Neutral carrier hotels are key to supporting the increasing demand in the data market and keeping it competitive. Connectivity, flexibility and neutrality are the pillars of a good carrier hotel, and good carrier hotels are good for the data market, panelists said at Bisnow's DICE conference in Dallas Thursday.

Carrier neutrality — charging the same price for a cross-connect without regard to who is asking for it — is a necessary part of the data ecosystem, according to DE-CIX North America Vice President Ed d’Agostino.

This kind of connectivity, brokered through a “meet-me-room” (a place where cross-connects can be made between network providers and customers), helps break up data market monopolies, our data center experts said. Carrier hotels also help save companies money because in many cases they eliminate the need for companies to build their own data centers.

“Openness and neutrality is key,” CyrusOne Vice President and General Manager of interconnection Josh Snowhorn said.

But carrier hotels are vulnerable to a number of pitfalls, including lack of regulation, difficulty maintaining security for customer data and monopolization.

Infomart Data Centers Vice President of Technology Sandy Thielamay said one way to mitigate the security risks and manage the meet-me-room is to lock the panels and provide an escort to any technician working in the room, ensuring every person within the room is accounted for and can only work on the panels he or she is supposed to.

Snowhorn and his company are taking this a step further, testing robotic cross-connection to reduce accidents and security threats while increasing the speed with which customers can get wired into the providers they want.

In regards to monopolization, Snowhorn said a strict commitment on the part of the carrier hotel to true neutrality is critical.