Singapore was ranked number six in the global rankings data centre markets, the only Asian country to be named after the American markets of Northern Virginia, Silicon Valley, Dallas, Chicago and New York/New Jersey, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Data Center Market Comparison.
The study evaluated 1,162 data centres across 38 global markets, with each data centre scored across 12 weighted criteria. The weightiest consideration was given to cloud availability, fiber connectivity and market size.
Singapore’s undersea cables and strong business climate have enabled developers to build data centres in the last few years but the future of its development pipeline hangs in the balance as the city state reviews the climate pledge it made in 2015.
At that time, Singapore pledged to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted to achieve each dollar of GDP by 36% from 2005 levels come 2030.
Lynus Pook, director of logistics and industrial at Cushman & Wakefield Singapore, said that whether the government will allocate more land to develop data centres will need to factor the pressure on its carbon footprint.
“Additional data centres mean additional power consumption, resulting in an increased carbon footprint,” Pook said. “Singapore may not be the largest in terms of footprint but it is one of the highest consumers of power per capita. Smart energy management will be a decisive factor for the sustainability for data centres going forward”.
He expects that Singapore will continue to score well in cloud availability and fibre connectivity. Faster, denser fibre generally allows for the lowest latency and better network reliability when functioning with major cloud services.
Singapore’s robust fibre network will enhance its position as a regional hub supporting the storage of data that is generated in mega cities nearby including Jakarta.
The study also found that additional markets in Asia-Pacific – especially Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai – also are expecting considerable growth in the next two to three years, with demand for greater connectivity and the need for modernisation of older assets required.
Several markets throughout Europe – notably London, Paris, and Milan and Zurich – have received continued interest from international operators, with the continent becoming a new hyperscale target where power is available.
