The live, app-based trivia show HQ Trivia entered the scene in late 2017 and has quickly become a massive success, recently reaching a record 1.6 million players. For those unfamiliar with HQ, it is a free, interactive iPhone trivia game (with Android currently in beta) where twice a day (3pm and 9pm EST) players get the chance to correctly answer 12 questions to win a share of a real money prize, usually in the thousands. In short, it’s fun.

However, the interactive experience isn’t without its challenges: HQ users around the world have complained about lag time, buffering issues, and overall glitches in the app’s performance. These issues are commonly associated with bandwidth-intensive applications that require fast transfer speeds, stable throughput and constant connectivity to deliver an optimal user experience.

HQ Trivia
– HQ Trivia

But these hiccups aren’t limited to HQ and other similar gaming applications. Research shows that digital traffic is expanding annually by more than 23 percent and there are over three billion Internet users today, with that number expected to increase to over four billion by 2020.

Additionally, the number of connected network devices is expected to reach 26.3 billion in the next the two years.

Perhaps more importantly, our society is beginning to depend on the network in the same way it depends on the electrical utility: we’re seeing a generational shift in the expectations placed on the performance of the network spurred not only by interactive mobile apps like HQ, but the growth of emerging technologies like AI, virtual and augmented reality, IoT and heavy-duty video streaming - all of which require a vast amount of data processing and connectivity.

What this all points to is the growing need for agility and the ability to scale up or down rapidly as required at the edge of the network. The HQ game is perhaps a dramatic example of this requirement, as it requires lots of capacity for only about 15 minutes twice per day, but it shows how user needs are evolving.

Agility: the opportunity for colos

While these glitches can be frustrating for users, they highlight a prime opportunity for colocation providers to address IT agility and capacity concerns at the network’s edge.

A study by 451 Research makes this point in a recent paper, saying: “Perhaps the most pressing - and dramatic - change ahead for the colocation sector will be the need for greater data center agility.

“The term agility has become a buzzword, abused by marketers and often used without associated action. For colocation providers, the meaning will be defined by their customers’ changing expectations, by workload needs, and by the ability of the provider to accommodate new or different requirements.”

It’s all about maintaining connectivity performance so the business can continue to operate and meet customer expectations. As companies continue to make use of IoT and edge IT to support varying workload requirements, colocation providers will play a critical role in fulfilling connectivity and capacity demands.

To that end, as colocation providers prepare for the opportunity ahead, they’ll want to consider the following best practices:

  • Adopt a “cloud mentality”: Enable customers to pay only for what resources they use and access data center resources on demand so they can scale up and down as needed. This will help you to extend your influence and transform from being just a provider of ‘power and pipes’ to being a trusted capacity partner that can easily respond to changing customer needs and demands.
  • Implement cloud-based DCIM: To increase the scalability of your facility, adequately invest in a cloud-based DCIM system that enables monitoring of the entire colo data center environment in real time. This will allow you to identify stranded capacity and potential issues, and also virtually model the effects of equipment changes and forecast capacity.
  • Build out connectivity infrastructure: The ability to invest in new connectivity options and edge capacity will be critical to meet future demand. This will require enabling connectivity to a widening set of data centers, including public cloud and other service providers.
  • Broaden service offerings: Broaden service offerings beyond just colocation, either through the delivery of your own services or via partners or both. The emphasis should be on connectivity and customer-centric approaches.

It remains to be seen whether HQ can work out its kinks before they start driving users away. But it’s clear that the moment is ripe for colocation providers to step up their agility game.

Greg Jones is VP of strategy and offer management, cloud and service provider segment, Schneider Electric