Colocation, GPU and Cloud Placement
Independent Colocation Broker and Data Center Consulting
We find and negotiate colocation, GPU capacity, private cloud, connectivity and disaster recovery across the US and Canada. The provider you choose pays us, so it costs you nothing. Investors, developers and property owners hire us for data center consulting.
Metro Colo Advisory is an independent colocation broker and data center advisory practice based in New York.
We find and negotiate data center space, GPU capacity, private cloud, bare metal and disaster recovery for companies across North America, working for the buyer, not the provider. Placement costs our clients nothing, because the provider they choose pays us through its channel program.
Separately, investors, developers and property owners hire us for consulting on what a site or facility can serve before capital is committed.
Colocation, GPU capacity, private cloud, bare metal and disaster recovery.
Data center markets across the United States and Canada.
The provider you choose, through its channel program. Never you.
Fixed-fee work for investors, developers and property owners.
What We Place, and Who It Is For
Buying infrastructure is hard because companies do it rarely. One agreement every few years, in a market where capacity, rates and terms move every month and published pricing rarely matches what gets signed. We are in that market every day.
AI and GPU colocation →
For teams placing their own GPU servers. Most data center space was built for 5 to 10 kW per rack; rack-scale AI draws 120 kW and up. We find the halls that can take it.
GPU rental and GPU clusters →
For teams renting H100, B200 or rack-scale NVL72 capacity by the month or year. We find the providers that fit and negotiate the terms.
Wholesale colocation →
For multi-megawatt requirements, preleases and dedicated suites, where expansion rights, the delivery date and the lease terms matter as much as the rate.
Cloud repatriation, private cloud and bare metal →
For companies whose cloud bill keeps growing for steady workloads. We price the move to colocation, private cloud or bare metal against what you pay now.
VMware alternatives →
For companies facing a Broadcom renewal. We price Proxmox, Nutanix, Hyper-V and private cloud against what you pay now, and place wherever it runs next.
Connectivity and dark fiber →
For private connections between your sites, clouds and carriers: cross-connects, cloud on-ramps, wavelengths and dark fiber, priced alongside the space at each end.
Disaster recovery and backup →
For a recovery site, disaster recovery as a service or managed backup, sized to the recovery time and recovery point you actually need.
Relocation and decommissioning →
For companies leaving a server room, an owned data center or a provider. We plan where each system goes next and line up the move.
Compliance and HIPAA →
For regulated workloads under SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS or CMMC. We check each facility’s reports and agreements before you shortlist.
We hold channel relationships across the market and recommend what fits the requirement. If the best fit is a provider we do not work with, we tell you.
Not the rate on a provider's website, but what comparable deployments are signing right now. That benchmark changes every negotiation.
Escalators, expansion rights, cross-connects and renewal caps, negotiated while they are still negotiable.
The provider you choose pays us from its channel budget. Your rate is not marked up, and you'll hear back within 24 hours.
Send the requirement before you request pricing from a provider. Once a provider is working with you directly, it generally will not work through an advisor on the same deal, and you lose the comparison.
Channel relationships across the market
How Placement Works
Markets We Cover
We place across the US and Canada. Each market guide covers the buildings, operators, pricing and what is available now.
By operator: Equinix, Digital Realty, CoreSite, DataBank, Cologix and the full provider comparison. Not sure which market fits? See site selection.
What the Market Looks Like Right Now
Source: CBRE, North America Data Center Trends H1 2026. Under 1,500 MW of the capacity being built is still available, about six months of demand.
Capacity is as tight as it has ever been. Preleasing now reaches into capacity scheduled for 2027 and beyond, and new power takes two to three years to deliver, so near-term space comes from existing inventory. Buyers who start early, stay flexible on market and design, and benchmark before they sign are the ones who get the space and the terms they want. Our colocation pricing guide covers what published figures leave out.
What AI Racks Need Now
Most data center space can’t host modern AI hardware. A rack-scale GPU system draws ten to twenty times what a typical rack was built for, and every new generation draws more.
From NVIDIA and system vendor specifications and industry estimates, October 2026.
Where these racks can go, and what they cost: AI and GPU colocation, direct to chip cooling, GB200 and GB300 NVL72 and NVIDIA Rubin.
Cloud Repatriation: When Dedicated Infrastructure Beats Cloud
Cloud makes sense while workloads are still changing. Once they settle into steady use, you pay a premium for flexibility you no longer need, and again on every gigabyte that leaves the network. Companies moving stable workloads to colocation, private cloud or bare metal typically cut the cost of those workloads by 30 to 50 percent.
And Dropbox saved $74.6 million over two years after moving most of its storage off the public cloud.
Sources: 37signals and Dropbox public disclosures. Results depend on the workload; we price yours against what you pay now.
Repatriation often fits if
Your cloud spend is above about $30,000 a month, workloads run around the clock at steady use, egress fees are growing faster than revenue, or data has compliance or residency requirements.
Staying on cloud is usually right if
Traffic spikes unpredictably, workloads change month to month, you need many global regions, or your team has no infrastructure experience.
Tell us what you spend and what you run. We price the move against what you pay now, and if staying put is the better answer, we say so. See cloud repatriation or run the cloud vs colocation calculator.
Data Center Consulting for Investors, Developers and Owners
Alongside placement, we run paid engagements for a different client with a different question: someone is buying, financing or building a data center, or making a large infrastructure commitment, and needs an outside view on what it can actually serve and who would take it.
Investors and acquirers evaluating a deal
Real estate and engineering diligence rarely answer whether a facility can hold and grow its tenants against today's alternatives, or whether the power in the model is real. We do. See due diligence, valuation and financing.
Developers and owners deciding what to build
You hold land or a building with power secured. We assess it against what operators and tenants require and recommend the specification before the design locks. See powered land, powered shell, build to suit and data center developers.
Enterprises making a large commitment
A multi-megawatt lease, a move out of an owned data center or a cloud exit. We run the requirements, the comparison and the terms, or a cloud cost review that shows which workloads would cost less elsewhere. See cloud repatriation and data center relocation.
Operators: we also take on a smaller number of engagements for operators with capacity that buyers are not finding. See data center consulting.
Engagements typically run from $50,000 to $195,000 depending on scope, with retainers for ongoing work. Tell us about the site, facility or deal, and you'll hear back within 24 hours. See data center consulting.
Industries We Work With
Financial services
Trading firms next to the exchanges in Mahwah, Carteret, Secaucus and Aurora, and banks, funds and fintechs in facilities built for examinations.
Healthcare
Colocation, private cloud and backup with signed business associate agreements, documented safeguards and a recovery site that matches.
Regulated and professional services
Law firms, defense contractors and payment companies that need SOC 2, PCI DSS or CMMC evidence their clients and auditors will accept.
Media and rendering
Render farms and GPU capacity for studios and VFX teams, rented or owned, priced against cloud rendering.
Other industries
If your business runs on infrastructure, the fundamentals are the same. Tell us what you need.
Independent, and Paid by the Provider
We work for the buyer. Our fee comes from whichever provider the client chooses, as a standard part of its channel partner program. It does not change the client's price and does not come out of the client's budget.
This is not a lead form that passes your details to sales teams. It is one advisor, in the market every day, running your search.
So the recommendation follows the requirement, not who we are aligned with.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a colocation broker?
An independent advisor who finds and negotiates data center space for a buyer. The broker takes the requirement to the providers that can serve it, compares the real costs and terms, and negotiates the contract. Most are paid by the provider the buyer chooses, so the service is free to the buyer.
How does Metro Colo Advisory get paid?
For placement, the provider the client chooses pays us through its channel partner program. The client's rate is not marked up and the client pays nothing. Consulting for developers, operators and investors is a separate, paid engagement.
What do you place?
Colocation from a few cabinets to multi-megawatt wholesale space, AI and GPU colocation, GPU rental and clusters, private cloud and VMware alternatives, bare metal, connectivity and dark fiber, disaster recovery as a service, managed backup, HIPAA compliant hosting, and data center relocation.
Which markets do you cover?
The US and Canada. We have market guides for New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Northern Virginia, North Carolina, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Ohio, Minnesota, Kansas City, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, Denver, Phoenix, Utah, Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Oregon, plus Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in Canada.
Should I contact a provider before talking to you?
It is better to send us the requirement first. Once a provider is working with you directly, it generally will not work through an advisor on the same deal, so you lose the comparison and the negotiating help.
How quickly will I hear back?
Within 24 hours. How long providers take to respond depends on the requirement and the market.
Do you work with every provider?
We hold channel relationships with the major operators and many smaller ones. If the best fit for your requirement is a provider we do not work with, we tell you.
Can you help with renting GPUs instead of buying them?
Yes. We place reserved and on-demand GPU servers and GPU clusters, including H100, H200 and B200 capacity, and can price renting against owning in colocation for your workload.
What does data center consulting cost?
Consulting engagements are scoped and priced as projects before work starts, typically from $50,000 to $195,000 depending on scope, with retainers for ongoing work.
Where is Metro Colo Advisory based?
New York, at 485 Madison Avenue, working with buyers, developers and investors across North America.
Where to Start
Placing infrastructure
Colocation, wholesale space, AI capacity, private cloud or disaster recovery. Send what you need and when.
Renting GPUs
The GPU model, quantity and term. We find the providers that fit and negotiate the terms.
Building or investing
A site, facility or deal that needs an outside view on what it can serve and who would take it.
Tell us what you are working on and what is driving the timing. It comes to the principal directly, and you'll hear back within 24 hours. If we are not the right fit, we will say so.
