The Top 5 Data Center Colocation Markets You Need to Know

In today’s business environment, enterprises of all sizes and in all industries use colocation services to store data securely and scale their operations. In the global expansion and expansion of data infrastructure, location is becoming an increasingly important factor in selecting the right data center facility. This is especially true for companies whose digital content is latency-sensitive.

It is expected that the top Data center Colocation market will offer fiber optic networks with robust telecommunications, dependable utility power and an overall stable economic climate. Here are five colocation markets to consider further.

London

Among the four top European data center markets, London holds the largest market share and most leased capacity, with 38 percent.

The city’s dominant position in the European data center market is expected to continue due to the growing use of applications powered by cloud service providers.

London’s data center market has not been negatively affected by Brexit, which is set to take effect in May. Even so, clients may want to consider migrating to continental Europe or implementing a dual-location strategy tailored to their business needs and IT strategies.

Frankfurt

Located in Frankfurt, Germany, the Deutscher Commercial Internet Exchange (DE-CIX) offers 6 Tbsp peak transmission capacity and is a leading European center for financial services.

Frankfurt is a key hub for Internet traffic in Europe and a convenient location for building out facilities to serve regional markets in the south and east.

The country has strong legal protection laws and stringent regulations governing data privacy, which has led to high user confidence in data privacy. Furthermore, this high operating overhead can create barriers for international enterprises due to high power costs. As a result, the choice of a colocation provider is recommended for lowering costs and ensuring compliance with data ownership and transfer regulations.

Amsterdam

A robust tech ecosystem can be found in Amsterdam, a city with many startups and technology companies. Amsterdam Economic Board states that the city is set to become one of Europe’s top three most innovative regions by 2025.

Through the city’s world-class maritime connectivity and transatlantic subsea cables, Europe can connect directly with North America. In addition, it has AMS-IX, the world’s leading internet exchange, which connects more than 350 cities and 500 colocation sites.

Many leading multinational companies, including Netflix, Facebook, and Salesforce, have established European headquarters in Amsterdam, perhaps because multilingual workers make doing business across borders easier.

Washington D.C.

It is only 30 minutes outside of Washington, D.C., where 70 percent of the world’s Internet traffic passes through Ashburn at high speed. Ashburn is one of the largest colocation and data center markets in the world due to the growth of cloud computing.

In addition to its seismic stability, the region is also close to government agency headquarters, which is a primary contributor to its outstanding network connectivity. Northern Virginia data centers typically pay 28 percent less than the national average for electricity because of favorable tax policies and low electricity rates.

Juan Font, Vice President of the Eastern Region at CoreSite, says land is the only thing limiting Ashburn’s development as fiber, ecosystems, and a plethora of providers make this region very attractive.

Hong Kong

With Hong Kong’s importance as one of Asia’s most important markets, it attracts many mainland Chinese cloud and technology companies looking to grow internationally. Hong Kong’s data centers are used by Chinese Internet giant Tencent to expand overseas.

In addition, Hong Kong’s data centers are also a popular destination for U.S. firms looking to enter the APAC market, largely because of its role as a stepping stone to China. As a result of China’s data localization laws, Hong Kong’s data centers offer a more cost-effective solution for storing data closer to mainland China.

The financial services industry provides the largest portion of Hong Kong’s clients, but the IT, cloud, telecommunications, and digital media industries are expected to grow most rapidly in the near future.