Intel Security goes all in on colocation

John McAfee sold his anti-virus software company over a decade ago, and this year owner Intel finally got around to rebranding the company as Intel Security Group. Given the former owner's widely reported antics and inflammatory remarks directed at the company, it's no surprise that the name change is taking place. The rebrand is not the only major change to impact the company in 2014. Intel Security has also decided to run its entire operations through colocation centers, replacing its on-premise infrastructure with support from colocation centers across the country. Colocation remains a strong player in the data center market, but the solution may not mesh with the needs of every company.

Colocation still going strong
Intel Security Group's decision to invest in a colocation-only strategy was motivated in part by real estate concerns. Intel was faced with multiple cases of resistance from local building managers when the company attempted to upgrade their building's infrastructure to support data center expansion, according to Data Center Knowledge. Colocation, however, allowed the company to skip this process altogether. By shifting the costs and inconveniences of optimizing a building for a data center, companies can avoid the risk of sinking funds into overcapacity.

This trend has resulted in a healthy surge of business for the colocation industry despite analysis by industry experts that the business model may be on the way out. Data compiled by DCD Intelligence notes that about 25 percent of the industry currently utilizes a full or mixed colocation strategy, noted Data Center Dynamics. The industry saw 13 percent growth in annual revenues during 2013, and colocation companies are expected to grow by another 15 percent by the end of 2014. This trend seems likely to continue into 2015, but colocation has yet to alleviate the need for on-premise and hybrid cloud solutions.

The costs of outsourcing
Security risks created by facility sharing and the possibility of high monthly premiums levied by colocation providers is enough to spook several businesses off the idea of colocation. Not all companies require a colocation solution in the first place, and other businesses are better off improving the efficiency of their current data center infrastructure than investing in greater capacity. Solutions as simple as integrating fiber to Ethernet devices can help facility managers to reorganize space in the company's current data center. After all, legacy copper installations often place limits on an IT staff's ability to update or reorganize hardware. Mixing and matching fiber and copper connections can help to improve a facility's capacity by maximizing available floor space instead of committing to colocation. This is also a smart transitional solution to be deployed before a full jump to colocation becomes absolutely necessary.

Perle has an extensive range of Managed and Unmanaged Fiber Media Converters to extended copper-based Ethernet equipment over a fiber optic link, multimode to multimode and multimode to single mode fiber up to 160 km.