Brightlio Blog

When choosing a location for colocation services, many factors, such as connectivity, climate, the local tech ecosystem, and disaster resilience, come into play. Seattle colocation services stand out in these critical areas.

In this article, we delve into the specific benefits of procuring colocation services in Seattle, Washington, focusing on the following:

• Strategic Location and Connectivity
• Climate Advantages
• Tech-Friendly Environment
• Highly Educated Workforce
• Disaster Resiliency
• Business-Friendly Policies

Join us as we delve into the nuances of these benefits, and understand why Seattle could be the perfect fit for your data center needs.

Strategic Location and Connectivity 

Seattle is a prime choice for businesses that require direct, low-latency connections to Asian markets. This Pacific Northwest city is a central trans-Pacific interconnection hub, providing a crucial link between North America and Asia. Two international submarine cables, Paficic Crossing-1, and Juno, connect Harbour Pointe, WA, to Los Angeles and Japan. The Seattle area is also home to cables connecting the area to British Columbia, Canada, and Alaska. Thanks to its advantageous location, companies can experience faster data transfer times and reduced latency, critical for real-time analytics and cloud computing applications.

Moreover, being colocated in Seattle gives companies direct access to the Seattle Internet Exchange (SIX), one of the world’s largest free and open internet exchanges. This direct access to the region’s SIX and other Internet Exchanges allows customers to interconnect with multiple networks and service providers, significantly improving network performance, resilience, and scalability.

Climate Advantages 

The cool, mild climate in Seattle is an advantage for data centers. With the average temperature around 59 degrees Fahrenheit, the city’s natural cooling can significantly reduce the costs associated with cooling data centers – one of the most significant operating expenses. Companies can leverage this natural climate control to create a more efficient data center environment and reduce energy costs.

In addition to the cost savings, cooler temperatures reduce the wear and tear on cooling systems, potentially reducing maintenance costs and downtime. Furthermore, less reliance on mechanical cooling systems lowers the likelihood of failures that could disrupt operations, providing an extra layer of resiliency to your mission-critical systems.

Tech-Friendly Environment 

The Seattle metro area, often called “Silicon Forest,” hosts a thriving tech ecosystem. Companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and many other tech startups have headquarters in the city, fostering an environment encouraging technological innovation and growth. As a result, colocating in Seattle allows companies to tap into a tech-savvy ecosystem, offering numerous opportunities for partnerships, networking, and talent acquisition.

Seattle’s commitment to digital innovation is also reflected in its local government policies. The city has undertaken several initiatives to create a digitally inclusive community, making it a favorable environment for tech businesses. This translates to better digital infrastructure and services, further improving the benefits of colocating in the city.

Highly Educated Workforce 

Seattle boasts a highly educated workforce, particularly in the information technology sector. As per the US Census data, Seattle ranks among the highest in the nation in terms of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. This presents an opportunity for companies colocating in Seattle to tap into a rich talent pool of IT professionals.

A local data center in an area with a dense population of skilled IT workers can be an advantage, especially if the colocation arrangement requires on-site support. With such a diverse and educated workforce, enterprises have a broader selection of IT service providers and contractors, ensuring the best support for their colocation needs.

Disaster Resiliency 

Compared to other US tech hubs, Seattle has a lower risk profile for natural disasters. While no area is entirely immune, Seattle is less likely to experience the devastating hurricanes that can affect East Coast cities like Miami and New York or the significant earthquakes that can hit California. This decreased risk of natural disasters provides customers with an added layer of physical security and resilience.

Colocation in Seattle offers higher disaster resilience, ensuring that your mission-critical infrastructure remains protected and continues functioning even during unforeseen circumstances. This significantly minimizes potential downtime, thereby preserving business continuity and customer confidence.

Business-Friendly Policies 

Washington State offers several incentives to attract and retain technology businesses. Among these are sales and use tax exemptions for data centers, which extend to hardware, software, and labor costs. These incentives can result in significant savings for enterprises colocating in Seattle, thereby reducing the total cost of ownership of their infrastructure.

In addition to tax incentives, Seattle’s business-friendly environment is reflected in its robust support for entrepreneurship and innovation. The state has implemented several programs to foster a favorable business environment for technology and innovation, including funding startups, research, and development grants. This favorable policy environment can add value to your colocation decision, aligning your infrastructure strategy with broader business growth and innovation goals.

Leading Seattle Data Center Providers

If you are exploring Seattle colocation pricing, here are a few providers we recommend to our clients:

Centersquare

Centersquare offers colocation services from two data center locations, SEA1 and SEA2, from the data center campus in nearby Tukwila. These facilities are 9 miles from downtown Seattle and 15 minutes from Sea-Tac international airport. The sites combine to offer 113,000 square feet of raised floor space and 25.5 MW of power capacity. This Centersquare site was called Cyxtera until its acquisition and a company rebranding in April 2024.

Why we like Centersquare:

• Their Seattle data centers meet numerous compliance certifications, including IS0 27001, SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS, and NIST.
• Their services are backed by a 100% uptime SLA.
• Carrier-neutral facility with numerous network service providers, including AT&T, Cogent, Pacnet, Comcast, CenturyLink, Spectrum, and XO.

Evocative

Evocative’s SEA1 colocation facility is located at 140 4th Ave N in downtown Seattle. It offers 40,000 square feet of data center space and 4.5 MW of power.

Why we like Evocative Data Centers:

• Their network of 24 data centers, including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Reston, Silicon Valley, Phoenix, and New Jersey, makes them an excellent partner for a national colocation strategy or edge computing deployment.
• They offer high-density configurations, including cages and suites.
• Multiple compliance certifications, including SOC 2 Type II, Green Globes, and ENERGY STAR.
• Additional value-adds offered including remote hands services, cloud, storage, and managed colocation services.
• Low latency connectivity to cloud service providers like AWS and Microsoft Azure via Megaport.

Hivelocity

Hivelocity’s SEA1 data center is located at 20001 6th Avenue in downtown Seattle. Hivelocity offers colocation and bare metal server hosting from this site.

Why we like Hivelocity:

• Hivelocity has expanded rapidly, with data centers in Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Tampa, Atlanta, Phoenix, and New York. This makes them a great option for a national colocation or bare metal strategy.
• Hivelocity offers aggressive colocation pricing, including partial rack configurations.
• They offer a premium blend of IP transit providers and private peering with over 300 networks.

Brightlio Delivers Seattle Colocation Services!

If you’re considering Seattle for your data center needs, Brightlio is here to help. As a leading telecommunications and colocation broker, we leverage our extensive network of data center partners to deliver Seattle colocation pricing that fits your specific requirements and budget. Whether you need a partial rack, cabinet, cage, or suite, we have access to providers that will exceed your expectations.

In addition to our colocation services, we offer network connectivity, cloud solutions, unified communications, and advisory services. This comprehensive suite of offerings enables us to provide an all-inclusive technology solution tailored to your business. We aim to earn your trust as the most reliable and responsive technology solutions provider.

Get started with Brightlio today!