At ESDS, our secure colocation services are designed to meet the stringent demands of BFSI workloads. With Tier-III RBI compliant data center facilities located in India, our infrastructure supports high availability, customizable security layers, and 24/7 monitoring. We enable enterprises to colocate their infrastructure while ensuring compliance with data residency, audit logging, and hybrid workload management.

1. RBI Compliant colocation for BFSI in India Secure, Sovereign,
scalable
For India’s BFSI sector, compliance is not a one-time audit. It’s an ongoing mandate shaped by
data sensitivity, regulatory frameworks, and operational resilience. From core banking systems
to digital payment platforms, financial institutions are under constant pressure to safeguard
data, ensure uptime, and adhere to national and industry-specific mandates. This is where BFSI
colocation India is gaining traction — not just as a hosting model, but as a compliance enabler.
As banks, NBFCs, and fintech platforms re-architect their infrastructure to meet RBI and
industry expectations, colocation emerges as a grounded alternative to public cloud and
traditional on-premise setups. It provides the scalability of third-party infrastructure while
giving institutions physical control, audit readiness, and sovereignty over their digital
operations.
India’s financial sector is governed by guidelines that leave little room for lapses. The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI), through its IT Framework for NBFCs, Master Direction on Digital Payment
Security Controls, and various circulars, has mandated stringent controls around data
localization, business continuity, and infrastructure management.
Institutions are expected to:

2. • Host critical infrastructure within India
• Ensure data is encrypted, segregated, and backed up
• Implement real-time monitoring and incident response
• Maintain disaster recovery sites within specified RPO and RTO limits
These requirements demand more than a secured server rack. They require infrastructure
that’s auditable, physically protected, and capable of supporting evolving workloads. Secure
colocation fits that profile well.
What is BFSI Colocation in India?
BFSI colocation India refers to the practice of hosting financial institutions’ IT infrastructure—
servers, storage systems, and networking gear—inside a third-party data center, while retaining
complete operational control.
Unlike cloud services, colocation gives institutions:
• Physical ownership of servers
• Control over hardware configuration
• The ability to meet data residency regulations
• A neutral zone for hybrid workloads
In essence, colocation becomes an extension of the enterprise’s own data center—except it’s
housed within a facility that meets regulatory, physical, and operational safeguards.
What Does Secure Colocation Really Mean?
When the term secure colocation is used in the BFSI context, it goes beyond perimeter firewalls
and biometric access. Security here means layered defense—starting at the gate, reaching all
the way to the cabinet door.
Key security features include:

3. • 24/7 surveillance and physical access control
• Dedicated racks with locking mechanisms
• Power redundancy and fire suppression systems
• SOC-enabled monitoring with real-time alerting
• Segmented network zones and secure VPN access
In BFSI workloads where data leakage or unauthorized access can trigger legal and reputational
risks, secure colocation becomes not just about infrastructure safety but also about audit
traceability.
What is “Must” in RBI Compliant Data Center?
An RBI compliant data center isn’t a label — it’s a set of observables, testable controls. These
data centers are expected to align with RBI’s operational risk management guidelines,
including:
• Location Within India: Critical data must reside on Indian soil
• Audit Trails: Every access and change must be logged and retrievable
• DR and Backup: Must support near-real-time disaster recovery
• Isolation: Logical and physical isolation between tenants
In addition, BFSI clients often seek ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and MeitY empanelment’s to ensure
that their infrastructure stack supports broader compliance needs. Colocation partners offering

4. RBI compliant data center services typically provide audit reports and compliance
documentation to simplify regulator interactions.
How BFSI Colocation India Supports Compliance Objectives
1. Physical Security for Data Residency
Colocation allows BFSI firms to place infrastructure in Indian-based data centers that meet RBI’s
localization norms. This helps with adherence to circulars concerning regulated entities and
sensitive data.
2. Controlled Environment for Hybrid Setups
While public cloud remains part of the digital strategy, core banking apps often stay on physical
servers due to latency, licensing, or compliance reasons. BFSI colocation India enables hybrid
deployments where core apps run on-prem hardware within a secure facility, while ancillary
services leverage the cloud.
3. Audit-Ready Infrastructure
Most colocation data centers maintain access logs, temperature records, surveillance archives,
and incident reports. This makes audits more seamless and documentation easier for
compliance submissions.
4. Customizable Security Posture
Secure colocation allows BFSI players to enforce their own security controls—firewall rules,
data encryption, endpoint monitoring—rather than relying on a cloud vendor’s baseline. This
helps in aligning with internal infosec and compliance policies.
5. Regulatory Reporting Support
With managed services layered over RBI compliant data center setups, BFSI firms can receive
regular reports tailored to RBI reporting formats, helping reduce compliance overhead.
Integration Considerations for CTOs
CTOs planning to migrate or scale to secure colocation should consider the following:
• Interconnectivity: Does the provider offer low-latency connectivity to cloud platforms
and regional offices?
• Power & Cooling SLAs: Are infrastructure environments stable enough for mission-
critical applications?
• Security Audits: Are third-party audits conducted regularly, and are results shared
transparently?

5. • Support Model: Does the colocation provider offer remote hands, patching, and
monitoring as managed services?
In BFSI, where infrastructure downtime translates to regulatory scrutiny and operational
disruption, selecting the right BFSI colocation India partner becomes a strategic call, not just a
budget line item.
Future-Proofing Without Overcommitting
Colocation, by design, is hardware-agnostic and tenant-controlled. As financial institutions
explore containerized workloads, AI-enabled risk engines, and evolving API ecosystems, the role
of colocation becomes one of enablement rather than constraint. With proper planning, it
supports digital transformation without locking the organization into inflexible architectures.
At ESDS, our secure colocation services are designed to meet the stringent demands of BFSI
workloads. With Tier-III RBI compliant data center facilities located in India, our infrastructure
supports high availability, customizable security layers, and 24/7 monitoring. We enable
enterprises to colocate their infrastructure while ensuring compliance with data residency,
audit logging, and hybrid workload management.
Our colocation solutions are tailored to align with RBI, SEBI, and MeitY frameworks—making us
a trusted partner in the BFSI compliance journey.
For more information, contact Team ESDS through:
Visit us: https://www.esds.co.in/colocation-data-centre-services
🖂 Email: getintouch@esds.co.in; ✆ Toll-Free: 1800-209-3006; Website:
https://www.esds.co.in/