APAC takes lead in data center growth, outperforming EMEA

According to a new report, the rate of data center market growth in the Asia Pacific region (APAC) now exceeds that in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA) as the two continue to "jostle for supremacy."

The DC Byte Q4 2021 Data Center Report found that In 2021, the region increased almost 185MW in the fourth quarter, which brought the total capacity to over 7,900 MW, however, IT capacity across APAC grew by over 1,500 MW for the year. Overall, the APAC market saw a growth of 24% in 2021, while the EMEA, comparatively, saw a growth of 19%, in the wake of 2020's 2.627GW growth.

In 2021, Tokyo and Shanghai added between 300MW to 400MW each to their markets, contributing a significant adage in capacity. Likewise, the Chinese authorities' announcement of four mega clusters in the north and west of the country, and the addition of ten further national data center clusters indicates sustained growth ahead. Elsewhere, India saw several significant new investments into data center platforms, and in Southeast Asia, Singapore recently lifted its two-year moratorium on new builds, which will see up to 60MW of capacity available in 2022.

Speaking about Ed Galvin, founder, and CEO at DC Byte: "2021 was the first year following the surge in demand for data center space and it's great to see the industry continuing to provide new capacity in the face of increasing challenges around power availability and land pricing."

Looking ahead at the changing digital landscape, Darren Mansfield, Data Centers Research Lead at Knight Frank, commented that firms are now "looking beyond digitalisation as just a survival mechanism" following the pandemic, and are "accelerating" the role of digital or digitally enhanced service offerings.

Adding: "This shift is amplifying business spending on digital transformation, with the expected double-digit increase cementing the case for data center development."