When your business grows, keeping your servers in-house often becomes costly and complex. Colocation lets you house your hardware in a professionally managed data centre, handling power, cooling, connectivity and security, all whilst you retain control of your equipment.
GridJet specialises in UK colocation services. In this article, we’ll walk you through why colocation might make sense and how GridJet’s facility works for your business.
What is Colocation, and Who Should Use It?
Colocation means you place your own servers or storage hardware in a third-party data centre. The provider (GridJet) ensures that the infrastructure (power, cooling, network, physical security) is robust.
It’s a compelling choice for businesses that already own hardware and are seeking better uptime or IT teams who want full control over configurations. It’s also ideal for companies who don’t want to build and house their own hardware.
Why Choose GridJet’s Colocation Services?
GridJet’s colocation brings support and location advantages. Its key strengths include:
- UK-based, Well-located Facility
Situated in Leeds with proximity to major routes, making it easy for on-site access and logistics.
- Tiered Infrastructure for Reliability
GridJet operates Hall 1 (Tier 1) and Hall 2 (Tier 3) data halls so clients have options depending on criticality. Hall 2 offers higher robustness for critical systems.
- Connectivity and Network Flexibility
Ensuring diverse fibre routes, multiple upstream providers, and low latency links.
- Proactive Support and Management
Your infrastructure lives in a highly managed environment. The technical team continually monitors the facility and offers support to those in need.
- Cost-effective, Scalable Solutions
Colocation lets you pay for only the space, power and bandwidth you consume. You can scale by adding additional cabinets or power as required.
- Sustainability Focus
GridJet emphasises eco credentials and the infrastructure is designed with energy efficiency and environmental impact in mind.
How to Select the Right Colocation Plan with GridJet
Here’s a simplified process to guide your decision:
- Define Your Needs
Begin by outlining what equipment you’ll colocate and level of reliability required. Consider how many servers or racks you’ll need, your current and projected power requirements and network demands. Decide if Tier 1 or Tier 3 is appropriate for your business needs.
- Pick the Right Hall
Choose the data hall that matches your needs best. Hall 1 (Tier 1) is ideal for non-critical or cost-sensitive workloads, while Hall 2 (Tier 3) is designed for mission-critical systems that require maximum uptime.
- Understand the Costs
Colocation costs generally include rack or cabinet space, power usage, bandwidth, and cross-connections. With GridJet’s published hall specifications, estimating your costs is transparent.
- Build in Redundancy
For high availability, incorporate redundancy where possible. This could include dual power feeds, offsite backups or recovery plans. Proper planning reduces downtime and maintains resilience.
- Install and Go Live
When ready to go, deliver or ship your servers to the data centre. Rack and connect or request GridJet’s assistance. Finally, test power, network and systems. The team will ensure that your equipment is installed and performing at its best from day one.
Benefits of Colocation
By colocating with GridJet, your business will gain better uptime and reliability with a reduction in costs. You’ll notice enhanced connectivity and ease of scaling so you can focus on the important tasks.
Ready to Move Forward?
Colocation is an ideal and powerful option when you want to maintain control but avoid managing a data centre yourself. GridJet offers a range of services with top flexibility. Contact GridJet via the colocation page and request a tailored quote. Share your specs and requirements and work with the technical team to plan the design and connectivity. Then it’ll be time to install the hardware and monitor its performance.
Why Choose GridJet’s Colocation Services?
Contact us today for a custom solution designed around your unique needs.
