In our last blog, we discussed the importance of a diverse ecosystem when selecting a peering location. We recommend checking out that post for the ins and outs of ecosystem benefits, but here’s the gist: The wider the array of peers at one location, the greater your reach and connectivity potential are. It’s as simple as that.
However, there are still other elements to IX selection that should remain top of mine. Namely, location. As we all look to interconnect more locations and individuals, being able to first access those nodes across vast distances becomes key. Geographic reach can no longer be the bottleneck for connectivity, especially as business footprints expand rapidly and on a global scale to additional clouds and service providers.
Encapsulating these growing enterprise ecosystems with great connectivity often comes down to strategically placed connectivity hubs within each business fabric. A great IX location can do wonders for setting any organization up with strong foundations.
Where Should Your IX Connectivity Call Home?
On the grand scale, there may not be an objective ‘best’ location for peering. Most exchanges are already situated at highly trafficked locations like major metro hubs, so many locations already set a business off on the right foot. Still, location can be optimized. Perhaps, instead of choosing a facility that is closest to one location where you know data will find its destination, a more future-proof philosophy comes down to choosing the location with the most widespread potential.
If IT frameworks are ever-expanding, and more platforms, applications and users are being added all the time, then it could be that today’s strategic IX location will pigeonhole or silo tomorrow’s networking. It’s for this reason that the most central location — the spot that can reach the greatest number of spots and the highest amount of area with a relatively low latency — might be the best step for any growing business. For instance, instead of choosing New York or Los Angeles, selecting an IX that splits the difference could be great for reaching both coasts with equally good results. This allows for freedom of growth without sacrificing enhanced speed and networking agility.
Beyond physical location, it’s important to think about what that destination’s market potential looks like. Is this city drawing in more companies every day? If so, that could mean that more peers are on the way — and we all know what that means for the IX ecosystem.
Home is Where the Heartland Is
Omaha IX was built with strategic location in mind. In fact, Omaha is located centrally in the United States, and the Omaha IX exchange sits at the nexus of the country’s east/west and north/south fiber routes. Connections here to either coast are much easier and faster than connecting from other locales, which would incur more hops (read: reduced performance) and higher costs. This area is also home to Google Cloud’s largest North American cloud node, and large facilities such as Facebook, Microsoft and more. It’s clear that this metro has a lot of potential — and we’re here to help you capitalize on it.
Interested in learning more about what sets Omaha IX apart as your connectivity transformation asset? Click here.
