What if I told you that most of the data you're churning out on a daily basis goes through a rural county that is most well known for pastures, farms and scenic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains?
Because of happenstance, prudent public policy, the proximity of the federal government and a little bit of luck, Northern Virginia and Ashburn, in particular, has become home to many of the Internet's leading data center companies.
But, with so many good options available, choosing a data center provider in Ashburn, Virginia, requires due diligence. Considering the critical role of data and the increased adoption of cloud computing, small to mid-sized enterprises would do well to evaluate data centers beyond their hardware and software capabilities. A data center’s site location is equally important.
Northern Virginia has become one of the world's leading hubs for data centers, but before you can determine which is right for your business, you need to understand how important data center selection is.
The Best Data Center Providers in Ashburn, Virginia
To find the best data center providers in Ashburn, it pays to do your homework.
Some organizations prefer to employ a set of site-selection criteria with emphasis on cost and availability of both power infrastructure and WAN (wide area network). Others tend to prioritize socio-economic, environmental, and governmental factors.
Whatever your site-selection criteria for selecting data centers, we’ve outlined an overview of your data center options in Ashburn so you can determine which is best for you.
But before we dive into the options, understanding the benefits of selecting a Northern Virginia data center could offer additional insights to help with your decision.
Why Data Center Buyers and Suppliers Are Choosing Ashburn
Half of the Northern Virginia data center market is in Ashburn, with the surrounding area in Loudon County covering the other half. The data center space in Ashburn covers over 9 million square feet (840,000 sq. mi.), with two-thirds already fully operational and the remaining third currently under construction.
Enterprises in the market for colocation space are quick to choose Ashburn because the area has controlled access to a large part of the Internet as a whole since it hosted the MAE-East exchange over twenty years ago.
On top of that, Ashburn offers tax incentives, competitive power costs, and has more available land than Silicon Valley and the New York/New Jersey areas. In fact, data center incentives are best-in-class in the region with a five percent tax exemption on servers, chillers, generators, and server-related equipment. Additionally, you don't have the threat of earthquakes as there are in California or the hyper-density of the NY/NJ region.
So, without further adieu, the best data center providers in Ashburn, VA.
Equinix
In 1998, Equinix built its first data center in Ashburn with the mission of providing a “carrier-neutral” facility offering access to Internet backbone providers.
Today, Equinix is considered one of the world’s largest data center providers. The company's data centers connect to over 200 network service providers and over 275 cloud service providers across 10 buildings and nearly 500,000 square feet of colocation space.
Note: Atlantech offers a direct connection to the Equinix Cloud Exchange via our growing fiber network, as well as offering VoIP and data center services to ECX customers. If you're on the cloud exchange or would like a fiber connection in the Ashburn area, contact us right away!
CoreSite
Although CoreSite's data centers are actually in Reston, they're close enough for Ashburn clients to still have direct access. The company's facilities account for over 1.3 million square feet of space and they offer access to over 95 networks.
CoreSite maintains a diverse list of clients, including those in finance, cloud computing, and government services. Its clients have access to Any2Exchange, the second largest Internet peering exchange in the country, as well as options to data storage options ranging from cabinets to private suites.
Digital Realty
Digital Realty maintains 17 data centers in and around Ashburn, Virginia. Their clients have access to over 1000 provider networks, as well as multiple Internet Exchanges, Ethernet Exchange, and Open-IX Peering Exchange. These features have lead to its listing as one of the top multi-tenant data centers in the world.
Digital Realty merged with DuPont Favros in 2017. The move turned Digital Realty into the world's eighth-largest real estate investment trust (REIT), and the company continues to grow with over 243 acres currently ready for development.
Cyrus One
CyrusOne maintains five campuses just outside Ashburn, VA, offering over one million square feet of space and over 100 MW of power. Its clients also have access to one of the largest Internet Exchange points in the U.S.
CyrusOne connects their customers to a multitude of carriers and providers, giving them the flexibility to reach anyone at a connected facility or to the cloud. The data centers also provide an abundance of redundant features, ensuring there are no single points of failure in the system.
Atlantech Online
.jpg)
Atlantech Online's growing network provides fiber connectivity to businesses in Ashburn, but our data centers actually sit just outside the area, in both Rockville and Silver Spring, Maryland. While our actual data centers are not technically in Ashburn, they are connected to Ashburn because of the metro area rings of Atlantech's fiber network.
Both data centers are connected directly to a multi-substation power grid with online battery and diesel generator backups and with contracts to fuel providers to run indefinitely. For this reason, our clients enjoy low latency peering relationships direct to their data center with high-speed, high-bandwidth fiber connectivity.
We also provide our own internet business-class phone service solutions. Think of us as a 'one-stop' source for your business communication needs.
Thanks to Atlantech, when your phone and internet service provider is also your data center solution, business operations run more efficiently and smoothly. Upload, download, and disaster recovery are quicker when you’re on a dedicated network. You don’t have to share bandwidth with the entire Internet and you don’t have to send your data around the world before it makes its way to and from your servers.
Learn more about our data center services here.
Choosing Your Data Center Provider
There are many more data centers in Ashburn than the top five we've listed here. All of them have their own pros and cons, pricing models, and customer support. But that's not the extent of their differences.
We recommend talking to multiple providers and asking the tough questions to make sure your business is getting the service you need, at a price you can afford. Fully evaluate each of your options and go with the data center provider that best meets your needs.
We would like Atlantech to be one of the providers you evaluate. We can offer you fantastic support, we're located nearby, and we can simplify your communication structure with our phone and fiber connectivity options.
For more information on how Atlantech may be the perfect fit for your organization, especially if you're evaluating Ashburn data centers, talk to one of our data center support professionals today.
