Compare colocation providers at the individual facility and contract level—not by a global brand, a generic “carrier-neutral” label, or a Tier claim. The defensible choice is the site that can document usable power for your equipment, genuinely independent power and network paths, the carriers and cloud connections you need, and an uptime SLA whose measurement, exclusions, remedies, and reporting match your workload.
Start with one workload, one target metro, one growth forecast, and one total-cost model. Then send every bidder the same questions and score evidence rather than marketing language. Capacity, network inventory, prices, SLA wording, and certification status change by site and over time, so verify them in the current quote and contract.
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Define the workload and location before comparing facilities
A colocation comparison is meaningful only when every provider is answering the same scenario. Write a one-page baseline before requesting proposals.
Set the geographic and latency boundary
- Name the metro area, acceptable alternate metros, and any requirement for a specific building or campus.
- List the endpoints that matter: offices, users, public-cloud regions, exchanges, partners, backup sites, and payment or storage services.
- State the latency objective and whether it applies to round-trip time, one-way transport, or an application transaction. Ask providers to identify the measurement points and test method.
- Record regulatory, data-residency, physical-security, access-hour, and audit requirements. A technically strong site may be unusable if it cannot satisfy those constraints.
Describe the deployment and growth profile
- Give the initial rack count, cabinet dimensions, equipment weight, and expected rack density.
- List the current and forecast electrical draw, cooling-sensitive equipment, and any GPU, storage, or high-density systems.
- State the installation date, staged deployment needs, remote-hands requirements, and target date for production traffic.
- Provide a growth forecast for at least the contract term: additional cabinets, higher-density racks, circuits, cross-connects, and bandwidth.
- Specify recovery objectives and which components must survive a utility outage, maintenance event, or carrier failure.
These inputs prevent a common error: selecting a facility that works for the first few racks but cannot deliver the power, paths, or expansion schedule required for the next phase.
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How much power per rack do you need?
Do not compare a provider’s headline “high-density” figure with your equipment’s nameplate draw. Normalize your requirement, then verify what the provider will contractually reserve and what you can actually use.
Convert equipment requirements into a comparable load
- Collect the manufacturer’s maximum and expected operating draw for every device, including servers, storage, switches, security appliances, and in-rack equipment.
- Add the planned growth allowance for each rack. Keep today’s draw separate from the forecast so a provider can quote both the initial deployment and the expansion step.
- Convert the equipment requirement to the electrical units used in the proposal. A provider may quote a draw cap in kVA while your design is expressed in kW. Because kW depends on power factor, do not treat the two figures as interchangeable; ask the provider or your electrical engineer to document the assumed power factor and the resulting usable kW.
- Include the circuit arrangement: voltage, phase, amperage, number of feeds, plug type, and whether the stated rating is a cabinet limit, a circuit limit, or a contractual consumption cap.
- Ask whether cooling, lighting, and shared infrastructure are included in the quoted allocation or billed separately. The contract should identify exactly what the power charge covers.
Questions that expose usable capacity
- What is the contracted draw cap per cabinet or rack, in kVA, and what usable kW does that represent for our equipment?
- What cabinet rating and circuit sizes apply at this exact site and location? Circuit sizes and cabinet ratings can vary by geography.
- How much committed capacity is available now, not merely planned for the building?
- How many independent feeds reach the cabinet, and are they protected through genuinely separate electrical paths?
- What happens when one feed, breaker, busway, UPS module, generator, or maintenance path is unavailable?
- What is the lead time and one-time and recurring price to add a circuit, raise the draw cap, or move to a higher-density cabinet?
- What happens if measured consumption exceeds the cap: an overage charge, a forced reduction, a contract default, or another remedy?
Request a site specification, cabinet and circuit details, a suitable single-line or resiliency explanation, the committed-capacity statement, and an expansion quote. A provider-authored example describes redundant pairs of AC circuits and a contractual draw cap measured in kVA; use that type of documentation as a model for the questions, not as a universal specification for every facility.
Test power resilience against real events
Ask the provider to walk through utility loss, planned maintenance, a failed UPS or generator component, a breaker trip, and work on the distribution path. For each event, record which equipment remains energized, whether a technician must intervene, and whether the event is excluded from the SLA. “A and B power” is not enough if both feeds share a breaker, busway, room, conduit, or maintenance procedure that creates one failure domain.
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Connectivity is an inventory and route question. A carrier-neutral label does not prove that the carriers, cloud on-ramps, exchanges, or private interconnects you need are present in the target facility.
Request the facility’s current network inventory
Ask for an address-specific list of on-net carriers, internet exchanges, cloud and software-defined interconnects, private peering options, and available transport services. Require the provider to identify whether each option is physically in the building, available through a partner, or subject to a new construction project. Product and location availability can differ even within the same provider’s portfolio.
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Compare cross-connect terms, not just the menu
A cross-connect is a physical cabling link between parties in a data center. It can be used for private peering or direct connectivity, but the practical comparison depends on the exact product and site. Put these fields in the quote:
- One-time installation charge and recurring monthly charge.
- Fiber, copper, single-mode, multimode, or other media requirements.
- Standard and expedited provisioning times, including the time for a carrier to deliver its circuit to the meet-me room.
- Demarcation points, cabling distance limits, testing, labeling, and who owns each segment.
- Port speeds, optical requirements, handoff type, and upgrade procedure.
- Repair responsibility and the service commitment that applies to the cross-connect itself.
- Cancellation, relocation, and removal charges.
Ask for the current site carrier and service inventory rather than relying on a global connectivity page. A provider may advertise broad interconnection and power capabilities while a particular facility lacks your preferred carrier, cloud region, or available port.
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Two circuits or two carriers are not automatically diverse. Ask whether the primary and backup paths use separate building entrances, meet-me rooms, conduits, risers, carrier handoffs, upstream routes, and utility corridors. Request a failure-domain description or route diagram where the provider and carriers can supply one. If the provider cannot disclose sensitive details, ask for a written statement of what is and is not shared and have your network architect assess the residual risk.
Validate latency and operational fit
- Give every bidder the same endpoint list and latency objective.
- Ask for the proposed handoff location, expected path, and any known route constraints.
- Run representative tests or obtain documented measurements from the facility to the relevant cloud, exchange, office, and backup endpoints.
- Confirm whether the quoted service is protected, diverse, or best effort, and what outage reporting and repair commitments apply.
- Include bandwidth growth, burst behavior, DDoS options, IPv4 and IPv6 needs, and maintenance notification in the technical review.
What does a colocation uptime SLA actually cover?
An availability percentage has meaning only when you know what service is measured, over what interval, under which exclusions, and with what remedy. Keep three layers separate: facility infrastructure, network services, and your end-to-end application.
Map the SLA boundary
| Layer | What to identify | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Facility power and environment | Cabinet power delivery, temperature or humidity range, physical access, and maintenance treatment | A facility commitment may not cover your servers, operating system, storage, or application. |
| Network or cross-connect | The specific circuit, port, cross-connect, or transport service; measurement points; repair and notification terms | A power SLA cannot establish that a carrier circuit or private interconnect is available. |
| Customer workload | Application dependencies, software, clustered design, DNS, databases, and external services | End-to-end availability depends on components outside the colocation provider’s control. |
Read the measurement and exclusions line by line
- What starts and stops an incident clock?
- Is availability measured continuously, monthly, per event, or by another interval?
- Are planned maintenance, emergency work, force majeure, carrier outages, customer equipment, missed payments, configuration errors, or access restrictions excluded?
- Does a partial power loss, degraded circuit, temperature excursion, or inability to access the site count as downtime?
- How are redundant feeds treated when one feed is unavailable but the rack remains powered?
- What logs, monitoring records, and incident reports will the provider supply?
Compare remedies and the claim process
Record the remedy calculation, maximum credit, whether credits are automatic, and the deadline and evidence required to claim them. A service credit is a contractual remedy, not proof that your application will remain available or that business losses will be reimbursed. Ask for a sample incident report or reporting workflow so operations staff know whom to contact and how quickly.
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Does a Tier III data center guarantee uptime?
No. A Tier designation is evidence about the design and certification scope of facility infrastructure; it is not a provider-wide or application-level uptime guarantee.
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Uptime Institute’s Tier Classification System addresses infrastructure availability, redundancy, and fault tolerance, and its certification material recognizes that acceptable design solutions can differ. Verify that the exact facility is certified, which stage was certified, the certification date and status, and what systems or boundaries were included. An unsubstantiated Tier label should not receive the same score as a current, facility-specific certificate and supporting documentation.
The standards are intentionally broad enough to accommodate different engineering approaches: “The Standards are able to accommodate new and innovative solutions for data center systems and engineering, such as modular configurations, OCP, and leading-edge power and cooling approaches.” That flexibility means the certificate still needs to be read alongside the site design, maintenance plan, and contract.
Certification and an SLA answer different questions. Certification evaluates whether the submitted infrastructure meets a framework’s criteria; the SLA defines the service promise, measurement, exclusions, and remedy you can enforce. Neither one, by itself, proves that your complete application is continuously available.
Build a side-by-side provider matrix
Use one worksheet per facility and require a source document or contract reference for every material score. A five-point scale can work if you define it in advance—for example, zero for no answer, three for a documented but qualified answer, and five for independently verifiable, contract-backed evidence. Do not award points for adjectives such as “robust,” “world-class,” or “carrier-rich.”
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| Axis | Questions for every bidder | Evidence to request |
|---|---|---|
| Power capacity | What is the contracted cap per rack in kVA, the usable kW for our equipment, current headroom, and expansion price and lead time? | Site specification, cabinet rating, circuit details, committed-capacity statement, and expansion quote. |
| Power resilience | What happens during utility loss, planned maintenance, or a component failure? Are feeds independent through the relevant path? | Facility-specific design and maintenance explanation, certification scope where applicable, and contract treatment of interruption. |
| Connectivity | Which carriers, cloud services, exchanges, and private interconnects are on-net at this site? What do they cost and how long do they take? | Current site inventory, service terms, price schedule, and provisioning lead times. |
| Diversity | Are primary and backup circuits separate through building entry, meet-me rooms, conduits, and upstream routes? | Route-diversity evidence and a written failure-domain description. |
| Uptime and SLA | What service is measured, over what interval, with which exclusions, reporting duties, and remedies? | Applicable SLA, incident-reporting process, remedy calculation, and claim deadline. |
| Fit and operations | Does the site meet location, latency, compliance, access, support, deployment, and growth requirements? | Site visit, operational contacts, escalation path, remote-hands terms, deployment schedule, and compliance documents. |
| Total cost | What are recurring and one-time space, power, network, installation, overage, and exit charges? | Comparable quote using one deployment and forecast, including escalation, minimum term, renewal, and termination terms. |
Normalize the full cost and contract
Compare offers over the same term and deployment plan. Separate recurring charges from one-time costs so a low monthly rate cannot hide an expensive installation.
- Recurring cabinet or cage, power allocation, cross-connect, bandwidth, remote-hands, monitoring, and security charges.
- One-time installation, circuit activation, cross-connect, move-in, delivery, testing, and project-management fees.
- Power overage, bandwidth burst, after-hours labor, escort, storage, and emergency-access charges.
- Annual price escalators, utility pass-throughs, taxes, minimum commits, and minimum monthly spend.
- Term length, renewal mechanics, early termination, decommissioning, equipment removal, and data or media destruction fees.
- Expansion pricing and whether additional racks or power must be ordered by a fixed deadline.
Use the same rack count, kW or kVA assumptions, circuit count, cross-connect list, bandwidth profile, staffing model, and growth dates in every quote. Include the cost of a second diverse path if your resilience design requires one; otherwise, providers with different redundancy assumptions are not being compared fairly.
Use an evidence-first RFP process
- Issue one technical brief. Include the metro, endpoints, rack and density profile, power forecast, deployment dates, compliance needs, recovery objectives, and contract term.
- Require facility-specific answers. Reject portfolio-level responses that do not identify the proposed building, available capacity, carriers, routes, and certification scope.
- Request drawings or equivalent explanations. Ask for electrical resiliency, maintenance boundaries, meet-me-room and route-diversity descriptions, and cabinet circuit details appropriate for disclosure.
- Validate the network plan. Confirm carriers and cloud services with the relevant network operators, then test or document latency to the same endpoints for every bidder.
- Review the SLA with operations and legal teams. Mark the measurement window, exclusions, notification duties, credit calculation, claim deadline, and any cap on remedies.
- Inspect the site. Verify loading, staging, access control, remote-hands procedures, spare-parts handling, meet-me rooms, and the physical path between your cabinets and network handoffs.
- Score documented evidence. Record unanswered questions and assumptions separately from positive scores; an answer that is “available on request” is not the same as committed capacity.
- Negotiate the schedule and expansion option. Put installation milestones, power increases, cross-connect delivery, acceptance tests, and escalation contacts into the order and contract.
- Recheck volatile items before signature. Confirm current capacity, carrier inventory, prices, SLA text, and certification status immediately before execution.
Common comparison mistakes and how to correct them
Choosing a global provider before choosing a site
Problem: A recognizable portfolio is treated as proof that every building has the same power and network options.
Correction: Score the exact facility, cabinet, circuits, routes, and contract. Keep the metro and workload requirements ahead of the provider name.
Equating kVA with usable kW
Problem: The quoted draw cap appears larger than the equipment can safely consume.
Correction: Document power factor, voltage, phase, circuit arrangement, and the provider’s definition of usable capacity.
Assuming two carriers create diversity
Problem: Both circuits enter through the same conduit, meet-me room, riser, or upstream route.
Correction: Request an end-to-end failure-domain statement and price physically separate paths.
Treating “carrier-neutral” as a service guarantee
Problem: A marketing label substitutes for the inventory needed by your workload.
Correction: Obtain the current, facility-specific carrier, exchange, cloud, and cross-connect list with provisioning times and fees.
Using a Tier label as an uptime promise
Problem: Facility design certification is mistaken for an application SLA.
Correction: Verify the certification scope, then negotiate the service boundary, measurement, exclusions, remedies, and reporting separately.
Comparing monthly prices without deployment or exit costs
Problem: Installation, overage, escalation, minimum terms, or decommissioning charges appear only after selection.
Correction: Compare a term-length total-cost model with identical assumptions and a documented growth scenario.
What the available market evidence can—and cannot—tell you
Uptime Institute’s 2025 Service Providers and Capacity Survey reports a sample of 872 respondents covering public cloud, capacity in owned data centers, and capacity in colocation facilities. That sample describes the survey; it is not a provider uptime rate, a market-share calculation, or evidence that one facility will meet your requirements. Likewise, a provider-authored checklist that names power per rack, resilience, connectivity, uptime SLA, location, and deployment is useful for structuring questions but is not an independent ranking.
Facility capacity, network inventory, pricing, SLA language, and certification status are volatile. No location-specific shortlist can be responsibly ranked without your target metro, rack density, carrier and cloud destinations, latency target, regulatory constraints, recovery objectives, and budget.
Make the decision at the contract boundary
Select the facility that clears your non-negotiable gates—usable power and expansion, survivable electrical paths, required connectivity and route diversity, operational fit, and an enforceable SLA—before using a weighted score to distinguish otherwise acceptable proposals. Attach the evidence to each score and write unresolved assumptions into the negotiation list. The strongest comparison is not the one with the highest advertised uptime or largest carrier list; it is the one in which the capacity, paths, service boundary, remedies, schedule, and total cost are specific enough to operate and enforce.
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