Data Centres Europe

Regional Markets:

Broadgroup
Market Study April 2005

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Based on a survey conducted with Data Centre operators and suppliers in Europe, this new report provides a timely strategic assessment of their future business plan and how value can be built. It forecasts that data centre revenues in the countries surveyed (EU 14 plus Czech Republic and Hungary) will reach €745 million by the end of 2007.

The report provides insight into a market that is entering a period of maturity. New and differentiated products and services are shifting the business model away from basic colocation and web hosting.

Growth is being fuelled by a number of factors including a broadening of customer base, the provision of managed services, regulatory requirements in the financial services sector, and new conditions emerging for investment in a market that is, in contrast to the US, sufficiently tight to expand. Business continuity and disaster recovery appeared as major concerns for end users.

The report also identified a key shift towards utility computing. However only a small number of Data Centres had so far invested in blade servers, the technology leap required to open new markets in which Data Centres were previously unable to compete.

London continues to be the main hub in Europe, and where prices continue to rise, but the report identified other cities where Data Centres will increase in scale and capabilities over the next twelve to eighteen months. In the longer term, where Data Centres are short of space, dark fibre links will be used for connection between centres and cities.

What is evident from the research is the degree of complexity that now exists for customer, and services segmentation. Data Centres are confronting new challenges in creating value added and ‘sized’ services for an increasingly diverse customer base. With the majority of Data Centre stock being 4-5 years old, and the introduction of transforming technologies, the industry is facing a further period of change.

Much of the future concern of Data Centres will focus on power, security, infrastructure and connectivity. The main cost pressure affecting companies interviewed is raw electrical power. Carrier neutrality – where the Data Centre is able to offer more than three independent connection routes – is favoured and operators are able to charge premium prices. Space too is a major issue and the report examines the current status across cities in Europe.

The report views managed services as a major opportunity for Data Centres, but suggests competitive rivalry could emerge with integrators, who hold strengths in customer relationships and architectural solutions. InterXion and IBM featured as the two most frequently quoted competitors of other players in the research.

For full details, please email jeremyk@cmsinfo.com

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