Infrastructure at the Speed of Regulations: Finding the Right Colocation Fit for Compliance

Regulated industries don’t get the luxury of slow infrastructure evolution. When mandates loom, organizations serving in sectors like financial services and healthcare must act fast and act smart—especially under relentless pressure to scale high-performance compute (HPC) while following stringent directives.

To understand what this looks like in practice, let’s examine two real-world examples from our colocation data center roster of enterprise customers that are leaders in their respective highly regulated industries. These brief case studies show how the right data center partner can enable fast, compliant, and scalable colocation deployments—even under high-stakes conditions.

Financial Services: Meeting Regulatory Deadlines with High-Performance Compute

A household-name U.S. bank with global reach faced a critical challenge: implementing regulator-mandated risk models using legacy infrastructure that couldn’t support the required compute power. With outdated systems and impending deadlines, this customer needed a strategic, swift systems upgrade that wouldn’t trigger audit issues or operational risk.

Centersquare stepped in with a customized, multi-site colocation solution to advance the bank’s compute capabilities to support the risk modeling requirements. Key features included:

• Built-to-suit deployments with scalable infrastructure tailored to high-density environments.
• Advanced cooling and power distribution systems optimized for AI/ML workloads.
• Carrier-diverse dark fiber connectivity for scalability and geographic resilience.
• Extensive physical security and preventative maintenance aligned with FINRA and SEC mandates.

The result? A fully compliant, multi-site compute grid deployed on time, with zero audit findings and preserved ROI. This case underscores the importance of choosing a data center partner that can deliver not just infrastructure, but strategic value through speed, flexibility, and regulatory expertise. Want to dive into the details? Read the full financial services colocation case study here.

Healthcare: Enabling a $100B Divestiture Under Regulatory Pressure

In the healthcare sector, infrastructure transitions are particularly complex due to strict compliance requirements. A global healthcare and pharmaceutical company undertaking a $100B+ divestiture needed to rapidly deploy a new IT environment to avoid costly Transition Service Agreement (TSA) fees and ensure uninterrupted operations.

Centersquare partnered with the customer’s engineering team to deliver a tailored colocation strategy to migrate critical applications while maintaining compliance with healthcare regulations. Highlights included:

• Standardized colocation footprint supporting basic networking to high-density compute.
• Tier III data center footprint with geographic diversity for disaster recovery and business continuity.
• 2N power architecture ensuring full redundancy and 100% uptime SLAs.
• Integrated security and environmental monitoring for real-time visibility.
• Custom network delivery with diverse points of entry for robust connectivity.

Additionally, fundamental data and performance insights were integrated with the customer’s IT management platform for always-on insights powered by our enterprise customer success reporting services. This example illustrates how the right colocation provider can accelerate a seamless infrastructure transition devoid of disruptions or penalties to safeguard compliance and operational integrity. Want to learn more? Read full story.

What to Look for in a Data Center Partner

Whether you're in healthcare, finance, or any other regulated industry, the stakes are high when it comes to infrastructure compliance. Here are five key criteria to consider when selecting a data center provider that can be a knowledgeable partner:

1. Regulatory expertise: Your provider should have a deep understanding of industry-specific regulations—whether it's HIPAA, FINRA, SEC, or GDPR—and offer solutions that align with audit and compliance requirements.
2. High-density compute support: Modern workloads, especially those involving AI/ML, require advanced cooling, power provisioning, and scalable infrastructure. Look for data centers that are purpose-built for high-density environments.
3. Geographic diversity and resilience: Multi-site deployments across geographically diverse colocation facilities enhance business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR). This is especially critical for organizations with global operations.
4. Rapid deployment capabilities: Time-sensitive projects like divestitures or regulatory deadlines demand fast implementation. A provider with pre-negotiated utility contracts and immediate network connectivity can make all the difference.
5. Customizable solutions and integration: From built-to-suit layouts to seamless integration with your platforms, flexibility is key. Your colocation partner should offer tailored solutions that align with your business priorities and technical requirements.

Why Colocation Is the Smart Choice for Regulated Industries

Colocation solutions offer a strategic middle ground between on-premises infrastructure and public cloud. For regulated industries, colocation provides:

• Physical control over infrastructure without the overhead of owning and operating a data center.
• Scalability to support evolving workloads and future growth.
• Secure, compliant frameworks and features that meet industry mandates.
• Cost efficiency through shared resources and optimized provisioning.

And Centersquare’s success in supporting leading enterprises across the financial and healthcare sectors demonstrates how colocation can be a powerful enabler of compliance, performance, and agility.

Why Centersquare Is the Right Colocation Partner for Your Complex IT Requirements

When it comes to navigating regulatory complexity and supporting high-density workloads, Centersquare stands apart as a trusted colocation partner. With over 70 data center locations in 26 key markets, Centersquare offers a robust footprint designed to flex with your business needs—whether you're deploying a single cabinet or a multi-site infrastructure grid.

Our tenured data center teams and advanced colocation solutions demonstrate our dedication to delivering a wide range of benefits, including:

• Unwavering reliability: Centersquare has delivered consistent 100% availability for more than two decades. Our telco-grade facilities are built with greater redundancy than modern data centers and are continuously upgraded with the latest technologies.
• Unmatched flexibility: We don’t just fulfill orders—we solve problems. Our solutions are designed to meet your unique business challenges, with a prescriptive approach to innovation and a carefully curated ecosystem of providers.
• Superior customer care: Every customer is assigned an experienced success manager; our customer portal enhances your experience with real-time insights and seamless service; and our customer care team is on call for 24/7 support.
• Diverse ecosystem: With access to over 200 network and technology service providers, including on-demand connectivity via the Centersquare Digital Exchange™, our facilities empower you to tackle challenges like cloud recalibration, edge deployments, and AI-driven compute.
• Scalable infrastructure: Across 400+MW of power and 3.5 million square feet of space, our colocation data centers are engineered to support your next-gen workloads and future growth requirements.

Furthermore, our business continuity and disaster recovery framework protects our infrastructure and personnel, as well as customer environments through proactive safeguards and resilient recovery policies. Our commitment to security, reliability, and compliance from headquarters to each data center is reinforced by regularly tested rapid response plans and third-party audits.

Centersquare is more than an experienced data center operator—we’re a proactive strategic colocation partner committed to helping you build, scale, and connect with confidence. Whether you're in financial services, healthcare, or any other regulated industry, our advanced colocation solutions are built to support your now and next infrastructure strategies. Stop searching. Start scaling. Learn more at www.centersquaredc.com.

Additional Resources

Info Sheet: High-Density Workloads

Blog: 5 Ways Enterprises Benefit From Colocation Data Centers

Explore: Connectivity You Can Count On

Blog: The Future of AI Hangs on Colocation Data Centers: Here’s Why

Checklist: Data Center Evaluation