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CenturyLink Wants to Sell its Data Centers

Posted by QuoteColo on August 12, 2016 - Updated on August 16, 2016

CenturyLink

You don’t have to be an expert in the field of Information Technology to know that data centers are big business. For those of you who may not be familiar, a data center is a facility that holds numerous servers for an even greater number of companies. These servers hold all kinds of important data and even keep their websites online. Given that basically every company needs a data center to thrive in the digital age, you may be surprised to learn that CenturyLink is actually looking to sell theirs off.

60 Data Centers to Be Sold Off

The telecommunications giant has long been known for their substantial amount of data centers. 60 of them are spread across the United States, Asia and Europe. Altogether, they represent well over 2.6 million square feet of data center space which are good for more than 180 MW of power. However, it should be noted that CenturyLink actually leases a lot of this space from data center providers.

CenturyLink amassed a large sum of its portfolio when it acquired Savvis – a data center provider – back in 2011 for $2.5 billion. Since then, though, the company continued to expand, completing an expansion into six other markets just this year.

As we mentioned at the beginning, it’s also not as though businesses don’t need servers anymore, so this may seem like a strange move by an otherwise very reputable company. It turns out, though, that they may be ahead of the game.

Enter Colocation

The company has said that they plan on continuing some data center services. They are also looking into potential joint ventures. However, they made it perfectly clear that they will not be dropping their colocation services, and that is something worth noting.

Colocation is an alternative to the traditional method of hosting: the one CenturyLink is looking to leave behind. To put it in simplest terms, it’s when a data center rents space to a company for them to set up their own servers, exactly how they like them. The customer also gets power, Internet connection, a network, climate control and certain redundancy measures.

Industry experts have long predicted that this will become the new standard. Amongst other things, it allows companies to custom make the server they need, meaning no more sacrificing features just to stay on budget. In fact, this form of hosting is also far more cost-effective because no one needs to pay for anything they’re not using.

The company’s CEO, Glen Post, made it very clear they would be making colocation a priority in the future. He released a statement which read, in part:

“We expect colocation services to remain part of our service offerings, but we do not believe ownership of the physical data center assets is necessary to effectively deliver those services. Therefore, we are exploring all of the strategic alternatives available for our data centers.”

The Future of Colocation

With such a big move, it’s tough not to speculate about what this will mean for the future of hosting. Based on industry trends, the opinions of experts and this very bold move from CenturyLink, it seems pretty clear that colocation is taking over.

That’s not to say traditional hosting will die out completely. There will most likely still be many businesses that could benefit from their setups. But it’s also clear that more and more companies are happy to choose for themselves, especially over time as their needs continue to change. Colocation is the only method that accommodates this.

If you’re looking for new hosting for your company, this news may help you with that decision. All signs point to colocation making the most sense for your needs.

Categories: Data Center

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