Netsonic - Green Bay Datacenter

Wisconsin Colocation

Colocation vs Public Cloud:
Cost and Control Trade-offs

Public cloud is excellent for variable workloads. For steady, predictable workloads the total cost and control equation often favors colocation or bare metal.

Where cloud wins

  • • Workloads that scale up and down dramatically
  • • Teams that want to avoid any hardware or facilities responsibility
  • • Need for many geographic regions with minimal setup
  • • Short-term projects where capital expenditure is undesirable

Where colocation usually wins on cost

  • • Predictable power and hardware ownership (amortized over 3 years)
  • • No egress surprises
  • • Long-term rate stability
  • • Steady database, application, or high-density compute workloads

Control differences

FactorColocationPublic Cloud
Hardware choiceFullLimited to provider options
Physical accessYes (or remote hands)None
Network designYour switches, your topologyProvider networking
Exit costMove the hardwareData transfer + re-architecture

Bottom Line

For many steady-state workloads the three-year total cost of ownership is lower in colocation once you account for hardware, power, and bandwidth. You also retain physical control and avoid some of the operational surprises that come with shared cloud infrastructure.

Workloads can move between models

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