Digitalisation has accelerated over the past 12 months with organisations spending more on digital infrastructure than any other business continuity measure during the pandemic. As a result, growth in digital product and digital service offerings jumped five years ahead in just a couple of months.
Whilst we saw a 10.3% decline in data centre spend in 2020, due to the C‑word, end-user spend on global data centre infrastructure is predicted to reach $200 billion in 2021. An increase of 6% from 2020 as we see construction on planned new facilities resume and demand return.
Our latest market research explores what mid-sized companies are looking for from their data centre provider, identifying the emerging trends behind the move to a more dynamic and fluid digital future. Will they still be turning to the public cloud or looking at more hybrid data centre solutions? Will your sustainability efforts play a role in their decision-making process? What would make them switch to a new provider?
We spoke to over 250 IT decision-makers (ITDMs) across midsized businesses (50−250 employees) to give us valuable insight into the factors influencing business decisions on data centre requirements.
I have captured a snapshot of the 5 emerging trends from the research below and be sure to download the full report by visiting our Insights page or clicking here.
1. Mitigate Risk
With over 25% of respondents expecting cyber-threats to impact their business in the next 12 – 18 months; security and reliability are of great importance when choosing a provider. Having a proper security system is critical as any breach could mean disaster — the average cost of a cyber-attack on data centres rounds out to $4 million. So, it is no wonder that security and reliability are considerations for companies when considering switching providers.
2. Champion Sustainability
As organisations attempt to reduce their overall carbon footprint, 82% would choose a data centre provider over another due to its sustainable and environmental efforts and credentials. It is no longer acceptable in customers eyes to be doing the minimum. But, whilst most companies want to consider moving to a greener data centre, many feel the costs are higher and that the choice is limited. So, there could be a good opportunity here for providers to educate their potential customers.
3. Future Proof
With the global pandemic accelerating our demand for digital services and remote working, ITDMs expect to increase their use of data centres over the next 12 months. Our research targeted a broad range of industries, but it was finance, HR and telecoms who foresee the greatest demand.
4. Always On
Whilst in today’s competitive market, midsized businesses are looking to minimise operating costs and data centre decisions are chiefly economic ones – reliability is also a deal-breaker and one of the most critical. Businesses want a data centre that operates around the clock and one which prioritises a secure and uninterrupted service (86%). Any organisation offering real-time and/or critical data services will be expected to provide the highest level of availability.
5. Location, Location
ITDMs are becoming more comfortable moving critical workloads to remote locations. In fact, for ¾ of our respondents, the distance was not an issue. So, with this plus more and more businesses working towards meeting sustainability and responsibility goals, there is a clear opportunity for remote locations offering renewable energy-powered facilities. The Nordics, by example, offer a far lower CO2 intensity than other parts of the world, securing the region as a premier location for situating a data centre.
From our 20 years of working in the tech industry, and through in-depth market analysis, we’re helping our customers understand the complex world we live in, inspiring better and smarter business and marketing decisions. To access our research and see what senior ITDMs want, need, and expect from data centre providers, click here
If you have any questions about the report or if you’d like any help in planning and executing your next marketing strategy call us on +44 (0)1373 469270 or email [email protected]
