Case Study:

Colocation Contracts Assessment Services Saves Fashion Retailer $230K

Because Saving Money is Always in Style


Customer Profile

Internationally acclaimed American fashion retailer


The customer was stuck in a financially straining contract with a colocation services provider and needed to decide whether to renew its existing but unattractive contract, or solve the problem for good by renegotiating the terms of the agreement.


Data Center

SHI utilized its free colocation contracts assessment service and leveraged its bargaining experience to renegotiate the contract on behalf of the customer, saving them over $230K in the process.


  • The customer saved 42% off their existing rates
  • With greater negotiating power and bargaining experience, SHI helped the customer modify the colocation contract, improving terms and giving them more flexibility and freedom for the future
  • SHI provided a free colocation contracts assessment service pinpointing the exact path the customer should take in order to lower its contract renewal costs

Why bring a friend clothes shopping? Aside from helping with the celebratory sangria after the perfect fit is found, no one is better at confirming your ensemble works and is on-budget than a trusted advisor.


An international fashion retailer based in the U.S. was stuck in an increasingly unpleasant contract with a colocation services provider. The customer felt they had no way out of the ever-increasing price structure for the services they were receiving. Since vetting out other providers was time consuming and migrating systems potentially disruptive to business, the retailer remained in their unpleasant state longer than they should have.

But driven by an upcoming renewal date, the retailer had to make a quick decision: stay the course (“easy” and expensive) or consult with data center experts to analyze their environment and provide a better recommendation.


SHI’s free colocation contracts assessment service was the perfect solution. Unlike many competitors who only focus on positioning new providers, SHI offers the unique ability for customers to keep their existing services while negotiating a 25–55% discount and gaining flexibility in a new or existing contract.

With the knowledge and best-practices learned by supporting over 17,000 customers, SHI assessed the customer’s existing contracts and compared them to the most competitive market rates for similar services being provided by the rest of the industry. This type of consultation can be pricey…unless your current solution provider happens to have the expertise of scale.

Being an existing customer, SHI was already aware of what the retailer needed from their IT environment. Our experts were able to quickly conduct a current and future-state analysis, pinpointing the exact path the customer should take to lower contract renewal costs. In addition, SHI suggested the fashion retailer use the renewal to improve terms and gain flexibility.

Now empowered with comparative colocation pricing information, SHI helped the customer leverage an impressive 42% off their existing rates while giving them more contract flexibility than they realized could be negotiated. Over the course of the new contract, the savings would top $230,000. With specialized familiarity of the customer’s existing systems, services and contract language, SHI not only saved the customer money, but helped them obtain more data center freedom in the future.

Please note: Negotiation results vary per customer.