As enterprises navigate the complexities of digital transformation, many are discovering that a one-size-fits-all approach to application architecture and IT infrastructure no longer works. While some applications benefit from the scalability and flexibility of public clouds, others may require the security, control, performance, and cost benefits offered by colocation or data center-provided cloud services. This realization has led to the popularity of hybrid solutions, which combine these approaches.

Colocation services, often referred to as “colo,” involve housing an organization’s IT infrastructure (such as servers, storage, and networking equipment) in a third-party data center. Instead of maintaining their own data centers, businesses can rent space within these facilities, which provide power, cooling, physical security, and connectivity. At 365 Data Centers, we offer carrier-dense, state-of-the-art colocation facilities across 20 markets in the U.S., providing businesses with a secure and reliable environment for their mission-critical infrastructure. These services include 24/7/365 support, monitoring, robust power and cooling systems, high-level physical security, and compliance with industry standards.

Cloud services, on the other hand, deliver the flexibility and scalability of on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable resources, including servers, storage, and networking along with other value-added services. Public clouds have become a popular choice; however, for some applications, public cloud is not the answer. For instance, some companies seek a higher degree of control, security, and privacy for certain applications. Also, some applications are cost-prohibitive to run in public clouds due to the high costs of egress, servers, storage, and network. Further, some applications have challenges associated with latency and performance. At 365, our cloud solutions can help alleviate some of the challenges associated with public cloud.

The Power of Hybrid Solutions

By combining colocation, data center-provided clouds, and public clouds, companies can create a tailored IT architecture that addresses their unique requirements, effectively achieving the best of both worlds. For example, bandwidth-intensive, performance-sensitive applications can be hosted on customer-owned hardware in colocation or on data center-provided clouds at the edge. Not only can it be more cost-effective, but having their applications closer to their end users, achieves a better user experience. Since you can seamlessly connect these architectures to public cloud, you can still complement the benefits of public cloud to support other needs of an application.

Another use case is industries with strict regulatory requirements; a hybrid solution can strike an ideal balance. Sensitive data can be collocated in secure facilities, adhering to compliance standards such as HIPAA or data residency. Meanwhile, data and applications that do not require the same measures can leverage the scalability and flexibility of data center-provided cloud or public cloud. In a similar vein, leveraging both colocation and cloud services enhances disaster recovery and business continuity, since critical data and applications can be replicated across multiple locations.

When considering a hybrid solution, it is essential to carefully plan out application architecture and IT infrastructure to ensure seamless integration between colocation and cloud services. Keeping future growth in mind is also critical. With a well-planned hybrid solution, businesses can unlock an optimal balance of cost, performance, security, and scalability to maximize the business value of their applications.  At 365 Data Centers, we are committed to helping businesses leverage the full potential of hybrid solutions.