With the data centre industry in general having had a very encouraging 2004 in terms of trading and a number of companies now generating cash, the article suggests that 2005 may see signs of regeneration in the sector.
Consultants in the Data Centre practice at BroadGroup (www.broad-group.com) have also commented that the Data Centre market across Europe currently reveals a mixed outlook.
Current research into the European Data Centre market reveals varying degrees of confidence in the strength of this sector. Contrary to popular conceptions of overcapacity, Inner London is actually suffering from a lack of quality space hindering major capacity deals. Conversely, major growth in outer London and the surrounding area is constrained by the distance reach limits required for mirroring.
Significant capacity continues to be available on the European continent, and is likely to benefit from increased demand within the next 18 months. UK DCs are considering how to use the European space available for clients without real-time mirroring demands.
Data centre growth is also being generated from the financial services sector. Regulatory requirements are encouraging financial service corporates to invest in large facilities allowing them to attain the redundancy, backup and continuity they demand. As the impact of the new legislation is taken up across other strata of the financial sector, BroadGroup also sees further data centre requirements from smaller finance houses.
With the data centre industry in general having had a very encouraging 2004 in terms of trading and a number of companies now generating cash, perhaps 2005 will see the impasse unblocked.
As the possibility of mergers continue to evolve however, BroadGroup warns Data Centres contemplating mergers need to be mindful of the client fallout that might follow, and the ‘easy’ pickings that may be available for other Data Centres offering high quality service packages.
