According to the 2021 State of the Data Center report, the IT infrastructure mix is becoming more diverse. I recently participated in a discussion with John Gallant, enterprise consulting director at IDG Communications, in which we explored the survey results contained in the 2021 State of the Data Center Report. This year’s survey of 300 senior IT leaders is especially important in light of the incredible impact of COVID-19. For many, the global pandemic fast-tracked digital transformation, which also compelled them to rethink their overall cloud strategy. Companies reinvented business processes, adjusted to market shifts and realized how important digital services are to daily operations and competitive advantage.
In a recent report Gartner® predicts that, “by 2025, 85% of infrastructure strategies will integrate on-premises, colocation, cloud and edge delivery options, compared with 20% in 2020. Enterprises are looking for a new architectural approach, a hybrid IT solution that’s diverse. The mix is getting mixier.”¹
The challenge for enterprises is determining the best hybrid cloud mix for their operations and processes – reaching from remote workers to supply chain logistics and customers – while ensuring interoperability and controlling costs.
Now that companies have moved past the radical shift in operations they made to survive, they can focus on achieving better business outcomes. They’ve realized that reducing total cost of ownership (TCO), resiliency and the agility to react when the business environment changes again (as it surely will), as well as to seize new market opportunities, requires what Gallant calls “an intelligent, adaptable three-tier environment of on-premises, colocation and cloud.”
IT leaders say that colocation can help realize the advantages digital transformation promises. According to the report, 93% percent of respondents say colocation can enable digital transformation. Why does that matter? IT leaders already were rethinking their cloud strategy to improve uptime and security, be more agile and adjust investments in personnel and hardware prior to 2020. Compelled to move quickly, they found that colocation fulfilled those priorities and offered the opportunity to downsize their on-premises data centers, diversify network connectivity and put applications into public cloud when it makes good business sense.
In addition, 35% surveyed said that colocation can lower TCO. Here are three reasons why:
Given the business advantages that bringing colocation into your cloud architecture can bring, the challenge now becomes mapping out an adoption strategy that works for your enterprise. Our advice is to:
Steve Smith, CRO
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We understand that making large-scale changes to your infrastructure can be overwhelming. Knowledge and experience will make a big difference. Many of our customers begin with a single cabinet, test for proof-of-concept and then grow their footprint.
I encourage you to take 30 minutes to watch the webcast with IDG’s John Gallant and to learn much more about what senior IT leaders see as the latest trends and way forward for their companies. You can access the webcast and get the full report “2021 State of the Data Center: Colocation is the Nexus for Hybrid IT-Driven Business Success" here.
¹ Gartner, "Your Data Center May Not Be Dead, but It’s Morphing," David Cappuccio and Henrique Cecci, September 17, 2020.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission.
Steven Smith
Chief Revenue Officer
Steve is Chief Revenue Officer, accountable for driving integration and alignment of revenue-related functions within the customer revenue journey.
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