AI is evolving at a rapid pace, with organizations beginning to shift toward agentic models that can achieve outcomes with limited supervision. In fact, Gartner predicts that 33 percent of enterprise software applications will include agentic AI by 2028. Now is the time for technology advisors to start preparing organizations for the agentic era, by building a foundation that includes backup power systems, edge-ready colocation systems and scalable infrastructure. As a leading colocation provider, Colocation America is at the forefront of this transformation. Newly appointed CEO Samantha Walters spoke with ChannelVision about how the company is helping partners and customers adapt and compete. ChannelVision: How can partners start impactful conversations and help businesses prepare for the next wave of AI? Samantha Walters: AI is all about analyzing and acting on data. Today’s AI models require a system with real-time processing capabilities and infrastructure resilience. A partner can ask, “Is your IT infrastructure ready to support 24/7 autonomous workloads?” Now more than ever, there needs to be a focus on uptime, low latency and on-demand scalability, and colocation solutions can offer that. A business focused on establishing a strong IT infrastructure has a competitive advantage when leveraging AI. Companies can leverage state-of-the-art facilities by using colocation services without committing to building a data center. Best yet, the business can pass along a 99.99 percent uptime guarantee SLA to their clients. CV: According to a recent Synergy report, major cities now account for 60 percent of the global colocation market – leaving a major portion of the market underserved. How does Colocation America provide greater reach and availability in secondary/edge markets throughout the U.S.? SW: By providing colocation services in more than 22 strategically located data centers across the U.S., we’re well-positioned to offer low-latency, redundant networks close to home. Currently, we are seeing a lot of traction in New Jersey and Philadelphia – two markets close to some of the major hubs of the Northeast but without all the saturation. Heck, even Pittsburgh is a growing market for its growth in autonomous testing and universitybacked innovation. Businesses still want to be close to the major hubs but without the price tag weighing them down, and these markets do that. CV: Data center demand is skyrocketing. The industry is coming off a record-breaking year, with vacancies plummeting to a record low of 2.6 percent. Can you talk about the continued demand you see for colocation? SW: Despite power and location requirements, businesses looking for colocation services must fight against power and contract minimums that do not align with their needs. At Colocation America, we are looking to expand the offerings of colocation services in secondary markets to include smaller deployments. By offering colocation plans for businesses as small as a single server plan, we enable companies of all shapes and sizes to leverage the advantages of off-premises data center facilities. CV: How does Colocation America help facilitate lucrative SMB partnerships? SW: Every business uses data center services, whether they know it or not. As part of a company that offers colocation service – space, power and connectivity – I get to talk to many different types of companies from all market verticals looking to host their IT infrastructure in a data center. Besides power and bandwidth requirements, I often talk to potential clients about their IT goals and other services they may need beyond colocation services. And this is where our channel partners come in. We aim for SMBs to have access to an affordable, reliable and secure IT infrastructure that enables them to compete in this digital-first world. We make this possible by connecting technology partners, MSPs and consultants to SMBs ready to deploy enterprisegrade IT solutions. CV: What can partners expect from Colocation America in the second half of 2025? SW: We consistently examine our data center footprint and offer promotions based on power availability. If your business has a specific location in mind and, more importantly, a price point, let us know. We work with our data center and bandwidth partners to create custom and affordable solutions. Our goal for 2025 is to expand our services into new data center locations. Specifically, we are looking to partner with providers who have off-premises data centers in niche markets. So, if you offer data center space in a more localized market, contact us at partners@ ColocationAmerica.com. We want to talk! o Colocation America: Powering the Next Era of AI Colocation America CEO Samantha Walters 44 CHANNELVISION | MAY - JUNE 2025
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