Almost 50 percent of mid-sized enterprises (500 – 1,000 employees) will have significant server colocation needs over the coming 12 months, according to new research from Adapt, the independent Virtual Network Operator (VNO). The OmniBoss survey, conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Adapt, gathered feedback from 200 senior IT decision makers in mid-sized companies. Despite this, data centres are rapidly running out of capacity, there are power constraints due to the development of London Cross Rail and the Olympic site, and there no new data centre builds in central London. Without major planning now, UK businesses will have limited options open to them.

The survey also looked at vertical industry needs and found that the finance and banking sector has the greatest need for server colocation with 45 percent of businesses surveyed saying their requirements will increase within the next 12 months. Adapt says that increased demand for colocation is being driven by industry legislation such as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as strong organic growth. Across industries, demand is being driven by and new technologies such as IPTV and managing data-intensive content. Surprisingly, 43 percent of enterprises still don’t have a contingency plan in place to manage their additional server colocation requirements.

Peter Knight, CEO of Adapt, says: “It’s a time of great change; We’ve witnessed a shift in emphasis. No longer is data centre capacity being driven by space alone, it’s now about availability of power. In addition, significant consolidation of data centre operators, absorption of old capacity and a shortage of new sites being built mean colocation now carries a scarcity value. With demand outstripping supply it’s clearly not a buyers’ market meaning the corporate sector will be under serviced.”

Knight adds: “London is suffering particularly badly because of soaring demand. Some commentators have gone as far as to predict a zero percent vacancy rate within the next two years. The premium on colocation space in or near London has been high in the past 18 months. Businesses which foresee a need for extra data hosting capacity should be planning now in order to secure the right space.”

www.adaptplc.com

•Date: 22nd Nov 2007• Region: UK •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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