Today’s IT leaders think a lot about critical workloads that generate revenue. However, not all of them think much about where they should run said workloads and the associated digital infrastructure. This could be a costly mistake. All enterprise workloads—even those running in the cloud—are hosted on physical servers somewhere. Where those servers live can have a big impact on performance, cost, resilience, compliance, security and more.
Enterprises need to contemplate many variables as they locate their digital infrastructure, and few locations can meet every requirement a business might have. That’s why working with a global digital infrastructure provider like Equinix can be so helpful. When you deploy in one of our Equinix IBX® colocation data centers, you can feel confident our experts have considered key site selection criteria on your behalf. Let’s examine some of these criteria below.
1. Cloud connectivity
In many ways, data gravity guides the site selection conversation. Data gravity is the tendency for data to draw in digital infrastructure—the larger the datasets, the stronger the pull. This means that wherever you have the most data, you’ll want cloud connectivity nearby.
If much of your data is already in the cloud, then you’ll want a data center to help service it, and you’ll need to consider how to connect to that data center. Does the internet offer you any contractual assurances? If your data centers can’t provide cloud proximity and direct connectivity, then latency will become an issue. When performance suffers, you won’t be able to use cloud services to their full potential.
Deploying data centers in cloud-dense locations also enables hybrid multicloud architectures, as data will be able to move between on-premises systems and the cloud as needed. This can help you use cloud services while also applying security and compliance controls in your on-premises environments.
Equinix is the global leader in low-latency cloud on-ramps. With robust access to cloud providers in key market locations, our customers have access to leading innovations enabling network transformation, cloud adjacent data structures and private AI.
2. Proximity to industry ecosystems
Many enterprises need to exchange data with business partners in their industry. A vendor-neutral colocation data center offers a platform for that data exchange, but only if it’s in the right location to ensure low-latency connectivity for all partners in the ecosystem. Here are some examples of the challenges industry ecosystems present:
- Healthcare: Hospitals and research centers are often affiliated with universities, which aren’t always located in major metros. Despite this, they need reliable connectivity with ecosystem partners like pharma companies, insurers and regulators.
- Manufacturing: Capitalizing on the industrial internet of things (IIoT) and AI in smart factories requires manufacturers to manage massive amounts of distributed data. This includes exchanging data with all the partners in their digital supply chain.
- Telecommunications: As telcos build out 5G networks and operate IP transit, they need to be wherever their users are—and that means they need to be just about everywhere. They need the right infrastructure in the right locations to help them connect with end users and ecosystem partners with minimal latency.
For these and other industries, edge data centers can fill in the gaps that larger core data centers can’t reach. A global platform of interconnected data centers across both core and edge locations can help you reach all your ecosystem partners, no matter where they’re located.
3. Network availability
Colocation data centers that have a high density of network providers tend to draw in enterprise customers easily, because they provide a good jumping-off point for these enterprises to connect with partners and quickly move data wherever it needs to go, using a mix of private and public connectivity.
For example, many enterprises are pursuing geo-redundancy as part of their site selection strategy. Deploying equipment in data centers with dense ecosystems of network service providers can help ensure connectivity to data centers in other locations, so that enterprises can move data without delay whenever they need to ensure business continuity.
4. A stable, renewable energy grid
Data center operators need to deploy in locations with plentiful renewable energy on a stable grid. This can help ensure a reliable supply of energy for their facilities, while also meeting their sustainability goals. At Equinix, we primarily use power purchase agreements (PPAs) to scale renewable energy coverage quickly and support local grids in the communities where we operate.
Location also impacts the availability of PPAs. Wind and solar projects work well in some regions, but not others. Also, PPAs are difficult in certain places due to regulatory challenges or the immaturity of local energy markets. That alone isn’t a good reason to avoid a particular market. In places where PPAs aren’t viable, we often buy energy attribute certificates (EACs) instead. Buying EACs supports the “greening” of the local grid by sending demand signals to the renewable energy market.
5. Weather and climate concerns
Average temperatures in a region factor into efficiency. Warmer metros logically require more energy to cool IT equipment, which can drive up costs and complicate sustainability efforts. However, data center operators can’t avoid a region just because it’s hot; they need to work around that and run the most efficient facility possible given the circumstances.
One way we’re doing that at Equinix is by expanding the operating temperature ranges of our data centers to align with ASHRAE A1 Allowable (A1A) standards. Running data centers in a wider temperature range could help us reduce demand for cooling in warmer metros, thus increasing efficiency. In addition, we’re rolling out liquid cooling technology. This will be essential for running AI and other high-density workloads efficiently, even in warmer climates.
Data center operators also want to avoid locations where extreme weather events are common. But again, a global service provider doesn’t always have this choice; if their customers need to be in a particular location, they need to make it work while mitigating the risk.
Since data center operators can’t prevent or avoid extreme weather, the next-best thing is to respond quickly to predictions and give customers as much warning as possible. When customers are deployed on a global interconnected data center platform like Platform Equinix®, they can quickly move key workloads away from the impacted area to minimize disruption.
See the benefits of a global data center platform
No single data center can optimize for all the criteria named above, which is yet another reason that deploying on a global colocation platform can offer better results than operating private data centers. Not only has Equinix considered these and other factors when locating our 260 Equinix IBX colocation data centers in 70+ global metros, but we also offer our customers longevity and stability.
When you plan a data center migration, weighing the pros and cons of particular locations, the last thing you want is to do it all again a few years later. As your business needs change and pull you toward different locations, being on Platform Equinix allows you to move while minimizing disruption. Also, we have a record of strong financial performance, with 85 consecutive quarters of top-line revenue growth, the longest streak of any S&P 500 company. This can help you feel confident that your data and workloads are in the right place—and will be for the foreseeable future.
To learn more, read the Platform Equinix vision paper: The future of digital leadership.
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