Colocation (colo) is an IT infrastructure model in which a company purchases its own servers and installs them in the racks of a commercial data center. The data center takes responsibility for all physical infrastructure: the building, power supply, cooling, physical security, and network connectivity. You manage your equipment remotely.
In simple terms, you are renting the “space and conditions” rather than renting the servers themselves.
How colocation works
The process is straightforward. You purchase server hardware suited to your workloads and ship it to the data center. The DC staff install your servers in racks, connect them to power, cooling, and network according to your specifications.
You manage the equipment remotely — via IPMI/iDRAC/iLO (out-of-band management), VPN, SSH, or KVM-over-IP. For most day-to-day tasks — reboots, software updates, network configuration — no physical presence is needed. If physical access is required — replacing a drive, recabling — the data center provides a remote hands service or arranges an escorted visit.
What a standard colocation package includes
A typical colocation agreement covers:
- Rack space — sold in rack units (1U = 1.75 inches), full cages, or private suites.
- Power — dedicated capacity in kVA/kW with redundancy (A and B power feeds independently).
- Cooling — maintaining temperature in the 18–27 °C range suitable for equipment operation.
- Network connectivity — a port to one or more independent carriers.
- Physical security — access control, 24/7 CCTV, on-site security, perimeter protection.
- Environmental monitoring — continuous tracking of temperature, humidity, voltage, and current.
Optional add-ons typically include cross-connects to other tenants, extended remote hands, DDoS protection, and managed network services.
How colocation differs from cloud and server rental
Colocation occupies its own niche between two other common models.
Cloud (IaaS/PaaS). In the cloud you rent virtual resources — CPU, memory, storage — from a provider. There is no physical hardware to manage: everything is abstracted. Convenient for variable workloads, but at consistently high consumption levels, cloud becomes noticeably more expensive than colocation.
Dedicated server rental. A provider gives you access to a specific physical machine. Configuration is limited to the provider’s catalog; the hardware belongs to them; your physical control over data is indirect.
Colocation. You own the hardware, have full control over its configuration and software, and pay only for the data center infrastructure. At predictable load levels, this is the most cost-efficient model over a three-year horizon.
| Parameter | Cloud | Server rental | Colocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware ownership | Provider | Provider | You |
| Configuration | Virtual | From catalog | Any |
| Physical data control | No | No | Yes |
| Scaling flexibility | High | Medium | By your requirements |
| Upfront costs | None | None | Hardware purchase |
| Cost at high load | High | Medium | Low |
Who colocation is right for
Colocation makes sense when several conditions are met simultaneously.
Steady, predictable load. If servers run 24/7 with known utilisation, the hardware pays for itself in 2–3 years, after which monthly costs consist only of rack and power fees. As a general rule, from 3–5 servers onwards, colocation is cheaper than rental over a three-year horizon.
Specific hardware requirements. GPU clusters for AI/ML, non-standard memory and storage configurations, specialised accelerators, high-density compute systems — in colocation you are not constrained by a provider’s catalog. You buy exactly what you need.
Regulatory compliance requirements. Financial services, healthcare, government bodies, and companies processing personal data have strict requirements for where data is physically stored, data custody chains, and audit trails. Colocation in a certified DC (ISO 27001, SOC 2) addresses these requirements directly.
Data localisation in Kazakhstan. Under Kazakhstani personal data law (Law No. 94-V), data on citizens must be stored on servers physically located in Kazakhstan. Colocation in a Kazakhstani data center is the clearest way to satisfy this requirement: you know the exact physical address of your data.
High network traffic. Cloud billing models often price traffic per gigabyte, which makes tens of terabytes per month very expensive. In colocation you pay for bandwidth capacity (Mbps/Gbps), not per gigabyte.
High availability with minimal downtime. A professional Tier III/IV data center delivers 99.982–99.995% uptime — far above what any in-office server room can provide. For critical systems this matters.
What to check when choosing colocation in Kazakhstan
The Kazakhstani colocation market is growing rapidly: digital economy expansion, strengthening data localisation requirements, and international companies entering the market create steady demand for professional sites.
When evaluating a data center, look at:
- Tier level. Tier III — 99.982% uptime, allows planned maintenance outages. Tier IV — 99.995% uptime, no planned outages, full fault tolerance.
- Power density per rack. Standard is 5–10 kW per rack; GPU servers typically require 20–30 kW or more.
- Connectivity. Multiple independent carriers reduce the risk of a single network outage. Check latency to key internet exchange points.
- Physical security and certification. Look for ISO 27001 and compliance with Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry (MCRIAP) requirements.
- Physical access terms. Remote hands procedure, response time, and the ability to visit in person.
Akashi Data Center in Astana is the first and only Tier IV data center in Central Asia. Four independent fibre entries, a redundant 100 MW power infrastructure, and full compliance with Kazakhstani personal data legislation.
Frequently asked questions
What is colocation in simple terms?
Colocation means buying your own servers and “renting an apartment” for them in a professional data center. The DC provides reliable power, cooling, security, and internet connectivity. You manage your equipment remotely, as if it were sitting in your own office.
How does colocation differ from standard hosting?
With hosting (VPS or dedicated server) you are renting someone else’s equipment. With colocation you are placing your own equipment in the data center’s infrastructure. The key difference: in colocation the hardware is yours, the configuration is yours, and your data is under your complete control.
How secure is colocation?
Physical security in a professional data center is comparable to a bank vault: biometric or card access control, 24/7 CCTV, on-site security, multi-zone access tiering. Information security — server hardening, encryption, network protection — is your responsibility.
How quickly can colocation be set up?
From signing the contract to running equipment, the typical timeline is 1–2 weeks: shipping, rack installation, cabling, testing. With ready hardware and a clear specification, it can be faster.
What is remote hands in colocation?
Remote hands is a data center service in which a DC staff member performs physical operations on your equipment following your remote instructions: replacing a drive, recabling, pressing the power button. Typically billed hourly or per task.
Considering colocation in Kazakhstan? Learn about colocation at Akashi or contact us — we will configure the right solution for your workload.