What is Happening to Cross-connect Pricing and What Can You Do About It?

Data center tenants are used to cross-connect fees; however, lately, operators are putting pressure on customers by raising the cost of cross-connect pricing. Cross connections are intra-data center network connections providing interconnection capabilities between networks within the same facility. Cross connections are the third stool in the triad of services core to colocation, and data center businesses, space, and power are the other two legs on that stool.

All colocation and data center facilities have cross-connections. Some facilities charge no fees, while others charge only a single-time payment to get you set up in the Meet-Me-Room and a monthly recurring fee for each cross-connect ordered. This is challenging for customers, as rising costs force companies to re-examine their IT infrastructure design. 

Today, cross-connect fees can range from $0 to $500 per monthly connection. These connections allow customers to interconnect with other networks (upon request) within a meet-me-room. These connections enable customers’ private access to other networks and direct connectivity to cloud providers, ISPs, content networks, IXPs, and other platforms where connectivity solutions are offered. 

Often colocation and data center operators offer customers access to an interconnection platform, one similar to – or most likely could be the MOD Mission Critical PaaSPort™ multi-service interconnection platform. PaaSPort™ provides customers with a single port to enable multiple interconnections – virtually – reducing the need and requirement for numerous cross-connections.  

Once connected to a multi-service interconnection platform like MOD’s PaaSPort™, customers no longer need to worry about the ongoing monthly fees for cross connections because customers can program and request connections to other networks within the platform automatically, seamlessly, and without constant human intervention.

Multi-service interconnection platforms are an ideal way for companies to see multiple interconnections, the ability to manage costs, take control of network performance, enable both private and public connectivity solutions and gain access to several cloud-onramps – simultaneously. Companies grappling with the rising costs of cross-connections can look at multi-service interconnection platforms as an aggregation solution to achieve the greatest control of your network from both a performance perspective – and a costly one.