Data Center Market in Europe - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

The Europe data center market size to be valued at USD 52 billion, growing at a CAGR of over 4% during 2021-2026. The emergence of edge facilities will be a major boost to Europe data center market growth in 2021. The market is expected to grow due to the growing procurement of renewable energy sources. Over 25 European cloud and data center operators, including AWS, Google, Equinix, Interxion, OVH Cloud, Scaleway, Aruba, and 17 other industry associations, have signed an agreement facilities carbon neutral via 100% renewable energy sources by 2030. According to the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, 75% of the power supplied to data centers in Europe will be supplied through renewable energy or carbon-free energy by December 31, 2025. The objective is to reach 100% by December 31, 2030. This announcement is likely to offer a high impetus to the growth of the data center market in Europe. Hyperscale data center providers are the major investors in renewable energy initiatives. Germany intends renewable resources to constitute at least 35% of the gross electricity consumption. Ireland aimed to generate 16% of its energy through renewable energy sources in 2020, which is expected to reach 55% by 2030.  Norway is the leading country in the production of renewable energy sources, followed by Sweden and Finland. Iceland continues to produce 100% of electricity through renewable sources.

SNIPPETS

• Over USD 45 billion will be invested across Western Europe on data center development and infrastructure procurement.
• UPS systems' adoption with a capacity of <=500 kVA is expected to be high due to the growth in edge data center deployment and hyperscale construction.
• The emergence of edge facilities will be a major boost to Europe data center market growth in 2021, especially in the UK and Germany.
• The use of free cooling techniques is likely to increase evaporative coolers, free cooling chillers, air-side economizers, and water-side economizers in Western Europe, Nordics, and Central & Eastern Europe.
• Several new data center investors have announced multiple investments, thereby aiding the growth of hyperscale data centers.
• The rack power density is expected to grow from an average of 6−8 kW in 2020 to 12−15 kW in 2026, owing to the increased deployment of hyperscale infrastructure.

EUROPE DATA CENTER MARKET SEGMENTATION

This research report includes a detailed segmentation by:

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

INSIGHTS BY INFRASTRUCTURE

Enterprises are shifting to high-performance and capacity-intensive infrastructure. The high consumption of internet-based services is expected to drive the IT infrastructure market. The COVID-19 pandemic fueled infrastructure adoption among internet-related service providers in Q1 and Q2 2020. Hyperscale operators procured ODM infrastructure, which grew by over 10% across Europe in 2020. UPS systems are the highest contributors to market investment. In 2020, the adoption of lithium-ion UPS systems grew considerably. Most data centers operating in Europe are adopting N+N redundant infrastructure. The adoption of generator systems with a capacity of over 2 MW is high due to the increased construction of large and hyperscale facilities. Data center operators have adopted innovative and energy-efficient cooling infrastructure solutions to reduce power consumption by up to 50%. This is expected to grow during the forecast period as market vendors are introducing innovative high-efficient cooling systems.

INSIGHTS BY IT INFRASTRUCTURE

The server infrastructure market has witnessed strong growth over the last two years. Server systems based on x86 architecture dominated the Europe data center market share with over 85% in 2020. Most modern operators adopt the server infrastructure that matches workload requirements. The demand for servers suitable for cloud environments is likely to grow during the forecast period. In 2020, the increased adoption of all-flash storage arrays and a sizable contribution from hybrid storage arrays is expected to aid storage systems. The growth of flash storage systems is boosted by high-performance operations that require strong input/output capabilities. The increase in bandwidth requirements, data center consolidation, and virtualization drive the demand for ethernet port switches, controllers, and adaptors. 25/50 GbE switches are likely to experience considerable growth during the forecast period.

INSIGHTS BY ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Several facilities have adopted flexible designs to facilitate dual power feeds, 2N redundant UPS and PDU systems, and N+1 generators. The market share of metered and monitored rack PDU solutions has observed a remarkable increase in Western Europe. In the Nordic region, the deployment of hyperscale facilities is likely to fuel the procurement of 48V DC UPS systems. Most facilities in the region are powered by renewable energy with grid stability of over 95%. This reduces the number of redundant generator systems, encouraging 2N UPS system installation. Most data centers in central and eastern Europe are designed as Tier III standards with a minimum of N+1 redundancy in UPS and generator systems. The use of renewable energy sources to power data centers is low in the region. However, their utilization is expected to grow during the forecast period.

INSIGHTS BY MECHANICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Several data centers in Western Europe support free cooling systems, including adiabatic coolers, evaporative coolers, and free cooling chiller systems. The use of water-based cooling techniques includes water-treatment plants and systems. Most data center operators procure 45U–52U rack cabinets. However, the procurement of 42U racks is declining in the Europe data center market.

Most data centers in the Nordic region use free cooling techniques. The market facilitates free cooling for over 8,400 hours per year, and the use of free cooling systems is expected to add revenue to the market during the forecast period. The use of lake/river/ocean water to cool data center facilities in the Nordic region is likely to increase revenues for water-based cooling solutions.

All Central & Eastern European countries support free cooling of over 6,000 hours per year. Many data centers have been equipped with in-direct evaporative/adiabatic coolers. A few facilities have also adopted water/glycol-based cooling systems and highly efficient DX-based CRAC systems to cool the facility. In Central & Eastern Europe, the ASP of rack products is lower than in Western Europe due to local vendors' dominance. There is a high penetration of taller racks of 45U, 46U, 48U, and 50U among enterprises in the region. 

INSIGHTS BY GENERAL CONSTRUCTION

Western Europe is the most active market for data center construction across the European region. The increase in demand for cloud computing and other related services has offered several revenue opportunities for multiple sub-contractors in the market. Many facilities are being designed and built to cover an area of over 100,000 square feet. Europe-based construction service providers manage several major data center construction in the region. However, the non-availability of a skilled workforce to manage multiple hyperscale projects is the major challenge for several contractors in the region.

Hyperscale data center development will be a major boost for contractors and sub-contractors operating in the Nordic market. Most hyperscale data center projects are being built in collaboration with global contractors and sub-contractors. Central & Eastern Europe hosts numerous local and global contractors. Also, infrastructure providers such as Schneider Electric, Vertiv, and Rittal have a strong presence in supplying modular or containerized data center solutions in the region. The market is witnessing an increase in the construction of greenfield data center projects with a floor area of over 50,000 square feet. This will, in turn, increase the demand for construction sub-contractors in the region.

INSIGHTS BY TIER STANDARDS

According to the Uptime Institute, Europe has around 217 certified data centers spread over 29 countries, including local and global facilities. A majority of them are in the UK, Russia, Spain, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Italy, and France. Europe has higher Tier III certified facilities than Tier IV and Tier II. Around 163 facilities in Europe are Tier III certified. Russia, the UK, Spain, Italy, and Lithuania have the highest number of certified data centers. Russia is the major location with around 51 certified facilities. Likewise, the number of Tier IV certified data centers across Europe is around 50. Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Russia, Romania, Switzerland, and the UK have Tier IV data centers. Italy, Spain, and Luxembourg are the major locations with 32 Tier IV facilities.

INSIGHTS BY GEOGRAPHY

In 2020, Western Europe witnessed investments in 80 projects, out of which 20 projects became operational in Q3 2020. However, the remaining projects are still under development and are expected to be functional by Q2 2021. The demand for smart devices, coupled with growing internet penetration, is likely to fuel data centers and other related infrastructure in the region. Data centers in Western Europe are built to support OCP rack infrastructure solutions. The UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and France are the leading destinations, while Belgium, Ireland, Italy, and Switzerland are the emerging markets.

INSIGHTS BY VENDORS

The Europe data center market consists of several IT, electrical, and mechanical infrastructure providers. Arista Networks, Atos, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, Dell Technologies, and Extreme Networks some major IT infrastructure providers. With the increasing demand for high-density, mission-critical servers, storage, and network infrastructure, the IT infrastructure market is likely to witness growth. The server market has witnessed significant growth in revenue contribution from ODM server manufacturers. The electrical infrastructure market has become highly competitive owing to the increased interest shown by operators in procuring energy-efficient infrastructure solutions. ABB, Eaton, Schneider Electric, and Vertiv are the major power infrastructure players.

The Europe 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
  • Evaporative Coolers & Economizers
  • 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

• Europe
• Western Europe
• UK
• Germany
• Netherlands
• France
• Ireland
• Belgium
• Switzerland
• Luxembourg
• Other Countries
• Nordic
• Denmark
• Norway
• Sweden
• Finland & Iceland
• Central and Eastern Europe
• Russia and the Czech Republic
• Poland & Austria
• Other Countries