Executive Summary. Metro Capacity

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Helen Griffith
8 years ago
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1 Executive Summary Colocation markets around the world are showing mixed signals of growth in In a reversal of trends seen in the previous two years, colocation operators surveyed indicate an increase in overall site vacancy this year. Nevertheless, newly-constructed data centers appear to be filling up quickly, and operators are optimistic about continued growth prospects in many metro areas. TeleGeography s Colocation Database is an online directory containing profiles of 2,581 colocation sites around the world, coupled with analysis of market capacity and provider presence based on survey data from more than 900 sites. Metro Capacity Availability at existing retail colocation sites has increased in many metro areas (see Figure: Colocation Space Available for Select Metro Areas, 2011 vs. 2012). Hong Kong and Los Angeles have seen particularly sharp increases in vacancy, rising from 19 percent to 34 percent and 21 percent to 36 percent respectively. While reported vacancy is higher across several of the surveyed metros, availability levels remain below 30 percent in London, San Francisco, and Washington. 1

Nevertheless, newly-constructed data centers appear to be filling up quickly, and operators are optimistic about continued growth prospects in many metro areas.

2 FIGURE 1 Colocation Space Available for Select Metro Areas, 2011 vs Notes: Based on data collected by TeleGeography in 2012 from survey responses and public information. Percentages represent weighted average floor space. Operators in most markets remain optimistic, despite the recent increase in vacancy rates. For example, more than 70 percent of colo operators surveyed in both Los Angeles and London plan to continue building out new capacity in anticipation of steady demand growth (see Figure: Percentage of Respondents Planning to Increase Presence by Metro Area). Conversely, only a minority of respondents in Paris intended to expand their presence in that market over the coming two years. Most operators in the emerging regional hubs of Moscow and Johannesburg intend to add colocation capacity in the near future, while views in Warsaw are more mixed. 2

For example, more than 70 percent of colo operators surveyed in both Los Angeles and London plan to continue building out new capacity in anticipation of steady demand growth (see Figure: Percentage

3 FIGURE 2 Percentage of Respondents Planning to Increase Presence by Metro Area Notes: Based on data collected by TeleGeography in 2012 from survey responses. Providers With more than 100 sites worldwide, and gross floor space nearing 9 million square feet, Equinix controls by far the most real estate of any retail provider included in this study (see Figure: Largest Operators by Gross Floor Space, 2012). The company s gross colocation space grew almost 22 percent in 2012, twice as rapid as its growth in Level 3, the second largest colocation provider, operates slightly over 3.3 million square feet of space in more than 350 data centers worldwide. The largest 15 operators in this study cumulatively control a staggering 29.2 million square feet of data center space equivalent to 1.08 square miles or 677 acres. 3

Figure: Largest Operators by Gross Floor Space, 2012). The company s gross colocation space grew almost 22 percent in 2012, twice as rapid as its growth in 2011.

4 FIGURE 3 Largest Operators by Gross Floor Space, 2012 Notes: Based on data collected by TeleGeography in 2012 from survey responses and public information. Companies that requested data confidentiality are not shown. In the past two years, most major colocation operators have focused their capacity expansion efforts in just one region, or even in just one country (see Figure: Operators with Largest Amount of New Colocation Site Capacity, (sq ft)). Among the operators with the most new site capacity launched in the past two years, several concentrated exclusively in the U.S., India, Hong Kong, Switzerland, or Australia. The clear exception to this trend is Equinix, which undertook extensive new development in multiple regions. 4

In the past two years, most major colocation operators have focused their capacity expansion efforts in just one region, or even in just one country (see Figure: Operators with Largest

5 FIGURE 4 Operators with Largest Amount of New Colocation Site Capacity, (sq ft) Notes: Based on data collected by TeleGeography in 2012 from survey responses and public information. Companies that requested data confidentiality are not shown. New Colocation Capacity refers to square footage of new colocation sites launched by operators between August 2010 and August Power and Cooling Power is at least as important as space when considering the capacity of colocation facilities. Tremendous amounts of power are needed to support ever larger data centers and increasingly sophisticated servers. According to TeleGeography survey data and estimates, the aggregate colocation power capacity of retail providers in London, New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Chicago combined exceeds 1 gigawatt (see Figure: Largest Metro Areas for Colocation by Gross Power (MW), 2012). These enormous power requirements reflect several factors, including the sheer number of sites in these large markets, the size of sites particularly the increasing number of large facilities on the outskirts of such metros and high-power density demand from customers such as cloud providers and financial institutions. 5

Power and Cooling Power is at least as important as space when considering the capacity of colocation facilities.

6 FIGURE 5 Largest Metro Areas for Colocation by Gross Power (MW), 2012 Notes: Based on data collected by TeleGeography in 2012 from survey responses, estimates, and public information. Connectivity External connectivity at colocation sites is supplied by global, regional, and local carriers that have a physical presence in the facilities. Most colocation sites, particularly carrierneutral facilities, have multiple carriers present. Verizon, Level 3, and Cogent have a strong presence in both North American and European facilities. AT&T, Zayo, XO, and CenturyLink are particularly well-connected in North America, while Colt, Deutsche Telekom, and BT provide extensive connectivity at European sites (see Figure: Most Frequently Connected Bandwidth Providers: Number of Colocation Sites by Region). 6

Most colocation sites, particularly carrierneutral facilities, have multiple carriers present. Verizon, Level 3, and Cogent have a strong presence in both North American and European facilities.

7 FIGURE 6 Most Frequently Connected Bandwidth Providers: Number of Colocation Sites by Region Bandwidth Operator North America Europe Total Verizon Level Cogent Communications Zayo AT&T XO Communications CenturyLink Colt Deutsche Telekom BT Notes: Based on data collected by TeleGeography in 2012 from colocation operator survey responses and public information. Results are not derived from survey of bandwidth providers. Some colocation operators chose not to disclose bandwidth operators connected to their sites. Major carriers often connect to Points of Presence (PoPs) that are not colocation sites. The majority of retail colocation operators indicate that their sites either offer Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), or host providers of IaaS, with 61 percent of responding sites indicating that they offer the service and 56 percent stating that they host other IaaS providers. On a metro level, there is quite a bit of variance when it comes to cloud services (see Figure: Percentage of Sites Offering or Hosting IaaS by Metro, 2012). Generally speaking, Asian colocation operators indicate a much lower level of cloud adoption than their U.S. and European counterparts. Amsterdam reports the highest level of instances for both offering IaaS and hosting IaaS providers. In a number of metros surveyed, instances of both offering and hosting IaaS are very low, indicating little overlap between sites that offer the service and those that host cloud providers. 7

from colocation operator survey responses and public information. Results are not derived from survey of bandwidth providers.

8 FIGURE 7 Percentage of Sites Offering or Hosting IaaS by Metro, 2012 Notes: Based on data collected by TeleGeography in 2012 from survey responses. 8

9 The content on the preceding pages is a section from TeleGeography's Colocation Database The work is based on sources believed to be reliable, but the publisher does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information for any purpose and is not responsible for any errors or omissions. This work is for the confidential use of subscribers. Neither the whole nor any part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from PriMetrica, Inc. All rights reserved. TeleGeography A Division of PriMetrica, Inc. Washington, D.C. / San Diego / Exeter U.S. tel: / U.K. tel:

Neither the whole nor any part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior

Executive Summary. Providers

Executive Summary. Providers Executive Summary Colocation markets around the world flashed conflicting signals of growth in 2013. While several secondary markets have experienced robust colocation capacity growth and indicate strong