Singapore Focuses on Pushing the Data Center Excellence Envelope in 2015

SINGAPORE, Oct. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- DCD Intelligence (DCDi), the business intelligence division of DatacenterDynamics (DCD), has revealed that the key investment drivers for Singapore data centers have changed significantly in the 2014-2015 timeframe compared to the same period a year before.

The news was released at the launch of Singapore Datacenter Week 2014, which runs from 13 to 17 October 2014. The week celebrates one of the world's most vibrant data center hubs, and includes industry awards, networking evenings, data center-specific training, data center tours and the annual DCD Converged conference and expo.

According to DCDi, the Singapore market wants much more out of data center performance this year compared to last year, with more respondents in the Data Center Asia Pacific Census 2014* focusing on a greater range of key performance areas in 2014 than they did in 2013. A dozen of the performance areas saw jumps of more than ten percentage points, as the table below shows. In particular, Singapore respondents have made sustainability, more effective use of space and reduced operating costs their top three priorities.

These priorities are in agreement with DCDi estimates for key data center metrics in Singapore for 2015. DCDi said that total data center space would grow 2.74% to 740,000 sq meters between 2014 and 2015, down from a 6.57% increase in space for the same period a year ago. Despite the slowdown in space requirements, DCDi analysts say that there will be 10% more racks in 2015. This contrasts with an 8.11% increase in racks from 2013 to 2014, suggesting that data centers may be more densely packed per sq meter in future. Growth in power requirements have also slowed to 1.15 million kW in the 2014-2015 period against 1.1 million kW in 2013-2014, and 930,000 kW in 2012-2013, a testament to more power-efficient servers being installed in Singapore data centers today.

Singapore data center staff are more concerned about key data center parameters around sustainability, cost and efficiency than the global average. Energy costs are a major concern, with 86% of data centers being monitored continuously on their energy consumption (global average of 68%), and 76% on energy efficiency (global average of 46%). More than half (57%) are also monitored continuously for server utilization, a measure of efficiency, against a global continuous monitoring figure of 45%.

Monitoring, like PUE (power usage effectiveness) ratings, are key indicators of data center sustainability and energy efficiency. Singapore's average PUE is in fact better than the global average, DCDi added.

"This is a market where data centers account for 1% of the total land area and 7% of electricity consumption. It needs to make every square metre and kW count. Therefore the game is changing from asset growth to adding value and the deployment of new technologies and architectures gives Singapore operators a chance to stay ahead. But with these technologies the window of opportunity is short and this creates the flux of new drivers on the charts," said Dedric Lam, CEO, Asia Pacific, DatacenterDynamics.

DCDi has also found that Singapore is ahead of the world averages for outsourcing, cloud and colocation in 2014. According to the Data Center Asia Pacific Census 2014, fewer than half (48%) of physical racks are now stored in-house in Singapore, compared to 57% of racks in the Asia Pacific region (APAC), and 60% globally. One in five (22%) physical racks in Singapore data centers are virtualized or in private clouds on-premise, compared to 16% in APAC and 15% world-wide. Almost the same number of racks (18%) in the city-state are collocated (located in third party facilities), against 16% regionally and 15% globally. Another 12% of Singapore-based racks are virtualized or in the cloud in external locations, slightly higher than 11% in the region and 10% globally. When both public and private cloud rack installations are combined, one third (34%) of physical racks in Singapore are either virtualized or dedicated to cloud applications, whereas the regional figure is 27%, and the global figure is 25%.

Mr Jason Lim, Group Director for Technology Business, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore said, "Increased usage of new platforms and applications such as mobile applications, social media and cloud computing will drive the demand for data centres. Singapore has accumulated vast track record and expertise in the IT sector and in the implementation of data centres to serve this new demand. Our companies are well-equipped to provide related services – from development to managed services and critical infrastructure – to this industry. IE Singapore will work with these companies to actively pursue such opportunities on the global front."

"Companies are increasingly using colocation or outsourcing because they want to focus on their core business (which may not be IT). As IT becomes a more important part of their commercial future, the risks associated with getting it wrong become greater and many recognize that they will be better off leaving data center management to the experts. With the cloud, it is possible just to access and pay for what you use on a flexible and scalable basis and to limit your consumption of finite resources by doing that," said Dedric Lam, CEO, Asia Pacific, DatacenterDynamics.

"Singapore has one of the highest levels of concern about energy costs while capacity does not appear to be rising that sharply. The Singapore market has very high expectations about the performance and excellence of its data centers. With a myriad of new issues like big data, legislation and sustainability coming to the fore, data center managers have a busy year ahead," said Dedric Lam, CEO, Asia Pacific, DatacenterDynamics.

About Singapore Data Center Week

Singapore Data Center Week 2014 held from 13 to 17 October 2014, celebrates one of the world's most vibrant data center hubs. The event includes industry awards, networking evenings, data center-specific training, data center tours and the annual DCD Converged conference and expo. For more information about the activities please visit http://singaporedatacenterweek.com/.

About DatacenterDynamics

DatacenterDynamics is a full service B2B information provider at the core of which is a unique series of events tailored specifically to deliver enhanced knowledge and networking opportunities to professionals that design, build and operate data centers. With 49 established annual conferences in key business cities across the world, DatacenterDynamics is acknowledged as the definitive event where the leading experts in the field share their insights with the top level data center operators in each market.

About DCD Intelligence

DCD Intelligence (DCDi), the business intelligence division of DatacenterDynamics (DCD), specializes in providing research and analysis on the global data center industry. DCDi's research extends to both the facilities and technologies of data centers and includes the full range of deployment, outsourcing and investment strategies being pursued by data center operators from different enterprise sectors (e.g. telecoms & media, industry, finance, government etc.).

DCDi's research also covers the extensive range of products and services that are offered to data center operators by major vendors.

DCDi's business intelligence products include research reports, whitepapers, data tools and bespoke projects. Its team of respected analysts base their work on stringent and established research techniques. In conducting their research, DCDi's analysts also benefit from the global reach offered by parent company DCD, as well as DCD's extensive network of industry professionals.

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