The industry is finally starting to take notice of what we at NGD Europe have been saying for years – why continue to adhere to the “server hugger” mentality of yesteryear when cheaper, safer, better performing facilities are available within a two-hour drive from London’s center?
London, and the key London financial sector, remains the focal point of the UK data center industry, but the 2011 Census UK Special Report conducted by Datacenter Dynamics shows soaring growth in regions outside the urban hub of London’s Docklands neighborhood and the M25 corridor. The M25 motorway, also known as the London Orbital, is a 117-mile motorway that almost encircles the Greater London area. The report found that data center facilities inside the M25 account for 45% of racks in the British Isles and 35% of investments made in the 2010-2011 time period. The report concludes that since current investments made by data center markets is an indication of future trends, we can conclude that a growing number of investments in the UK data center market are taking place outside the M25 corridor.
Growth of the regional data center market is consistent with trends observed elsewhere is areas like New York City and the rise of data center facilities in nearby New Jersey. NGD has always taken the stance that in Europe, particularly in the UK, rural data center locations offer more bottom-line benefits to tenants. London-based locations suffer from ongoing power outages; high real estate and power costs; lacks the space to offer premium, military-grade security features; and could be viewed by some as a terrorist target. In fact, having experienced two terrorist attacks earlier in my career, I was determined to find a location for NGD that was safely outside the M25 corridor but still easily accessible by car. Our Newport, Wales location is ideally situated – offering the advantages of a low risk, remote location that’s within a two hour drive from London.
It’s evident that as cloud computing continues to grow, companies will need to invest in a sound data center infrastructure, with many seeking high caliber, modern facilities outside traditional, urban hubs.
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