Originally posted by TeleGeography

TeleGeography LogoNew data from TeleGeography’s Colocation Database reveal that capacity in many core colocation hub markets has grown steadily over the past three years.

Colocation capacity across all markets covered in TeleGeography’s research grew 12 percent compounded annually from 2011 to 2014. In North America, Dallas and Seattle experienced significantly faster expansion, with gross floor space growing 26 percent and 16 percent per year to reach 3.6 and 1.9 million square feet, respectively. Equinix invested particularly heavily in both markets, launching DA6, a nearly 150,000-square-foot facility in Dallas in early 2014 and its SE3 data center in Seattle in 2013. Telx, too, opened a colocation site of over 100,000 square feet in Seattle in 2013.

In Europe, both Amsterdam and Stockholm have experienced sustained rapid colocation capacity expansion in recent years. Between 2011 and 2014, gross space in Amsterdam grew at a compounded annual rate of 25 percent to 2.1 million square feet, while space in Stockholm increased 21 percent, to 380,000 square feet. Interxion has been notably active in both markets, launching its AMS7 facility in Amsterdam in early 2014 and opening STO2 in mid-2013 in Stockholm. Interxion plans to open an additional facility in Stockholm by the end of this year, while Digiplex will move into the market with a data center slated to open in 2015.

Increase in Retail Colocation Floor Space, High-Growth MarketsColo_db_pr.png

Source: TeleGeography

Colocation capacity growth has been exceptionally strong in Australia, where both Sydney and Melbourne experienced increases of around 30 percent compounded annually from 2011-2014, reaching 1.4 million and 934,500 square feet of retail colocation space respectively. NEXTDC has been the primary contributor to recent growth in both Sydney and Melbourne, launching sites of around 200,000 square feet in both locations over the past few years. Colocation capacity in Singapore grew at a steady, if less spectacular, rate of 13 percent annually over the past three years to reach 1.1 million square feet. CenturyLink and CyrusOne are among the operators expanding in Singapore. CenturyLink has launched two data centers there since 2011, and CyrusOne invested in a 200,000-square-foot facility in 2012.

While colocation providers continued to invest in core markets, growth rates vary dramatically. For example, gross floor space in the eastern European hubs of Budapest and Warsaw grew at relatively modest compounded annual rates of six and nine percent, respectively, while total capacity in Prague grew less than one percent. Gross floor space in Miami, which serves as the network interconnection hub of Latin America, increased just two percent annually between 2011 and 2014.

Capacity growth rates in markets rise and fall as operators adjust their perceptions of demand, and how well positioned they are to meet this demand. For example, after three years of robust capacity expansion, few operators in Amsterdam have near-term plans for further construction. Conversely, given lagging expansion in Warsaw in recent years, most operators there are planning near-term investments.

Join TeleGeography on Thursday, November 13 at 11:00am EST for our International Colocation Market Trends Webinar. Topics to be addressed include:

  • What are the core data center markets and what is their growth outlook? Which operators are investing in these markets?
  • What markets are emerging as new regional hubs, and why?
  • How do network and colocation prices compare across markets?

Register for the 30-minute webinar and Q&A here.

The Colocation Database is a comprehensive online guide to colocation service providers and sites around the world.

To view this article, please visit the TeleGeography website at http://www.telegeography.com/press/marketing-emails/2014/10/29/colocation-expansion-continues-in-core-markets-but-growth-rates-vary/index.html.