Before You Get Colocation Services 

If you own and run a small business, it surely is your goal to keep costs to the minimum. There are just too many expenses you must shoulder to keep your business going. You surely need to own a server if you intend to keep an online presence. Because doing so would translate to huge expenditures, it would be more advisable if you would instead prefer colocation. 

Colocation is the process of co-owning a server with another business. There are many companies these days that offer the service. Such firms have developed, reliable, and efficient IT systems that enable them to offer colocation to other businesses. Getting into the service is like ‘renting’ your server. The provider would take care of the physical location where the data center would be kept. It would also attend to the maintenance and system upgrade of the entire server. 

You could have your server on a remote location. This would give you total flexibility. Imagine, you do not need to keep your own data center. The colocation provider would also take care of everything from software and hardware upgrade to system-wide maintenance and more. However, before you get into any colocation deal, it would be helpful if you would check out the following simplified guidelines. 

1. Do a simple research about companies offering colocation services in your area. You may gather facts about the reputation and business practice of such businesses. You surely do not like to make business with an unethical and very expensive colocation provider. 

2. Read the terms of services provided by the colocation provider before agreeing on anything. It is advisable that you focus primarily on the fine prints. Usually, there are dubious and onerous terms and conditions hidden in those usually neglected areas of contracts. Do not hesitate to ask and clarify things if you think there are grey areas in the terms provided. 

3. Check out the duration and many other provisions in the contract. Yes, you would be signing a contract for the service. While it may serve as your protection as a consumer, it may also function as an impediment should you decide to suddenly cut ties due to poor service. You could not easily get out from a colocation agreement until the service term duration specified is met. That means you would keep on paying your monthly dues to the provider even if you decide not to use the service anymore. You would not like that idea. 

4. Find out about the fees. Typically, on top of the fixed costs served on a monthly basis, there could be other services that require additional costs. Such services include remote hands, DNS hosting, IP addresses, and server backups. There are services like rebooting that are included in the package. However, if you exceed limits in use for a month, additional charges might be applied. 

Before you ink a deal for a colocation service, make sure you really need it. Otherwise, you may prefer a simple Web hosting service, which is less complicated and much cheaper. 
