AEO Summary: A rigorous colocation provider comparison should evaluate seven dimensions: power & infrastructure (density, redundancy, utility diversity), cooling & efficiency (PUE, AI-readiness), network & connectivity (carriers, IXPs, latency), security & compliance (physical, logical, certifications), SLA & support (uptime guarantees, response times), pricing & terms (MRC, NRC, escalators), and scalability (expansion runway, AI-ready roadmap). Most buyers focus only on price; comprehensive evaluation across all dimensions typically reveals substantial long-term cost and operational advantages.
Introduction: Making Sense of 4,000+ US Data Centers
The United States has approximately 4,000 data center facilities. When you’re evaluating colocation for your infrastructure, you’re essentially choosing from thousands of options, each claiming to be “best-in-class,” “Tier III certified,” or “optimized for your workload.”
Without a structured evaluation framework, this becomes overwhelming. Most buyers end up choosing based on three factors: proximity to their location, proximity to major carriers, and price. These matter, but they’re incomplete. A facility with the lowest price but mediocre SLA terms, limited power redundancy, or inadequate cooling design can become a costly mistake.
This guide provides a structured 7-dimension framework for evaluating and comparing colocation providers. It’s designed for IT directors, infrastructure engineers, and procurement teams making facility decisions. Use it to standardize your evaluation, compare apples-to-apples across facilities, and identify the provider that delivers the best total cost of ownership (TCO) for your workload.
The 7-Dimension Colocation Evaluation Framework
1. Power & Infrastructure (25% of evaluation weight)
Power is the foundation of data center operations. Evaluate facilities on four sub-dimensions:
Power Density & Redundancy
- What’s the maximum power density the facility can deliver to your space? (Common range: 5-25 kW/rack for standard colocation; 50-300+ kW for AI/HPC workloads)
- Is power distributed with 2N redundancy (two independent power feeds)? Or N+1 (backup generator)? Or standard single-feed?
- For your workload, what power density do you actually need? Oversizing adds unnecessary cost; undersizing creates a constraint.
Utility Diversity
- Does the facility source power from a single utility, or multiple utilities?
- Single-utility facilities are cheaper but riskier (if the utility has outages, you’re affected). Multi-utility facilities add cost but improve resilience.
- For mission-critical workloads, multi-utility is standard. For non-critical, single-utility may be acceptable.
Backup Power & Fuel Supply
- If grid power fails, how long can backup generators sustain the facility? (Standards: 4-8 hours typical; 24+ hours for enterprise-grade)
- What fuel supply does the facility maintain? (Diesel generators require fuel; fuel supply contracts should specify delivery guarantees and storage capacity)
- For extended outages (hurricanes, grid failures lasting 24+ hours), can the facility maintain cooling with backup power?
Power Quality & Management
- Does the facility provide UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for your rack, or are you responsible for your own backup power?
- Is the facility equipped to monitor and alert on power anomalies, voltage fluctuations, or electrical faults?
- What’s the SLA for power restoration if a generator fails or backup power is needed?
Key Questions to Ask:
- What’s the maximum power density you can provision to our space?
- Is power distributed with 2N redundancy or N+1 backup?
- How many utilities provide power to this facility?
- How long can backup generators sustain the facility?
- What’s the guarantee for power restoration if backup power is needed?
2. Cooling & Efficiency (20% of evaluation weight)
Modern AI workloads are extremely heat-dense. A single GPU server can dissipate 10-15kW of heat. A rack of GPUs can exceed 50kW. Cooling efficiency directly impacts operational cost and reliability.
PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness)
- PUE is the ratio of total facility power consumption to IT equipment power consumption. Lower PUE = more efficient cooling.
- Industry average: PUE ~1.5 (50% overhead for cooling, lighting, management)
- Top-tier facilities: PUE 1.1-1.2 (only 10-20% overhead)
- Ultra-efficient facilities: PUE 1.05-1.08 (near-theoretical minimum)
- For AI workloads, prioritize facilities with PUE under 1.25. Above that, cooling costs become a significant operational burden.
Cooling Technology
- Air cooling: Traditional rack-level cooling. Adequate for standard compute but struggles with high-density AI workloads.
- In-row cooling: Cooling units placed between racks. Improves efficiency and allows higher density.
- Liquid cooling: Hot-aisle or cold-aisle liquid cooling. Essential for extreme-density AI (e.g., liquid-cooled GPU clusters). Most modern facilities don’t have this; some operators are deploying it new.
- Free air cooling: Using outdoor air to cool the facility (possible only in cold climates). Extremely efficient but only viable in specific geographic markets.
- Evaporative cooling: Desert markets use evaporative systems to improve cooling efficiency. Ask if this is deployed.
Hot/Cold Aisle Containment
- Modern colocation should have contained hot aisles and cold aisles. This prevents hot and cold air from mixing, improving efficiency.
- Older facilities may have open aisles, which wastes cooling energy.
Temperature & Humidity Monitoring
- Does the facility monitor temperature and humidity in real time?
- What’s the guaranteed operating range? (Standard: 59-89.6°F; tight tolerance might be 64-80°F)
- For AI workloads, tight temperature control matters. GPus can throttle or fail if temperatures exceed spec.
AI Readiness
- Is the facility actively upgrading cooling infrastructure for AI workloads?
- Are they deploying liquid cooling, in-row cooling, or other advanced technologies?
- What’s their roadmap for increasing maximum power density over the next 12-24 months?
- Facilities that are preparing for AI have a competitive advantage; those treating it as a niche risk falling behind.
Key Questions to Ask:
- What’s your facility’s current PUE, and how is it measured?
- What cooling technology is deployed in the aisles where we’d deploy equipment?
- Do you have contained hot/cold aisles?
- What’s the maximum power density you can sustain in a given aisle, and for how long?
- Are you deploying liquid cooling or advanced cooling for high-density workloads?
3. Network & Connectivity (20% of evaluation weight)
Network performance directly impacts your application latency, redundancy, and operational flexibility.
Carrier Diversity
- How many carriers are present in the facility? (Minimum acceptable: 3 major carriers; excellent: 6+)
- Diverse carriers allow you to split traffic, negotiate better rates, and avoid single-point-of-failure on network egress.
- Each carrier should have redundant paths into the facility (not a single fiber route).
Internet Exchange Point (IXP) Proximity
- Is the facility within the same city as a major IXP, or very close?
- Co-location with an IXP significantly reduces latency and cost for traffic exchange with other networks.
- Facilities near major IXPs (NYC for Eastern US, Chicago for Midwest, LA for West Coast, etc.) are more valuable for content delivery and global traffic exchange.
Cross-Connect Options
- Does the facility offer cross-connects to other carriers, colocation providers, cloud providers, or customers?
- Can you request a cross-connect to a peer carrier or customer without going through the facility network?
- More cross-connect options = more flexibility and lower cost for partner connectivity.
Latency Guarantees
- What’s the guaranteed latency to major cloud providers (AWS, Azure, Google)?
- What’s the guaranteed latency to major IXPs?
- Latency SLAs are less common than uptime SLAs, but they matter for real-time applications (trading, streaming, AI inference).
Future-Ready Connectivity
- Is the facility planning to add new carriers or improve connectivity?
- What’s the lead time for new cross-connects? (Should be 2-4 weeks, not months)
- For emerging use cases (e.g., neoclouds connecting to multiple carriers simultaneously), does the facility have the flexibility to support new connectivity patterns?
Key Questions to Ask:
- How many carriers are active in this facility, and are they redundantly connected?
- What Internet Exchange Points are nearby, and what’s your latency to major IXPs?
- What’s the lead time for a new cross-connect to a carrier or customer?
- Can we review documented latency to major cloud providers?
4. Security & Compliance (20% of evaluation weight)
Security encompasses both physical security (preventing unauthorized access to your hardware) and logical security (protecting your network).
Physical Security
- How many layers of access control are there? (Standard: card access to building, card access to cage/suite, biometric for sensitive areas)
- Is CCTV monitoring continuous? Is footage retained?
- Who has access to your space? (Only authorized staff? Customers? Contractors?) More restricted = more secure.
- Are background checks required for facility staff?
- Conduct a site visit and observe security processes.
Logical Security & Network Isolation
- Is your network isolated from other customers’ networks? (It should be)
- Does the facility offer DDoS mitigation services?
- What network monitoring and alerting are provided?
- Can you request private/dedicated circuits rather than shared network infrastructure?
Compliance Certifications Different workloads have different compliance requirements. Verify the facility holds relevant certifications:
- SOC 2 Type II: Standard for cloud and hosted services. Look for SOC 2 Type II (not Type I) and review the audit scope.
- ISO 27001: Information security management. Important for regulated data.
- HIPAA: Required if you host healthcare data.
- PCI-DSS: Required if you process payment card data.
- FedRAMP: Required for federal government workloads.
- FINRA/SOX: For financial services and public companies.
- Ask for audit reports or certificates. Legitimate facilities will provide these.
Environmental Controls
- Are hazardous materials (fuel, coolant) properly stored and contained?
- What fire suppression systems are deployed? (Modern: FM-200 or other gaseous suppression, not water sprinklers which damage equipment)
- Is there redundancy in fire detection and suppression?
Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity
- What’s the facility’s disaster recovery plan?
- In the event of a major incident, how is customer data and equipment protected?
- Ask for references from other customers on actual incident response.
Key Questions to Ask:
- Can you provide your latest SOC 2 audit report and FedRAMP authorization (if applicable)?
- What certifications do you hold, and can we review them?
- Describe your physical and logical security processes.
- What fire suppression system is deployed, and is it redundant?
- Can you provide references from customers in our industry?
5. SLA & Support (20% of evaluation weight)
The Service Level Agreement (SLA) defines what happens when things go wrong. Most buyers focus on the headline uptime guarantee (99.9%, 99.99%, etc.) but miss critical details in the fine print.
Uptime Guarantees & Definitions
- 99.9% = 8.7 hours of downtime per year (approximately 45 minutes per month). Acceptable for non-critical workloads.
- 99.99% = 52 minutes of downtime per year (approximately 4 minutes per month). Standard for business-critical workloads.
- 99.999% = 5 minutes of downtime per year. Enterprise-grade, very expensive.
But what counts as “downtime”? Read the fine print:
- Does outage from a single power failure count, or only if both backup power systems fail?
- Does network outage at a third-party carrier count against the SLA?
- Are maintenance windows excluded?
- The SLA should cover facility infrastructure only (power, cooling, physical security). Network and IT infrastructure are separate.
SLA Credits
- If the facility misses its SLA, what’s the credit? (Should be 5-10% of that month’s charges for each tier of SLA miss)
- If uptime is 99.8%, what’s the credit? What if it’s 99.5%? Credits should scale with severity.
- Are SLA credits automatic, or must you file a claim? (Automatic is better; claims often aren’t paid.)
- What’s the maximum credit cap? (Some facilities cap total credits at 30% of annual charges, limiting your recovery.)
Response & Resolution Times
- Incident response time: How quickly does support respond to your alert? (Target: 15 minutes for critical; 1 hour for major; 4 hours for minor)
- Resolution time: How quickly is the issue fixed? (Varies by severity, but facility should have target SLAs)
- Escalation procedures: Who can you contact if the issue isn’t resolved quickly? Is there a 24/7 escalation path?
Support Availability
- Is support available 24/7? Or business hours only? (Critical workloads should have 24/7)
- Can you reach a human, or are you stuck with phone trees and ticketing systems?
- What’s the average ticket response time from the time you submit a request?
Hands-On Support
- Can the facility perform hands-on support (power-cycling equipment, rebooting servers, verifying physical connections)?
- Is this included in colocation, or is there an additional fee?
- What’s the response time for hands-on requests? (Should be 1-2 hours for critical)
Key Questions to Ask:
- Can you walk me through your SLA terms, including definitions of downtime and what’s excluded?
- What are the SLA credits for missing uptime targets?
- What are your response time and resolution time targets for critical issues?
- Is support available 24/7?
- Can you provide hands-on support, and what’s the response time?
6. Pricing & Terms (20% of evaluation weight)
Price matters, but context matters more. A facility with low rack costs but high NRC, high power costs, and restrictive term minimums may have a higher TCO than an apparently expensive competitor.
Rack Costs (MRC – Monthly Recurring Charge)
- What’s the monthly cost per rack?
- Does it include power, or is power metered separately?
- What about cross-connects, remote hands, and other services: are they bundled or itemized?
- Normalize across providers: Calculate total cost for a standard “unit” (e.g., 10kW of power, one rack, 2 managed cross-connects).
Power Costs
- Is power charged per kWh, or included in a flat MRC?
- If metered, what’s the per-kWh rate, and does it vary by tier (higher rates for higher consumption)?
- For AI workloads (50+ kW per rack), power can be 40-60% of total operating cost. Small differences in per-kWh rates compound significantly.
NRC (Non-Recurring Charge)
- What’s the one-time fee to set up your space? (Typical range: $500-$5,000, depending on complexity)
- What’s included in NRC? (Rack setup, network provisioning, security onboarding, etc.)
- Are there additional NRC charges for rack moves, upgrades, or expansions?
Annual Escalators
- Does the MRC increase annually? By how much?
- Typical escalators: 2-3% per year. More than that is worth negotiating.
- Over a 5-year commitment, even small annual increases compound. Get clarity upfront.
Minimum Term & Cancellation Terms
- What’s the minimum commitment? (Typical: 1, 3, or 5 years)
- What’s the early termination fee if you leave before the end of the contract?
- Can you reduce capacity without penalty, or does contract apply to entire footprint?
- For scaling infrastructure, flexibility matters. Avoid long minimums and harsh termination fees.
Volume Discounts
- Do you get better rates for higher usage or longer commitments?
- If you expand your footprint, do you renegotiate pricing?
- Some facilities lock you in; others reward loyalty.
Hidden Costs
- Remote hands (engineer support): Per incident? Monthly fee? How much?
- Cable & patching: Included in MRC or additional?
- Carrier cross-connects: Facility facilitation fee?
- Burstable bandwidth overages: What’s the rate?
- Environmental monitoring & alerting: Included?
- Request an itemized quote covering all services you’ll actually use.
Key Questions to Ask:
- Provide a detailed quote for our expected usage (X racks, Y kW per rack, Z cross-connects), including all fees.
- What are your annual escalation rates?
- What’s the early termination fee for a 3-year (or 5-year) contract?
- Are volume discounts available for larger deployments or longer commitments?
7. Scalability & Future-Proofing (15% of evaluation weight)
Your infrastructure needs will grow. Ensure your chosen facility can scale.
Expansion Runway
- How much additional power and space is available at this location?
- Can you add capacity incrementally (1-5 racks per month), or must you commit to large blocks?
- What’s the lead time for adding new capacity?
- For successful companies, scalability constraints become a real problem. Choose a facility with room to grow.
AI-Ready Roadmap
- Is the facility preparing for high-density AI workloads?
- Are they planning liquid cooling, advanced in-row cooling, or other AI-specific infrastructure?
- What’s their timeline for deployment?
- For AI workloads, a facility with a credible AI roadmap is more valuable than one treating it as a niche.
Technology Refresh Cycle
- When was the facility last upgraded? (Cooling, power, network)
- What’s their planned upgrade schedule for the next 3 years?
- Facilities on regular refresh cycles stay current. Those with deferred maintenance risk becoming obsolete.
Multi-Facility Strategy
- If you outgrow this facility, can you deploy redundant infrastructure in another facility operated by the same provider?
- Is there standardization in processes, pricing, and support across their facilities?
- Large operators offer synergies; single-location providers may not.
Key Questions to Ask:
- How much additional power and space capacity is available at this location?
- What’s your roadmap for AI-related infrastructure upgrades?
- When was your last major infrastructure upgrade, and what’s planned for the next 3 years?
- If we outgrow this facility, can we expand to other locations operated by your company?
Retail vs. Wholesale Colocation: Which Model Fits Your Workload?
Retail Colocation
- Power density: Up to 250 kW per deployment
- Format: Individual racks or small cages
- Pricing: Per-rack or per-kW (higher per-unit cost)
- Customization: Limited (shared infrastructure, standard configurations)
- Ideal for: Small to mid-market deployments, companies with 5-50kW needs
Wholesale Colocation
- Power density: 250 kW to 4+ MW per deployment
- Format: Private suites, entire halls, or dedicated facilities
- Pricing: Per-kW or flat lease (lower per-unit cost for large volumes)
- Customization: Extensive (custom cooling, custom power distribution, custom networking)
- Ideal for: Hyperscalers, large enterprises, AI operators with 500kW+ needs
Hybrid Approach: Some operators use hybrid models: Retail colocation for standard workloads, wholesale for AI/HPC workloads that require custom cooling and power infrastructure.
Common Pitfalls in Colocation Comparison
1. Focusing Only on Price The lowest-cost facility often has hidden costs or inferior infrastructure. Always evaluate total cost of ownership (TCO), not just MRC.
2. Ignoring Power Efficiency A facility with 20% lower MRC but 30% higher power consumption (due to poor cooling) may cost more overall. Always compare total cost (facility + power).
3. Overlooking SLA Terms A facility with 99.99% uptime SLA but high early termination fees and low SLA credits is riskier than a facility with 99.9% uptime and customer-friendly terms.
4. Assuming “Tier III Certified” = High Quality Tier III is a building design standard, not a service quality standard. Tier III facilities range from excellent to mediocre. Always audit actual operations.
5. Not Negotiating Terms Most colocation agreements are negotiable. Don’t accept the first proposal. Ask about volume discounts, lower escalators, flexible term lengths, and higher SLA credits.
6. Choosing Facilities Without Site Visits Site visits reveal operational reality that brochures don’t. Visit facilities before committing.
How GoDataCenters Standardizes Comparison
GoDataCenters’ platform normalizes facility data across 50+ markets and 1,000+ facilities, allowing you to compare apples-to-apples on all seven dimensions:
- Power efficiency: Standardized PUE metrics, power density limits, cooling technology deployed
- Network connectivity: Carrier count, IXP proximity, latency benchmarks
- Compliance: SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, FedRAMP status
- SLA terms: Uptime guarantees, response times, credit structures
- Pricing: Normalized MRC, NRC, power costs, escalators
- Growth: Available capacity runway, AI-ready infrastructure, expansion timeline
Rather than collecting fragmented information from a dozen vendors, you can use our platform to compare facilities across all metrics and identify the best fit for your workload.
FAQ: Comparing Colocation Providers
Q: What’s the most important factor when comparing colocation providers? A: It depends on your workload. For cost-sensitive deployments, power efficiency (PUE) and per-kWh rate matter most. For mission-critical applications, SLA terms and support quality matter most. For AI workloads, cooling capacity and roadmap matter most. Comprehensive evaluation across all seven dimensions is essential.
Q: How much weight should I put on price? A: Price is important, but it’s only one dimension. A facility that’s 10% cheaper but has 20% worse power efficiency will cost more over a 3-year contract. Always calculate total 3-year or 5-year cost of ownership, not just monthly MRC.
Q: Should I choose a facility operated by a large company or a smaller regional operator? A: Both have trade-offs. Large operators (Equinix, CoreWeave, CyrusOne) offer standardized processes, multiple locations, and scale. Regional operators may offer more personalized service and better pricing. Evaluate based on your specific needs (multisite availability, carrier diversity, growth runway).
Q: How important is PUE for my workload? A: Very important. For standard server workloads (15-20kW per rack), PUE 1.3-1.5 is acceptable. For AI workloads (50+ kW per rack), PUE should be under 1.2. Over a 5-year contract, poor cooling efficiency can add 30%+ to total operating cost.
Q: What should I ask a facility during a site visit? A: Observe security processes, check physical condition of racks/cages, speak with facility operations staff, verify claimed carrier diversity, and request a walk-through of your planned deployment space. Ask operations staff (not sales) about actual uptime, incident response, and customer satisfaction.
Conclusion: Build a Structured Evaluation Process
Choosing a colocation provider is a critical infrastructure decision. A poor choice can impact reliability, cost, and scalability for years. Use the seven-dimension framework to structure your evaluation, normalize data across providers, calculate total cost of ownership, and choose the facility that delivers the best value for your specific workload.
Ready to compare colocation providers? Visit GoDataCenters.com/get-a-quote to submit your requirements and receive side-by-side facility recommendations with standardized data on power, cooling, network, security, SLA, pricing, and growth potential across 50+ markets.