Our secure retail colocation data centres are located at the Cody Technology Park in Farnborough and on our secure campus in Wythenshawe, south of Manchester. Interestingly, at our Farnborough location, our nearest neighbour just outside the park’s perimeter fence is a large wholesale provider. This close proximity often leads to a common question: “What is the difference between retail and wholesale colocation?”
Retail versus wholesale colocation – what’s the difference?
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Our facilities
Wholesale and retail colocation – key differences
Wholesale colocation
This is designed for large companies that require a significant footprint within a data centre, often with a power requirement of 1 megawatt (mW) or more. In this model, the tenant typically leases a fully built-out data hall or even an entire facility dedicated to their exclusive use.
The building owner manages the facility itself, but the tenant often has their own on-site data centre management team to look after their IT equipment. This arrangement gives the tenant a dedicated facility without the massive capital investment needed to build and maintain their own data centre. It also provides control over the infrastructure, allowing for custom configurations for power, cooling, and security.
Retail colocation
Retail colocation, like the services offered at our facilities, caters to a wide range of organisations, larger and smaller, that house their critical IT infrastructure by taking secure space within a shared data hall.
By sharing these resources, each client gains access to our supremely secure and resilient data centres without facing prohibitive capital costs associated with delivering purpose-built infrastructure, and operational support, such as expert engineers and security officers. We manage operational aspects, including power, cooling, and maintenance, and provide access to a range of partner-delivered managed services to support our clients throughout their colocation journey.
Our colocation proposition
Despite the differences between wholesale and retail, the distinction between the two is not always a strict binary. While we identify as a retail colocation provider, we do not simply offer rack space. Our solutions are entirely bespoke, designed to meet the specific needs of each client. For example, one of our key clients chose to consolidate their IT in our facility to avoid capital investment while benefiting from our flexibility, resilience, and comprehensive services. To accommodate their needs for both IT equipment and office space, we built out the first floor of our data centre, creating a purpose-built hall and dedicated office space for them.
We operate and maintain our facilities, providing access to a rich ecosystem of partner-delivered wraparound services (e.g. connectivity and cloud). We monitor the environments to ensure safe, continuous operation. We also provide remote hands services, as required. From the beginning, clients have the flexibility to order the number of racks they need, enclosed within a dedicated cage, if necessary, or even built out as a custom suite to match their security requirements. As part of our commitment to client service, we can negotiate a first option on contiguous space to accommodate future growth. Typical agreements cover shared infrastructure services, contracted power use, and cross-connects to telecommunications providers.
A focus on flexibility and service
Within our retail colocation model, our colocation provision is layered with a client-focused approach that defines our commercial agreements and our day-to-day support. Flexible terms and client-driven agreements empower our clients to plan ahead and roadmap expansion with guaranteed scalability and contiguous space.
We recognise the value clients gain from thorough service management. That’s why we provide everyone with transparency and support through:
- Expert guidance: practical advice and support to inform your deployment design and assist with the transition.
- Proactive management: proactive service reporting and dedicated account management.
- Dedicated support: a dedicated client service manager for a single point of contact.
- Full transparency: detailed reporting, including Building Management System (BMS) data.
- Secure access: registration and movement tracking of all visitors for enhanced security.
- Advanced monitoring: advanced DCIM (Data Centre Infrastructure Management) to centralise monitoring.
- On-site engineering: remote hands engineering services for support when you need it.
How colo can benefit your business
If you are looking for more details on how colocation could work for your business, talk to a member of our team. We would be very happy to discuss your specific requirements with you.