APAC Data Center Market - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

The APAC data center market size is expected to cross USD 80 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 6% during the forecast period. The APAC data center market share has been witnessing exceptional growth since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased the access to internet-related services aided by lockdowns and restrictions imposed by government agencies across the region. The Colocation service providers witnessed a strong uptake of data center spaces by existing customers owing to the growth in demand during the pandemic. Due to the emergence of a new business environment, cloud service providers and video conferencing service providers have significantly contributed toward colocation and data center services. In Japan, the data center construction witnessed no impact due to the pandemic, however, data center operators implemented stringent precautionary regulations for the safety of their employees. Similarly, in India, a country-wide lockdown lasted for around 60 days with a majority of operations performed via online and remote mediums, which increased internet users by 25%. Hence, the market witnessed a strong spike in the announcement of new projects across India, China, Malaysia, and Japan in Q3 2020.

SNIPPETS

• The APAC data center market is expected to witness the opening of 40 new projects in China and Hong Kong, followed by Southeast Asia, Australia, and India.
• The server market is likely to grow as hyperscale centers are expanding infrastructure across the APAC region.
• The rack power density is expected to grow from an average of 7-9 kW to 13−15 kW during the forecast period owing to the increased deployment of HPC infrastructure.
• The adoption of UPS systems with a capacity of 750–1,500 kVA is expected to be high.
• The incorporation of automation through AI and machine learning software to manage power is likely to grow in the market.
• The use of free cooling techniques is likely to grow in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Northern China, which are likely to increase the adoption of evaporative coolers, free cooling chillers, air-side economizers, and water-side economizers.

APAC DATA CENTER MARKET SEGMENTATION

This research report includes a detailed segmentation by:

• IT Infrastructure 
• Electrical Infrastructure 
• Mechanical Infrastructure
• Cooling Technique   
• Cooling Systems
• General Construction    
• Tier Standards 
• Geography 

INSIGHTS BY IT INFRASTRUCTURE

The demand for high-performance computing infrastructure is increasing due to the adoption of IoT, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics in China and Hong Kong. The adoption of blade type servers is set to grow in China and Hong Kong. Over 60% of data centers in China have adopted blade servers for the high-density computing environment. The demand for supercomputers is also increasing with the adoption of digital currency in these countries. The IT infrastructure spending in Australia will be dominated by cloud-service providers, followed by enterprises, involving self-managed IT infrastructure solutions. Over 50% of the business IT budget is spent on the migration to cloud-based services in Australia, with IaaS spending leading the chart. In India, a rise in the cloud, big data, IoT, and artificial intelligence technology by enterprises is a major driver for the IT infrastructure market. Around 70% of start-ups in India are adopting IoT technology, with healthcare and manufacturing segments attracting the highest investment.

INSIGHTS BY ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Megaprojects in China & Hong Kong data center market are designed to be of Tier III and Tier IV standards, which are leading to a high deployment of 2N redundant UPS systems. Multiple data center facilities with a power capacity of more than 10 MW are implemented in Australia, which is increasing the adoption of over 500 kVA capacity UPS systems. DRUPS systems are majorly adopted in the country. The demand for modular data center facilities deployed in Southeast Asian countries is high. The procurement of lithium-ion UPS is expected to grow in the region to avoid high OPEX on VRLA systems. The data center development is likely to be of higher capacity, typically over 5 MW, requiring the adoption of 2N redundant backup systems owing to challenges related to power fluctuations and outages.

INSIGHTS BY MECHANICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

In China and Hong Kong, a majority of data centers adopt a combination of air and water-based cooling techniques to cool down facilities. However, a few facilities are built to support free cooling techniques. Data centers in India mainly use air-based and few facilities operate using water-based cooling systems. However, data centers are not completely suitable for free cooling. Few states in the country support free cooling of up to 1,000 hours annually. High air pollution levels in major cities across India could make free cooling an unfeasible option for operators. Most high-density environments are likely to consider water-based cooling systems, while small-scale deployments could operate through air-based cooling systems in the country. A majority of internet data centers in Singapore are designed to adopt water-based cooling techniques. The growth of the data center construction market in APAC will aid in developing facilities that would comprise multiple chillers, cooling towers, and CRAC/CRAH units with N+N redundant configuration.

INSIGHTS BY GENERAL CONSTRUCTION

In terms of general construction, China leads greenfield construction. Hong Kong is expected to witness largely brownfield developments due to the space shortage during the forecast period. A majority of the construction contractors are located in these countries. The increased interest in improving efficiency and reducing OPEX drives data center operators to procure intelligent DCIM solutions for end-to-end monitoring of facilities in India. Most data centers developed in Malaysia during the forecast period are expected to be greenfield. The market also has a strong potential for growth among modular data center projects. The labor cost in Malaysia is cheaper than in Singapore. However, the availability of a skilled workforce will be a major challenge among providers.

INSIGHTS BY TIER STANDARD

In the APAC region, several under-developed projects fall under the Tier III category, and the trend is expected to continue during the forecast period, with several operators likely to shift to the Tier IV category. In terms of colocation, these facilities will cost higher per rack basis than Tier I and Tier II facilities. Most new internet data centers are designed as Tier III standards with a minimum of N+1 redundancy. Tier IV data centers are equipped with minimum 2N+1 redundancy in every infrastructure that makes the facility fault-tolerant. Some facilities have 2N+2 redundancy of infrastructures such as UPS systems and PDUs.

INSIGHTS BY GEOGRAPHY

In terms of investment, China and Hong Kong are expected to account for over $34 billion by 2026. The data center construction market in China and Hong Kong is expected to increase due to the high demand for cloud-based services, big data analytics, and IoT.  In 2020, the total investment in data center buildouts was around $5 billion, with China accounting for 80%. Apple is investing a high capital to build its facilities in Guizhou and Ulanqab China. The implementation of a high-speed 5G network is expected to boost the data center network market in China and Hong Kong. GDS Services, Equinix, Huawei, Global Switch, Apple, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Chayora, CITIC Telecom, Shanghai Athub, Qnet Technologies, ChinData, Tenglong Holdings, BDx (Big Data Exchange), Princeton Digital Group, and Neo Telemedia invested in China and Hong Kong data centers in 2020.   

INSIGHTS BY VENDORS

AWS, Microsoft, Alibaba, Tencent, IBM, Oracle, and Google continue to expand their reach with the opening of cloud regions in the APAC region.  These companies have a strong physical presence in China, Singapore, Australia, and India. They are the major adopters of high-density, mission-critical servers, storage infrastructure, and network infrastructure. The APAC region is witnessing a massive increase in data usage through the services offered by companies in e-commerce, social media, and entertainment industries. Digital services offered by BFSI and government sectors are also key enablers for data growth in the market. This is expected to increase the demand for high-performance computing (HPC) among vendors. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the supply chain of infrastructure solutions to a certain extent in Q1 and Q2 2020. In terms of network infrastructure, two major factors expecting to fuel competition among market vendors - the decline in prices of switch ports and the disintegration of hardware and software in network infrastructure offerings.

The APAC data center market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry analysis with revenue and forecast insights for the following segments:

By IT Infrastructure 

• Servers
• Storage
• Network

By Electrical Infrastructure 

• UPS Systems
• Generators
• Transfer Switches and Switchgears
• PDUs
• Other Electrical Infrastructures

By Mechanical Infrastructure

• Cooling Systems
  • CRAC & CRAH Units
  • Chiller Units
  • Cooling Towers, Dry Coolers, & Condensers
  • Economizers and Evaporative Coolers
  • Other Cooling Units
• Racks
• Others Mechanical Infrastructure

By Cooling Technique    

• Air-based Cooling Technique
• Liquid-based Cooling Technique

By General Construction    

• Core and Shell Development
• Installation and Commissioning Services
• Engineering and Building Designs
• Physical Security
• DCIM/BMS

By Tier Standards 

• Tier I & II
• Tier III
• Tier IV

By Geography

• APAC
• China & Hong Kong
• Australia & New Zealand
• India
• Japan
• Rest of APAC
• Southeast Asia
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• Other South Eastern Countries