Internap says that the agility associated with cloud services will likely impact the way colocation services are managed and delivered
A new survey released by cloud, hosting and colocation provider Internap on Wednesday finds that IT organizations are looking for cloud-like visbility and control in their colocation environments.
Internap says that the agility associated with cloud services will likely impact the way colocation services are managed and delivered over the next few years.
Features like automation, self-service, detailed real-time insights and remote manageability are increasingly in demand as IT organizations become accustomed to these controls in cloud environments.
Internap surveyed more than 100 IT decision makers in the US from a range of industries responsible for purchasing services like colocation, cloud and hosting.
From a unified online portal 88 percent of respondents would like to gain insight into bandwidth utilization and trends, 85 percent want the ability to view circuit-level power usage trends and logs, 77 percent of respondents want to reboot or power down any configured device, and 76 percent want to check device power status and create alerts.
The survey also highlights the desire for a hybrid IT infrastructure environment that includes a mix of colocation, cloud and hosting services. According to the report, 72 percent want to “hybridize” colo with cloud and other infrastructure.
“Colocation, with its capex model, security, control and customization advantages, continues to be a critical infrastructure choice for many organizations. While cloud services are another important option, an all-cloud strategy isn’t appropriate for every situation. As a result, there’s growing interest not only in hybrid infrastructure solutions but in redefining the limitations of traditional colocation services by integrating the benefits of the cloud,”Raj Dutt, senior vice president of technology at Internap said in a statement. “‘Cloudy colo’ capabilities will bring these two worlds together, delivering new levels of business agility to colocation users and, just as importantly, to cloud users by making colocation readily accessible and integrated into their environment.”
While hybrid cloud implementations are being talked about more frequently, popularity of a multi-vendor cloud model is also growing, according to a recent survey by RightScale, which would require even more visibility and granular control from a control panel.
Internap’s full report is available for download on its website, and a supplementary infographic can be found there as well.
Talk back: Do you agree with Internap’s findings around cloud-like control in colocation environments? What have your customers been telling you about managing their colocation environments? Let us know in a comment.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson is the Editor in Chief of the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
