As the third-largest city in the United States, there are several reasons that set Chicago apart as a data center location. In this three-part blog series, we will explore the top reasons why Chicago is a great location for your overall IT and colocation strategy. In part one, we covered the advantages Chicago has because of its location, while this post will cover the infrastructure.
Why Chicago, Illinois?
Power Infrastructure
Chicago is known for its extremely stable and reliable power infrastructure. The power infrastructure for downtown Chicago is almost entirely underground, keeping it away from the wind, snow, elements, and prying eyes. Transformers, power lines, and even some entire substations are underground and protected from the elements. Not only is the system reliable at the last mile, but it has also proven to be extremely reliable at the core, with no widespread outages in the Central Business District in decades. Chicago’s reliable power is also available at pricing below the national average making Chicago power a great value.
Fiber Optic Cable
The second major infrastructure component people look for with data centers is access to fiber optic cable to connect to the rest of the world. Most of the transcontinental fiber goes through the Chicago region. Local fiber rings in Chicago are also made easier by the right of ways provided by the Chicago ‘L’ System and underground infrastructure provided by the above electrical system and tunnel systems.
Robust connectivity
The Chicago metro area is growing as a key hub for connectivity and cloud services. This availability of long-haul fiber combined with a very competitive local market, with over one hundred networks available, gives Chicago a very robust connectivity marketplace. Add into the mix that Chicago has one of the largest peering exchanges in the country (Equinix Chicago) and Chicago is one of the top 5 cities in the country as far as overall connectivity. This competitive marketplace gives you great pricing and a lot of options, while the location on the long-haul fiber also gives you low latency, globally.
725 S. Wells Street
Overall, this gives Chicago a great infrastructure for supporting data centers, but just a small sampling of the many reasons why the ColoHouse data center at 725 S. Wells Street is an ideal location for your overall IT and colocation strategy.
Make sure to check out part 1 — and get notified when the next blog in this series is available, simply by signing up for our blog or by following us on LinkedIn. Click here to read Top Reasons to Choose Data Center Colocation in Chicago – Part 1: location
ColoHouse’s Chicago data center facility offers you a footprint in one of the most connected cities in the world. To get more information about our Chicago data center or if you are interested in visiting our data center, schedule a tour now via +1 305-731-2225 and we’d be happy to show you around.
