Wholesale Colocation
Wholesale colocation is the leasing of entire data center suites, halls, or buildings to a single large tenant, priced by the megawatt on long term contracts. It contrasts with retail colocation, which sells individual cabinets and cages to many customers.
Wholesale colocation is closer to commercial real estate than to IT services. The provider delivers a powered, cooled, secured shell with committed capacity, and the tenant builds out and operates the environment inside it.
How deals are structured
Capacity is quoted in megawatts of critical load rather than square feet or cabinets. Leases run long, frequently over a decade, and often include expansion options on adjacent capacity so a growing tenant does not have to relocate.
Build to suit
Many wholesale transactions are build to suit, meaning the facility is designed and constructed against a specific tenant's requirements and lease commitment. This is why announced megawatt figures and actual available capacity can differ so widely: a large share of new supply in constrained markets is pre-leased before it is energized.
Why it matters for marketing
Wholesale and retail are different businesses with different buyers, sales cycles, and content requirements, and providers who serve both frequently blur them into one undifferentiated Solutions page.
A wholesale prospect is a real estate and finance decision maker evaluating power availability, delivery timeline, expansion runway, and your track record delivering on schedule. A retail prospect is an IT lead evaluating cabinets, carriers, and remote hands. Those audiences need separate paths through the site from the first click, not a shared page that tries to speak to both.
Common questions
What is the difference between wholesale and retail colocation?
Retail colocation sells by the cabinet or cage to many customers, includes more managed services, and is priced with connectivity bundled. Wholesale sells entire suites, halls, or buildings to a small number of large customers, typically measured in megawatts, on long term leases where the tenant handles more of its own operations and connectivity.
How long are wholesale colocation leases?
Wholesale leases commonly run ten to fifteen years or longer, because the provider is financing purpose built construction against a single tenant's credit. That length is why tenant creditworthiness and pre-leasing matter so much to how these projects get financed.