Collaborative Study Quantifies UK Data Centre Market Size at 7.6 million sq m

Nov. 16, 2011 - PRLog -- London, November 15st 2011: As one of the largest global markets, it is estimated that the UK houses up to 7.6 million square metres (81m sq.ft.) of data centre space - an area equivalent to 14 US Pentagons (one of the world’s largest buildings at 6m sq.ft) or 900 football pitches.

In order to estimate the UK data centre market size, DatacenterDynamics Research used data from the Global Data Center Industry Census 2011, and built a predictive model to determine IT-based demand for data centres in a given location and the context in which they operate. Other input factors such as organisational size and IT dependence were also considered, and taken together with known and observed information about data centres and data centre portfolios.

In terms of power consumption, the UK data centre market is estimated to consume 6.4 GW (about enough energy to power 6 million homes) annually. This number is set to grow by 6.7% during 2011 – 12, or by a further 410 MW. Power consumption is growing ahead of growth in rack numbers, indicating increasing rack power density – one of the hallmarks of data centre markets which are at the most advanced state of development. Using a UK average of 4.22 kW/ rack this equates to somewhere in the region of 2 million racks.

George Rockett co-founder and CMO of DatacenterDynamics, said, “I’m not surprised by the status or size of the UK data centre market. When you look at the size of the operations of just a handful of organisations, you quickly get a sense of the market’s scale. From a research point of view, it has been important to establish a rigorous methodology as well as a representative sample of the industry in order to validate our numbers. We are delighted to have had the cooperation of CBRE, a company which has an unrivalled reputation in this sector.”

Andrew Jay, Head of Data Centres EMEA, CB Richard Ellis said, “Given the idiosyncrasies of privacy and security that prevail across the industry, it has been notoriously difficult to determine market size to date. By working with DatacenterDynamics over the last 6 months, and combining our data sets, we are exploring ways of modelling data centre markets to determine their total size. We believe the numbers released today well reflect the UKs position as a leading global data centre market, and look forward to refining the model and using it in other markets.”

The UK in comparison to other markets

The Data Center Industry Census 2011 depicts the UK’s substantial facility base as one of the largest global markets. The sample data alone suggests a 25% growth in data centre investment to $3.35bn during 2011 – 2012. In the context of the research, this is money which will be invested in the construction of new data centres, the upgrade of existing facilities or the use of outsourcing.

The UK is positioned behind the East and West Coast US in the Data Center Development Index (DCDi); a classification system created by DatacenterDynamics Research to provide a relative indication of conditions within 21 global data centre markets. DCDi ranks markets according to their state of development by criteria such as the size of economy, the number of data centres and the influence of its sector, power consumption, human resources and technology considerations. More details about DCDi can be downloaded from the DatacenterDynamics website.

The UK Data Centre Report can be downloaded free by visiting http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/research

About the 2011 Data Center Industry Census

The DatacenterDynamics Industry Census 2011 is the largest ever comparative study of data center operators and end-users as well as the facilities which they manage. A total of 5,400 interviews were completed during June and July 2011 to provide a detailed view of 22 key markets around the globe. The Data Center Industry Census provides a useful method of comparing market profiles, describes key trends and attitudes within those markets, and answers a myriad of questions about the nature of this rapidly growing sector. Research findings will be published in separate reports and available for free download at www.datacenterdynamics.com/research.


Editors Note

As a thank you to those respondents who gave their time to the DatacenterDynamics Industry Census 2011, DatacenterDynamics has made a donation of $13,925 to the UNICEF Children’s Emergency fund.

Press Contact:
Damien Wells
Spa Communications
dwells@spacomms.co.uk
+44 (0) 7900 302102