Growth Seen for UK Data Center Industry

Will UK data center operators increase their investment in new data center construction in 2009? That's what they said at the DatacenterDynamicsLondon:08 event Nov. 11-12.

According to research data compiled at the event, investment in new data center investment by UK companies will reach £850 million for 2008-09 ($1.28 billion), an increase of £50 million ($74 million) on the previous year. Investment in retrofitting of data centers is estimated to be £400 million ($600 million) in the same period.

The optimism about new construction in the UK is a departure from current experience in the US, where even veteran data center developers face major challenges raising funds for new construction. The focus on new construction rather than retrofits, which tend to be far more affordable, also runs counter to recent trends in the US.

This finding may be explained by the internal trends in London, the dominant UK data center market, where power shortages and space constraints have been major challenges. Almost one third of the survey respondents said they were considering moving their data center out of a city location.  

The sample of over 400 senior data center operators taken at DatacenterDynamicsLondon:08 found that UK data center operators have around 125,000 racks and around 8 million square feet of data center space.

“The responses of a unique sample of senior data center professionals who attended DatacenterDynamicsLondon:08 prove that even in uncertain economic times, investment in data centers is stable and in some sectors is still growing," said Dan Scarbrough, CEO of DatacenterDynamics Ltd. "It is clear that owner/operators are looking to maximize the returns on their investment but the responses show that continued data center investment underpins business performance.”

More than 1,200 delegates attended the two day event, held Nov. 11-12 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.