APAC has been experiencing exponential growth in the number of data centres. Spurred by the ongoing pandemic and global digital adoption, the region has been quick to adapt to market demand.
The Asia Pacific region is one of the fastest-growing markets for digitisation. Much of it revolves around data centres, storage, and creating a reliable, interconnected network infrastructure for residents.
There have been multiple investments in countries like Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Cambodia. The digital market in APAC is developing rapidly, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise since new technologies are emerging on almost a daily basis.
Countries will likely experience enhanced digital growth and market expansion in the next three years. A major player is China, which is just behind the United States in data centre adoption. The country accounted for more than 1.7 million square metres of space at the beginning of the year.
What are the trends contributing to the rapid growth in the number of data centres in the APAC region?
1. Increased Internet Usage and Social Media Data
Countries all over the world are experiencing a huge boom in internet usage. As more developers create mobile applications and people can access the internet from just about anywhere, individuals generate data that needs to be stored somehow.
A new report shows that Asia accounts for almost half of all internet users worldwide. The cost to purchase internet-capable devices is lowering, and the increased penetration of these items is fuelling the growing usage rates. Additionally, the ever-increasing acceptance of e-commerce as a means of ordering goods and services contributes to this trend.
No country spends as much time on their mobile phones as a handful of countries located in Southeast Asia — Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia, commonly known as the ASEAN region.
2. Covid-19’s Push for a Digital Transformation
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital revolution in many countries, and the APAC region may be feeling the strongest effects of this acceleration. The pandemic has forced governments to adopt more robust data infrastructure components to account for more internet usage and an increased need for security to contain these digital technologies.
Before the pandemic, more businesses were offering digital services and technologies, which merely strengthened this trend. Whether it is additional hosting, storage, colocation services or disaster recovery services, the digital world is becoming more complex, directly influencing the push for more data centres across the region.
3. Growing Demand for Converged and Hyper-Converged Solutions
Businesses that work with data frequently and offer solutions to their clients have seen a growing demand in recent years. Take Hewlett Packard Enterprise, for example– the company is leading the server market in the APAC region.
The vendor landscape in the APAC region is becoming increasingly prevalent. Vendors offer viable solutions to those looking to expand their data management operations and demystify some complexity. The market will become more competitive because of this, and vendors will need to offer unique, robust solutions to maintain a high market share.
These vendors focus their efforts on Artificial Intelligence (AI), the cloud, big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) to offset workloads and manage information more efficiently.
4. Developments in Fixed Broadband
Fixed broadband in the APAC region is expected to play a significant role in the upcoming years. Access is expanding for many countries worldwide, and those in this area are no exception.
One catalyst that supports this trend is the cost of national broadband plans. More citizens are enrolling in these plans to have access to broadband networks and reap the benefits of this technology. The rollout of 5G technology and satellite launches will directly impact adoption across countries in the APAC region.
By 2026, there will be 835 million fixed broadband lines in the APAC region- the fiber segment will likely dominate the industry for the next few years.
These trends are pushing for the expansion of existing and new data centres within the APAC region. Whether it is to reduce network costs or meet new IT demands, these trends will likely remain.
Looking Forward
The APAC region is expected to make digital advancements and improvements and see an uptick in new data management facilities in the coming years. While the US and Canada are industry leaders, the APAC region is not far behind and will continue to grow based on the trends listed above.
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