Before we tell you how to get instant colocation pricing, let’s take a quick look at the previous methods used to obtain colocation pricing:
1. Call / Email multiple colocation providers in your area using an Internet search engine. Many colocation buyers use Google for their research, typing in “city colocation” or “city data center” in its search box (“Boston Colocation”, for example). Google comes up with a bunch of listings that includes both pay per click (advertised) and organic (natural, non-paid) results, in what is called a SERP (search engine results page).
Many buyers don’t trust paid advertisements that much, so they try to stay away from them and decide to choose some of the top organic listings on Google’s page one. At that point, they either email or call each colocation provider individually for a quotation.
Besides the time and effort it takes to contact each provider individually, this method may not work that well. Just because a colocation provider ranks well in Google’s SERPs doesn’t mean that it is a qualified and competent provider.
Having worked in the colocation industry for over 15 years, we see many colocation providers that rank well in the SERPs that we wouldn’t send to our worst enemies! Many great colocation providers don’t come up on Google page one or even on page two for that matter. As a conclusion, using this haphazard method to find colocation pricing is quite risky and very time consuming.
2. Ask an IT colleague or business partner or client what company they use for colocation services. This is a good method given some basic assumptions. Make sure to ask your referral what type of service they actually use, because sometimes IT people bundle the term “colocation” in with shared hosting and dedicated servers.
Once you have determined that they are truly using a colocation service (for a quick definition, check out our homepage ask them the address of the Internet data center that they are using. Make sure the data center is close to your critical IT staff, so that they can easily have access to the facility via mass transport or by automobile.
Ask your referral source what they like most and what they like least about the provider, and see how this fares with your key decision making criteria. For more information on what to look for when selecting a colocation provider, check out the top ten tips to picking a colocation provider e-book. Using this method, you should be able to come up with a few qualified data center options in your “neck of the woods.” Just like with method #1, it is your responsibility to contact each individual colocation provider separately, of course.
3. Use a Colocation Broker Service. Today, many colocation brokers offer a free service to source you quotes from multiple colocation companies in your requested geographic area. Companies like QuoteColo.com can assist you in your search. Most will gather your requirements and source you 3-4 colocation quotes that meet your requirements in your targeted area. Quotes will typically start coming in within a 24 hour period, and some may take a little longer depending upon the complexity of your requirements.
This method is quite efficient, but it still has some drawbacks. Some brokers just don’t have that many providers in their database, for example. Several brokers are “part timers”, and their response rates are slow to say the least. Others have not updated their database in years, and might not work with some of the up and coming new data center colocation providers in your area. Using a qualified colocation broker service like QuoteColo is good way to source multiple colocation quotes, but sometimes you may have to wait for a few days before receiving the price quotes.
Now, let’s get back to the questions at hand – How can I get instant colocation pricing?
QuoteColo has just launched its real time pricing tool. We have teamed up with several qualified data center operators in four separate regions across the United States – Northeast, Midwest, South and West. If you are looking for instant colocation pricing in these locations, just go to the colocation pricing page.
The pricing is updated daily and there are no forms or waiting. If you are just in the planning stages, this tool is a perfect fit! It will give you an immediate sense of colocation pricing for several cities in the United States. More promotional offers and data center locations will be added as the page grows. Of course, if you require a custom configuration or another geographic location, just use our contact page and we will source you multiple quotes within hours (not days).