5 Benefits Of A Carrier Neutral Data Center & Carrier Neutrality

There are many instances when having your business tied to a specific vendor is preferable.

Data centers that are tied to a specific carrier may seem attractive at first. But, the long-term implications can be less-than-ideal. There are several reasons to maintain your operations in a carrier-neutral data center, also referred to as a carrier hotel.

Carrier neutrality is an essential factor in choosing the right colocation provider.

1. Cost-Efficiency of Carrier Neutral Data Centers

Colocation data center providers provide a high level of control and scalability while reducing the need to re-engineer your applications for the cloud.

Adding carrier neutrality to this list expands your opportunities for cost savings. When there are multiple carriers represented in a single data facility, you can forge contracts with your top choice and have a backup negotiating point in your pocket as well. 

The long-term nature of many data center colocation contracts means that it is essential to negotiate favorable terms and a way out if the carrier does not live up to expectations. 

2. Reduced Risk of Data Loss

Protecting your data from catastrophic loss is one of the critical arguments for utilizing data center colocation.

Finding a solution that offers a carrier-neutral environment may provide even greater protection from business-critical data loss. The business cost of downtime goes far beyond direct expenses.

It extends to indirect costs such as loss of future sales from customers, poor terms with vendors on future contracts due to inability to fulfill obligations, etc.

Direct costs from a data loss can run into the tens of thousands of dollars quite quickly. Reducing the risk of data loss one of the more important critical issues around data colocation. A single outage is too much. 

When you are in a facility that offers several carriers, you are that much more likely to find one that offers provides the service levels and guaranteed uptime that meets or exceeds your business requirements. 

3. Improved Scalability Options

The flexibility to make quick changes in your facilities management strategy is a benefit for anyone using colocation facilities.

Working with a data center that offers a variety of service providers adds to that scalability as well. Today’s data-intensive services and processes require immediate access to information regardless of the time of day or night. These demands can shift dramatically based on customer demands and the flow of business, too. If your current carrier is not providing you with the scalability you need — either up or down — then a carrier-neutral facility allows you to select another service provider who better meets your business’s changing needs. 

Adding new business lines or a new database structure would require significant infrastructure planning in the past. It can be as simple to roll out as clicking a few buttons on an interface or making a phone call to your colocation center in today’s world. This improved scalability and flexibility of data access can be a substantial competitive advantage in a fast-changing marketplace. 

4. Local and Regional Redundancy

If something ever happened to your facility or your data carrier’s access to your facility, what would happen? Would your data immediately be lost for a period of time? Or, would you easily be able to swap to a different carrier? 

With neutrality, your data stays safe and secure within the carrier hotel. It can also be rapidly transported via other carriers in the event of a catastrophic loss or failure. This is not a likely event. However, it does provide customers with the options needed to protect their significant investment in data and virtual infrastructure.

Having access to your data only a portion of the time is not an acceptable situation. Instead, you need to know that you can always maintain a clear path into and out of your data facility with your chosen carrier. 

5. Overall Flexibility With A Carrier Neutral Data Center

Changing carriers in the event of an emergency is much more efficient when you have multiple options available. The flexibility of utilizing different carriers based on their physical distribution network is also a bonus.

You have options when it comes to everything from billing cycles and Service level agreements to acceptable use policies (AUPs). Additionally, neutral data centers are generally owned by third-parties instead of by a specific carrier which provides for greater resilience and access to data. 

Working with a carrier neutral data center provides a variety of benefits to your organization. With reduced costs due to greater competition for improved redundancy and flexibility, these colocation providers are the best bet for a safe storage place for your business-critical information.