Colocation Outside of Downtown

By Saleh Tousi

Most of the colocation facilities in the Vancouver area are located in downtown Vancouver. This seems like the obvious place to locate a facility since it's a central location where most people can have easy access to their servers whenever they need to. However, collocating downtown comes with its share of problems as well. With so many options available, you might want to consider collocating outside of downtown.



One of the advantages of collocating outside of downtown is the access to the facility. While you may think it's more convenient to collocate downtown, in actuality, you might have better access to your server if it's not directly downtown. Downtown traffic can be atrocious, especially at peak times. And problems don't wait to occur when the streets are empty late on a Tuesday night. Imagine how long it will take you to access your server when you're stuck in the grid-locked traffic of downtown Vancouver. No one wants to do that. And while you're sitting in traffic cursing at the person who just cut in front of you for the third time, you're losing precious time that you could be using to get your server up and running so you can resume business.



If, on the other hand, you collocate outside of downtown, and the same problem occurs, you have the advantage of cruising down the highway, away from the city and on the less-traveled side streets. SmarttNet is one colocation provider that provides service just outside of Downtown. It's only about a 10 minute drive from Vancouver. And in this case 10 minutes means 10 minutes… not 10 minutes plus 20 minutes of sitting in traffic.



Another advantage of collocating outside of downtown in that it's on a different power grid. Should the power go down in all of Vancouver, the surrounding areas aren't affected, so your server will be safe from harm. While all your business associates who decided to collocate in Vancouver are scrambling to get their sites back up, you'll be calming sitting at your desk, marveling at how beautifully your site is running.



There's something to be said for the personalized attention that comes from working with a smaller company outside of the city. Too many businesses these days feel cold and unwelcoming when you enter. With so many customers it's impossible for them to give you individualized and personal attention. That's what you'll find when you go downtown. Away from the city, it's a different ball-game. You'll feel welcome when you come to update your server. And if you're a regular, you'll get to know the staff and see the same smiling faces every time you come in.



Aside from the exceptional service you'd expect to get from any colocation provider, there are many advantages to collocating outside of the city. If you're considering collocation services for your business needs, you might want to consider collocating outside of the city.

For more information on colocation services, visit Vancouver Colocation, one of the leading colocation providers for small to medium sized businesses in Western Canada.