The colocation industry in North Carolina is very much alive and growing rapidly. In the city of Charlotte alone there are 16 data centers. With competition comes options and today’s clients are looking for a lot more than the right temperature and floor space. These days, customers looking at a Charlotte data center are concentrating on scalable end-to-end infrastructure strategy and connectivity options.
In the past, the question was all about whether to build your own data center in Charlotte or outsource colocation. Now, it’s all about the options offered by the cloud or colocation provider that will help evolve the company’s IT strategy in the years ahead.
Enhanced Network Connectivity Options
Colocation providers in Charlotte are now competing against each other to offer the most and best network connectivity options. A lot of data centers in the area include approximately five top tier providers and have connectivity across other data centers owned by the company.
Some of the major peering points are located in Charlotte and Atlanta.
Standard Network Connectivity Options
- Access to Premier Broadband Networks
- Burstable up to 100 Mbps (and higher)
- Carrier Neutral Connectivity
- Diverse Fiber Entry Points -- OC-12 up to OC-192
- Internet/Network Access Options -- OC-X Connectivity or DS-1, and DS-3
- Metro Ethernet at 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps Connectivity
- Carrier Access to Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN (BRI, PRI)
- Redundant Internet with Multiple Tier 1 Providers
- Multi-Carrier Loop Access - Time Warner Cable, Level 3, AT&T, DukeNet, tw telecom, Comporium, and Windstream
With access to a premier broadband network, a Charlotte data center can offer neutral connectivity to multiple carriers. Usually, the data centers will have a truly diverse fiber entrance and direct connections to equipment via fiber burstable to 10, 100, or 1000 Mbps (or fast Ethernet).
It stacks up well with industry standards as the colocation companies also offer frame relay or ATM services, private intercity and metro line services, Internet access, metro and Flex Ethernet services, intercity and metro dark fiber services, hosted voice services, and metro and intercity wavelength services.
Charlotte Colocation Extras
A data center in the Charlotte area also offer micro-suites, cabinets, client-controlled private suites, as well as technology evaluation centers all under the same roof. As a result, this makes it easier for colocation customers to plan, procure, design, build, migrate, test, house and manage all the IT environments under one roof.
To stay competitive in the marketplace, colocation providers are also offering the following:
- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
- Data Center Migration
- Remote Hands
- IT Infrastructure Optimization
- Managed Colocation Services
Colocation in North Carolina is also changing with the state offering tax breaks to the small data center user. The state has already been generous to massive data centers and now they are also taking care of minor players in the industry.
Recently, State Governor Pat McCrory signed a bill that extends tax breaks to companies occupying multi-tenant colocation centers.
Are you currently using a data center in Charlotte for your colocation needs? What were your connectivity options? Please comment in the section provided below.
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