Definition
Colocation (colo) is a data center service in which a business places its own physical servers in a third-party facility that provides power, cooling, physical security, and internet connectivity. Unlike cloud hosting, colocation requires owning the hardware. It is used by large media companies and enterprises that need maximum control over their infrastructure while outsourcing facility management. For most individual creators, colocation is not relevant — VPS or cloud hosting is more practical — but it is an important concept for understanding the infrastructure that powers streaming platforms and CDNs.