PHOENIX COLOCATION LAS VEGAS COLOCATION WAS HOT. NOW IT’S NOT… WHY?
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR PHOENIX COLOCATION SPACE AND LAS VEGAS COLOCATION CAGE SPACE?
When large west coast companies, in areas like California, discuss colocation for their primary data center or disaster recovery site, the discussion always revolves around which is the best city for colocation or building a data center. That is a very challenging conversation in today’s data center space and pricing wars. You often read that colocation space is shrinking fast and that the supply is dwindling. NOT TRUE! Well, maybe it’s true for a few major metropolitan areas. All you have to do is subscribe to various blogs to know there are 100’s of thousands of square feet of data center space available and several 100’s of thousands of square feet of data space coming on line at this moment. Some people feel that colocation space could experience similar overbuilding like the residential and commercial real estate.
PHOENIX COLOCATION AND LAS VEGAS SITE EVALUATION AND COMPETITION
Companies like to discuss where the lowest incidence of natural disasters are, what are the power rates in the state and what fiber carriers are in the data center? After an in-debt evaluation, many indicators for California companies pointed to Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada particularly for the relatively low incidence of natural disasters and proximity to California large cities. Actually there are many other locations that have cooler temperature environments to place a data center than Phoenix or Las Vegas. While you cannot deny the success of those locations, companies should consider alternatives as well. Eventually the conversation always comes back to…. PRICE. It is common to hear “I know it has a low incidence of disasters and low power costs but why is the price still high?” The new component to consider is COMPETITION for colocation space. Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada data centers have experienced fast growth in the low cost colocation market due to their proximity to large markets like California. Now, their rates have inched higher and higher to maximize profitability as their facilities start to fill. In some cases, the rates for Phoenix colocation or Las Vegas colocation are actually climbing higher than in some areas of California. Competition for data center space in other states with equal or better environments have lowered their colocation rates to compete with the media hype of Phoenix colocation and Las Vegas Colocation. Rates can be 10 to 20% lower than Phoenix or Las Vegas. The message here is keep looking for colocation space in other places.
CHEAP POWER AND FREE COOLING
Many companies that have high power requirements look for cheap power and cooler outdoor ambient temperatures. When temperatures in Phoenix or Las Vegas reach 100+ degrees nearly 24 hours a day, it is easy for anyone to determine that it takes a tremendous amount of costly power to cool the data center down to 68 or 70 degrees. This often offsets any benefit of lower power costs compared to cooler environments with free cooling. For these larger companies, many other areas offer special incentives for inexpensive power from hydroelectric plants like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft did by constructing data centers along the Columbia River in Oregon.
When considering low cost colocation space, everyone should consider other areas besides the most talked about in the media. Large east coast and west coast cities are losing their luster for operating data centers compared to areas with colocation tax incentives, lower labor costs, lower land prices and power costs. There are many alternatives to consider in selecting a colocation site if you know where to look. Companies are being priced out of various markets like Chicago, Phoenix, Boston, and New York. Many health care facilities and financial institutions require disaster sites or backup data centers to be a considerable distance, 400 to 600 miles, from their primary data center. This is a great opportunity to compare prices.
Swanson Rink has developed a data center model that allows a company to compare both utility usage and utility costs for specific geographic locations. You can use this valuable tool for the site selection process.
ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITH THIS MODEL
- Local utility information obtained June 2010
- Local hourly weather data for each location
- Mechanical equipment optimized for local temperature, altitude, and humidity conditions.
- Chilled water plant with water side economizer.
- Plate and frame heat exchanger in series with the cooling towers and chillers.
- Chilled water CRAC units with under floor air distribution.
- Make up air units and exhaust fans to meet code requirements of outside air and exhaust.
- Heating water boiler plant.
- Air handling units serving terminal air units in office area.
- Chilled water CRAC units and fan coils serving ancillary spaces.
POWER GRIDS AND TERRORIST ATTACKS ON DATA CENTERS
Many companies feel the risk of terrorist attacks on power grids, network hub centers and large data centers with high profile clients are at a higher risk than natural disasters in the area. There have been very few data centers over the years that have had issues or downtime due to natural disasters compared to other failures. While natural disasters are a consideration, terrorist attacks should be a concern and a company should balance the potential challenges of each of their data center locations.
About DataCenterAndColocation: www.DataCenterAndColocation.com Our data center and colocation consulting company, located in San Diego California, represents approximately 3000 data centers and colocation centers across the US. At no cost to our clients, we identify specific space, power and security requirements, solicit proposals, professionally analyze them, compare the strengths and weaknesses, negotiate pricing and deliver highly competitive bids for colocation. Whether you are moving your existing colocation site, adding data center sites or establish a disaster recover site, our service is your best solution to reduce costs and free employee valuable time. Our specialty is identifying very high quality and low power cost data centers.