Data Centres in Europe are expanding to cater for cloud, storage & digital applications but Data Centre facilities in the UK, Germany, France & the Netherlands account for half of all space in Europe – with 6 to 7 providers accounting for half of power & space in France, Germany & the UK.
TCL (Tariff Consultancy Ltd) forecasts that ” Data Centre space and power in Europe will increase by almost 20% from end 2015 to end of 2020 with the UK being the largest single market in Europe “, with over 150 Data Centre providers present, as shown in TCL’s new Data Centre Europe Pricing – 2015 to 2020 report.
From the report, however, there are signs that Data Centre pricing has reached its limit, with average rack space and square metre pricing forecast to decline by 10 per cent over the 5 year period to the end of 2020. Data Centre providers are reporting increasingly competitive market pricing, which is particularly acute with the introduction of space into a new market area.
Out of the 24 European country markets surveyed, only four accounts for half of all raised floor space and total customer power (the UK, Germany, France & the Netherlands) in Europe. And in France, Germany and the UK, the top 7 providers typically account for over half of Data Centre space and power in each country market.
The new TCL report also identifies the following trends –
- Premium Data Centre facilities, which are defined as providing 20 kW bundles of power as standard, are changing to become more “flexible” Data Centre facilities which can provide different data halls with dedicated space, power resilience, SLA, shared use or price points.
- Telecoms Providers, are developing new Data Centre space for cloud & hosting services, with several telecoms operators – such as Colt – now claiming that their facilities are carrier neutral in order to appeal to a wider range of users, which are separate from network users.
- Customer Power per square metre of Data Centre appears to have peaked. Data Centre providers such as Interxion and TelecityGroup report that power per square metre has peaked at an average of 1 kW to 1.1 kW, with further power increasing only in line with new Data Centre build-outs.
- New Data Centre space is being expanded in the Nordic countries. New providers are being established in Norway and Sweden, such as Hydro66 and Green Mountain, which are capitalizing on low cost power and green facilities to attract new inward user investment.
The report provides details of average pricing per kW, rack space and per square metre by each of the 24 Country Markets in Europe, with a 5 year forecast for raised floor space and total customer power for each country. Despite the price competition present in France, Germany, Netherlands and the UK, average Data Centre rates remain stable over time.
However, the mature Data Centre markets of the UK, Germany & France are increasingly composed of a series of discrete geographical Data Centre clusters, with Data Centre pricing in London, Frankfurt & Paris being markedly higher than in other towns and cities. But more Data Centre space and power is now being developed outside of the main cities, benefitting from lower cost land costs.
But compared with the continued price commoditization for other telecoms services, Data Centre pricing remains stable as it is buoyed by demand for cloud, hosting & storage applications.
Kaynak : 