Too many large enterprises are paying for data center managed services they don’t need. If your company is large enough, your IT department likely has its own data center management team. Part of their responsibility is to continually optimize your data centers to ensure that they’re performing as efficiently and securely as possible.

Most companies with these teams would not want a 3rd party taking over part or all of the data center operations responsibility. 

And yet, many of those companies are paying hefty premiums on their data center rent because they’re using retail colocation providers that include managed services in their rates.

What are “data center managed services”?

Managed services is the industry term for data center operations services, which is often referred to as “racking and stacking”. It also includes things like cabling, monitoring, software patching, backup and storage maintenance, and more.

Too many companies are paying a premium on their cost per kW but aren’t utilizing the managed services because they provide their own.

Don’t all colocation SLA’s include some managed services?

No. One of the big differences between retail colocation and wholesale colocation is that wholesale colocation doesn’t force you into a bundle with managed services. Most wholesale colo developers will offer some managed services if you need them, either themselves, or through a partner (we partner with Salute Mission Critical), but it’ll always be optional. You’ll never have to pay for any services that you don’t need.

The agreement you sign is actually different. For retail colo, it’s often a SLA agreement. For wholesale colo, it’s usually a lease.  

There are important differences between a retail colo SLA agreement and a wholesale colo lease. A wholesale lease will often provide you with much more control and stability than a retail colo SLA. 

Another waste: kW billing blocks

Another big waste of your IT budget is when your colo provider charges you in blocks of kW. That means that if you use 501kW, you may get rounded up and be billed as if you were using 750kW or even 1MW. On the other hand, most wholesale colo developers will only bill you for your exact power consumption. Depending on your lease type, the power costs will usually be passed through to you directly, with no markups or power blocks.

Are you wasting budget on data center managed services that you don’t utilize? Call us today to discuss better options at the wholesale level or share your story in the comments box below.