Intelligent Data Centres Issue 09 | Page 18

DATA CENTRE PREDICTIONS digital economy, companies must address growing data volumes and increasing data exchange velocity across a rising number of clouds and business ecosystems. In fact, according to a separate independent survey commissioned by PEOPLE, SOFTWARE AND MACHINES ARE CREATING AND CONSUMING DATA FASTER AND IN ALL THE PLACES WHERE WE WORK, PLAY AND LIVE. Equinix of more than 2,450 global senior IT professionals, almost half (48%) of global IT decision-makers believe interconnection is a key facilitator of Digital Transformation. Four in 10 IT decision-makers in EMEA feel the same and, in the UK, over a third (33%) of IT decision-makers cite interconnection as being key to the survival of their business. And companies are continuing to invest in this critical infrastructure, with almost half (49%) of IT decision-makers in the UK stating that any uncertainty around the final Brexit deal has not impacted their company’s decision to invest in IT infrastructure. “People, software and machines are creating and consuming data faster and in all the places where we work, play and live,” said Rick Villars, Research Vice President, Datacenter and Cloud, IDC. “The significant increase in data created, aggregated and analysed in these new locations is contributing to a major shift away from deploying IT in traditional corporate data centres. 18 Issue 09 “Enterprises need access to robust, modern data centre facilities near the Edge locations where businesses want to deploy dedicated infrastructure and interconnect to the increasing number of clouds, customers and partners that are at the core of Digital Transformation efforts.” Strong data compliance regulations across Europe are unlocking data exchange and growth of interconnection bandwidth in healthcare and life sciences, government and education, and business and professional services. This is leading Europe (51% CAGR) to overtake North America (46% CAGR) in the race to digital growth. Latin America is leading the charge with a 63% CAGR, with Asia-Pacific not far behind (56% CAGR). Expansion plans across the world, according to the survey, tell a slightly different story with 55% of EMEA businesses – and 42% of UK businesses, specifically – planning to expand into new metros, versus more aggressive expansion plans in other regions (Americas 69%, Asia-Pacific www.intelligentdatacentres.com