypass, ensuring your critical load is protected at all times.” The NextEnergy series is compatible with lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors as alternative energy storage options, while it also provides three peak shaving options: static (pre-programmed at commissioning stage); remote controlled (by the user/operator); and dynamic (adjusts in real-time according to site conditions). Featuring a large 7in colour LCD touchscreen display panel for advanced communications, the NXE range easily integrates with all DCIM and remote monitoring software.

Delta expands its UPS product line with high-performance DPS 300kVA

Delta has recently added a new Ultron DPS model to its family of uninterruptible power supplies. This latest Ultron online UPS is rated at 300kVA. With it, the Ultron DPS series from Delta now offers capacities ranging from 300 to 600kVA. Up to eight units can be run in parallel for megawatt-scale installations. This makes DPS 300 online UPS systems suitable for mission-critical applications that demand high performance. “The latest generation of our Ultron DPS series was developed especially for use in hyperscale data centres seeking to lower operating costs. Our conversations with colocation and cloud service providers revealed that, in addition to reliability and efficiency, other requirements have become extremely important, too. Megawatt-scale power capacity, a compact footprint, and ease of operation,” explains Rakesh Mukhija, Head of Mission Critical Infrastructure Solutions (MCIS) at Delta EMEA. “With the Ultron DPS series, we now cover the entire power range from 300 kVA to 600kVA. Soon, we’ll be expanding the Ultron family again and launching the DPS 1000kVA and the DPS 1200kVA to offer megawatt capacities in a single unit. This way, our customers can choose the Ultron DPS UPS that is an exact fit for their needs.” The DPS 300 kVA is a monoblock UPS system with the highest available power density and the smallest footprint on the market. By conserving space, it provides more room for revenue-generating IT racks. The new Ultron DPS achieves AC-AC efficiencies of up to 96.5% during normal operation and 99% in ECO mode, reducing energy costs considerably. In addition, it delivers the full rated power (output power factor > 0.99) for maximum availability without power loss. The ability to choose valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) or environmentally friendly lithium-ion batteries also offers a means of optimising battery investments. Dual CAN bus systems are one example of how redundant core components ensure the availability of this new Delta UPS system. The DPS series offers proactive intelligence to warn IT managers of impending failures before they occur. This reduces the risk of downtime as well as the time and expense that maintenance work involves. Advanced event analysis including up to 10,000 event logs and waveform capturing allow abnormalities to be identified, ensuring high availability. The user-friendly 10in LCD screen of the UPS displays information on security, temperature, fire protection, and cooling as required to simplify local control. Optional battery management software also allows operators to view battery status information on the touch panel. IT managers can access all the components of the UPS from the front of the unit. This way, they can easily replace the modular components as needed, considerably reducing mean time to repair (MTTR). Key features of the Ultron DPS series • Currently the highest power density and smallest footprint compared to competing products • Self-diagnosis with early warning system • Unity output power factor (> 0.99) • AC-AC efficiency of up to 96.5%, 99% in ECO mode • Parallel configurations of up to eight units • Designed with redundant key components • Li-ion-battery-ready • 10in colour touchscreen with graphical user interface

Lenovo Data Centre Group delivers new data management solutions

Lenovo Data Centre Group (DCG) announces new end-to-end data management solutions allowing customers of all sizes to harness data more securely and efficiently, from edge to core to cloud, with a single set of tools and capabilities for a smarter way forward. “Customers continue to face challenges implementing a cohesive data management system to analyse and process data more efficiently,” comments Stuart McRae, Executive Director and General Manager, Storage, Lenovo Data Center Group. “Lenovo’s unique state-of-the-art data management architecture, in combination with the industry’s most reliable ThinkSystem servers, enables customers to accelerate Analytics and AI within a single platform.”  Accelerating Data Insights and Reducing Data Management Costs from Edge to Cloud The new Lenovo ThinkSystem DM5100F brings high-performance, low-latency all-NVMe storage at an affordable price point, enabling customers of all sizes to enhance analytics and AI deployments, while accelerating applications’ access to data.  The Lenovo DM Series storage systems now include new S3 Object support, to create a next generation unified data management platform. This platform allows customers to manage and analyse all data types (block, file and object) within a single storage platform, accelerating the processing of data analytics while reducing infrastructure costs. These enhancements create expanded data protection capabilities, with transparent failover and management of object storage natively. Additionally, with Lenovo DM Series storage, customers can add cold-data tiering from hard drives to the cloud, or replicate data to the cloud. This enables an economical multi-cloud strategy for storage, reducing the overall cost of data management. Jolera, a multinational service provider, recently worked with Lenovo to build out their back-end IT infrastructure. Jolera chose Lenovo DM Series and DE Series to build out their new offering, in combination with Lenovo ThinkSystem SR630 servers connected to storage arrays. “One of our first achievements was boosting the deduplication ratio of our storage solution from 3:1 to 4:1 by simply using the built-in tools in ThinkSystem,” said José Martins, Vice President, European Sales and Operations at Jolera Inc. “Without question, this improvement will help us contain our storage spend, and we will continue to optimize our data center with tools and guidance from Lenovo.” To help mitigate data management costs, Lenovo delivers an enhanced Lenovo ThinkSystem Intelligent Monitoring 2.0 software solution, a cloud-based management platform that uses AI to simplify and automate the care and optimisation of Lenovo’s ThinkSystem storage environment. Customers can monitor and manage storage capacity and performance for multiple locations from a single cloud-based interface, predict issues before they happen, and receive prescriptive guidance.  To further accelerate the performance of customers’ applications, Lenovo announces the new Lenovo DB720S Fibre Channel Switch. This switch provides 32Gbps and 64Gbps storage networking, delivering higher speed and 50 percent3 lower latency than previous generations. The DB720S delivers autonomous SAN infrastructure with self-learning, self-optimizing, and self-healing capabilities, leading to reduced downtime and simplified storage network management. Bringing Affordable and Flexible Analytic and AI Solutions to Entry and Mid-Sized Organisations As AI moves from the realm of research and science to delivering insights and automation for enterprises, Lenovo is focused on partnering and enabling this value for businesses of all sizes.  Lenovo recently collaborated with NetApp and NVIDIA to publish a Reference Architecture for an AI training system. The architecture combines ThinkSystem SR670 servers with NVIDIA GPUs and ThinkSystem DM5000F All-Flash storage, to help take the guesswork out of optimizing an AI platform.

Epsilon Partners with Aviatrix to deliver advanced multi-cloud networking

Epsilon, a global connectivity service provider, has partnered with Aviatrix, a leading cloud network platform, to deliver a multi-cloud service for enterprises. Epsilon Cloud Networking is an end-to-end multi-cloud service with the automation, operational visibility and control that enterprises need to simplify cloud networking. Epsilon customers benefit from features including advanced multi-cloud functionality, enterprise-class networking and security and network abstraction. The multi-cloud service directly controls native cloud networking constructs to maintain cloud simplicity and automation. It is based on the Aviatrix multi-cloud network platform with the ability to move data between cloud environments, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud. “We are excited to partner with Aviatrix to deliver a cloud networking service beyond traditional connectivity. Epsilon Cloud Networking addresses the real challenges in enterprise networking within and across the clouds” says Michel Robert, Chief Executive Officer at Epsilon. “We have combined our expertise in global connectivity with Aviatrix’s cloud network platform to deliver an end-to-end multi-cloud service. With Aviatrix as our partner, we are confident in delivering a best-in-class cloud networking solution for our customers.” Epsilon Cloud Networking uses Epsilon’s private network as the underlay and the Aviatrix cloud network platform to create an enterprise-class network inside and between public clouds. The Aviatrix network provides multi-cloud networking that goes beyond the basic native cloud networking service constructs. The Epsilon service also allows customers to consume security services, such as FQDN filtering and service insertion of next-gen firewalls, to meet their security and compliance requirements. “Our partnership allows Epsilon to deliver a complete end-to-end service for businesses looking for better visibility and control over their multi-cloud environment. Our enterprise-class multi-cloud network architecture is specifically tailored for large-scale enterprises, so that they can transform their operations with the help from cloud experts,” comments Steve Mullaney, Chief Executive Officer at Aviatrix. “We look forward to evolving our solution to further enable Epsilon to meet the changing cloud requirements of enterprises across the globe.” Epsilon Cloud Networking leverages a multi-cloud network architecture with a common network data and operational control plane. Through point and click workflows and infrastructure as code automation, enterprises using the multi-cloud service no longer need to undertake the complex and manual processes of native cloud networking. The service provides everything an enterprise needs to transform their cloud networking through a single relationship. “Business transformation has driven enterprise IT organisations to embrace public cloud as the new centre of gravity for applications and data,” says Chin Woon Lee, Data Services Director at Epsilon. “With the pandemic pushing the pace of this transformation, cloud operations teams are facing more challenges including limited visibility, lack of network control and skill gaps. Our cloud networking service will enable businesses to take on these challenges more effectively.”

Flexential announces a data centre alliance to bring the edge from cities to street corners

Flexential, a provider of data centre colocation, cloud and connectivity, has announced it is launching the first Flexential Local Edge solution by working with American Tower, a wireless tower communications infrastructure provider. Flexential Local Edge is a remote data centre providing colocation services and access to the FlexAnywhere platform, making connectivity easy for edge applications. The first Flexential Local Edge will utilise American Tower’s Edge Data Centre at a tower in Atlanta, connected with Colo Atl, an American Tower company, which offers superior carrier-neutral colocation and interconnection services at 55 Marietta Street in the global telecom hub of Atlanta. Atlanta is one of three locations where Flexential will be using American Tower Edge Data Centre infrastructure, with plans to expand in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. Flexential Local Edge empowers customers to deploy hardware and software very close to the end-user or application – at the edge, in professionally designed, maintained and connected edge data centres. This partnership pushes beyond the four walls of traditional data centres to connect businesses to their customers with the lowest latency, highest security and most comprehensive network services possible very near the end-user. In addition, Flexential Local Edge allows customers to tap into the Flexential cloud portfolio of solutions, including cloud computing, Storage-as-a-Service, Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service, Backup-as-a-Service and more. “By combining our strengths with these partners, we can leverage the FlexAnywhere network to offer our customers the means to drive edge computing even further than it has been – not just to the metro area but also to the street level,” said Flexential Chief Executive Officer Chris Downie. “This is an exciting advancement lowering latency to our customers in various industries, including transportation, logistics, finance, gaming and healthcare, supporting a variety of IoT, video, AI, and other real-time dynamic applications. Local Edge will push to use 5G and AI in a more meaningful way for traffic controls, autonomous vehicles, infrastructure monitoring and more. We see this an opportunity in many markets around the country to provide a true differentiator.”  With COVID-19 increasing the adoption of work-from-home initiatives and video applications, telemedicine and remote learning, more businesses seek to deploy low latency applications to improve the overall customer and employee experience. The FlexAnywhere fabric uses the scalable 100Gbps backbone, which provides built-in access to Flexential’s national fleet of next-generation data centers, premium IP blend, and cloud connectivity to public clouds AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google. Combining FlexAnywhere and this network of communications towers allows companies to deploy edge native applications with trusted connectivity services for higher resiliency, data security and peace of mind that services will always be available – at more locations than ever before.

Hyper-connected digital hubs: a dynamic approach to colocation

Organisations today still rely on colocation facilities to deploy applications and services on private clouds, writes Prasanna C, Deputy Director, Product at Epsilon. With the addition of public cloud services, this hybrid cloud environment requires colocation services that are fluid, flexible and hyper-connected. Agility needs to be built into all aspects of ICT, including colocation. At the same time, growing complexity across the entire ICT ecosystem means that organisations need to consolidate the number of vendors they are working with and simplify their management with a comprehensive end-to-end solution. With hybrid cloud on the rise and connectivity demands increasing rapidly, it’s crucial that organisations find the simplest model for connecting and optimising applications and services across digital hubs. What makes colocation hyper-connected? A hyper-connected digital hub seamlessly integrates colocation with interconnection services such as access to other network service providers, cloud on-ramps and remote peering at internet exchanges (IX). The symbiotic relationship between IXs and colocation data centres holds the internet together. As data travels across the internet, it is constantly being re-routed and re-directed between networks. With a hyper-connected digital hub, organisations can immediately access global connectivity at a single connection point. This gives them the ability to rapidly scale and adapt their digital infrastructure while efficiently interconnecting with the wider ICT environment. Some colocation providers offer these network services on demand to their tenants. Key considerations on why organisations choose colocation: Affordability – As organisations purchase or lease racks and space in a shared facility, all costs are shared amongst the tenants. This means reduced electricity, maintenance and IT staff costs. Reliability – Companies need to know that their data and services are secure and running at all times. Having unplanned downtime can be extremely expensive. Colocation providers are often better prepared to prevent unplanned downtime and ready to solve any issues to keep mission critical services running. Scalability – With colocation, companies can use cross connects to scale up their network with other service providers and businesses in the same facility. This is one of the advantages over on-premise data centres, where it is more difficult to scale. Choosing the right colocation partner The global data centre colocation market size is expected to reach $104.77 billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 12.9% from 2020 to 2027, according to Grand View Research. Choosing a colocation provider can be difficult when they all seem to offer the same service-level agreement (SLA) and services such as remote hands and cross-connects. Adaptability is essential in a market that can see rapid shifts in user demand and an immediate need for new applications and services to be deployed. When choosing a colocation partner, an organisation should find a provider that ticks these eight boxes: One-stop solution – The colocation provider should offer more than basic colocation services. It should be able to deliver a suite of network solutions that an organisation might not use today, but will in the future. Physical and digital security – A good colocation facility offers redundant power supplies, multi-layered security, climate-controlled environments and robust SLAs. Strategic locations – Data centres should be located as close to end users as possible and with high interconnection density of network service providers. An interconnect ecosystem – The colocation provider must offer a highly-connected environment that enables the organisation to rapidly connect to other data centres, public clouds and also the internet exchange points (IXP). Built-in scalability – Colocation services, as well as the associated network connectivity, should offer scalable options for tenants as they grow. A flexible commercial model – The services offered have to be flexible. Otherwise, an organisation may be stuck in a long-term contract with overprovisioned infrastructure and high operating cost. On-demand cloud connectivity – An organisation can benefit from cloud on-ramps from the colocation facility. The colocation provider should be able to offer dedicated access to cloud services with secure and reliable connectivity. Continually evolving capabilities – The colocation provider must continually add more capabilities and solutions while optimising its services to new standards. Adaptable foundation for transformation The combination of the above capabilities enables the seamless growth of digital services and removes the complexity from scaling up in new markets. All capabilities are made available via a single relationship, delivered with a consistent experience across global hubs. This enables the rapid rollout of new services in new locations while supporting cloud-based services using a single platform. Colocation solutions are no longer just about space, power and security. Hyper-connected digital hubs can provide the advantages that an organisation needs with an adaptable foundation for continual transformation, and preparedness for any unexpected events with secure and trusted infrastructure.