E D I T O R ' S Q U E S T I O N

We speak to industry experts about their foresight on the region ’ s data centre activity and the emerging trends and concerns which could unravel over the next year .

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A common theme among industry researchers such as JLL , CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield , is that secondary markets are expected to continue growing due to constraints in primary markets with power usage and sustainability scrutiny . Some providers in core areas like Northern Virginia are struggling with power demand , which is driving operators and hyperscalers to seek access to necessary land and power to meet surging capacity requirements .

This will inevitably encourage secondary locations to compete with Tier 1 markets , as resources are often less expensive and readily available . Reliability , cost and assurance of services are benefits which may be the tipping point that sees submarkets encounter increased investment and network infrastructure opportunities .

Research from Cushman & Wakefield found that Northern Virginia – the top spot for overall ranking in its previous three reports – now shares the highest rank with Portland .

Due to favourable pricing , low environmental risk and more available land , Portland competes with leading areas like Loudon County , where development has paused until 2025 .

Other emerging trends come from new technologies driving greater data centre adoption . JLL ’ s North America Data Center report found that major cloud services providers are growing rapidly to support new AI requirements and the need for more computing power . As these requirements grow , operators will need to adapt their infrastructure to accommodate high power density servers .

Coinciding with the rise of AI and secondary market headway , Edge data centres will become a popular solution due to reduced latency . North America is estimated to contribute 48 % to the growth of the global market , according to Technavio . It also states the Edge market is expected to witness a boost from increased digitalisation , automation and IoT proliferation , driving the deployment of Edge data centres to alleviate congestion and enhance service efficiency .

DataCenterHawk ’ s 3Q 2023 Data Center Market Recap revealed campus developments are becoming more prevalent , as developers are now buying larger tracts of land for longer-term expansion . We have seen similar activity from the end of last year with the likes Digital

Realty and Blackstone establishing a joint venture ; DC BLOX expanding its portfolio with the recent purchase and commencement of construction in Georgia ; and Netrality Data Centers securing a multi-million-dollar sustainability-linked loan to support energy efficient operations .

Despite market movement and power constraints , the North American region doesn ’ t seem afraid to tackle these head-on and unlock the potential for a rich , industry-leading landscape .

It can ’ t be ignored that wider , more global influences may throw the evolution off-track , yet progress is rarely linear and the preparation for the next 12 months seems promising .

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