Connecting to the customer of tomorrow – the importance of data center connectivity

From how we communicate with our friends and families, to how we educate children and get a diagnosis from the doctor, people have been able to achieve things through digital connectivity over the past year that we thought were only possible face-to-face before the pandemic.

Covid-19 has changed the way people stay connected to one another and there is now an increased reliance on technology to enable connections. To keep in touch with our colleagues, we looked to video conferencing apps. Figures show that Microsoft Teams saw a massive surge in users during the pandemic, rising from 20 million users in November 2019 to 44 million in March 2020, then 75 million by April 2020. Away from the workplace, we turned to video streaming for entertainment, 21% of households purchased a new video subscription during the initial lockdown period in the UK alone, taking the average number of subscriptions to 2.3 per household.

The cloud and cloud-based applications are being used more than ever before, increasing dependence on the data center to support the servers and applications needed to run these services. This has reinforced the importance of the data center’s connectivity.

Demand is only set to continue

Even as we start to navigate the new normal and return to work, using connectivity to supplement the way we live is set to stay. Organizations looking to buy additional data center space must consider several key factors when it comes to connectivity to support applications.

1. Keeping things neutral

One of the most significant aspects is the data center’s neutrality. If a data center is carrier neutral, it allows interconnection between many colocation and interconnection providers, providing diversity and flexibility for organizations. This approach enables a connectivity-rich data center network that can provide a scalable and resilient platform wherever you need it. This is important to be able to create density.

2. Ecosystem density

The data center’s ecosystem density is crucial. Buyers must consider the mix of providers available within the data center. For instance, is their key connectivity provider in that data center, and can they access a blend of local connectivity, national connectivity and international connectivity to interconnect sites, partners, and services?

3. Location, location, location

Proximity to the customer and partner ecosystem must also be considered. Organizations need to be as close to their supply chain ecosystem as possible to improve connectivity and the service they’re able to provide.

This is something that we consider when deciding where to build and invest in new data centers. With London 1 Data Center