2022 Global Data Center Market Comparison

Development Pipeline

The continued growth in data center needs globally has led to an ever-growing development pipeline, as formerly secondary and tertiary markets rapidly scale to ever-larger sizes. In the first edition of this report in 2019, 1.6 gigawatts were under construction across the 38 markets profiled. This swelled to 2.9 gigawatts in 48 markets last year, and now an incredible 4.1 gigawatts is currently under construction in the 55 markets of this current report. As new regions grow across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and all of Africa, a new array of markets will beget smaller outposts, and the cycle will continue. Several countries around the world have already observed this development, with the strength of Frankfurt leading to development in Berlin and Munich in Germany, or an initial hub of Mumbai in India leading to growth in Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore, as examples.

Supply chain concerns over new development have appeared across the data center spectrum. Certain projects that were largely pre-designed had little disruption over the past year, while others that were launched quickly in response to market demand had some issues securing building materials or internal systems. While the temptation to blame the circumstances surrounding the pandemic is tempting, it must be noted that everything from computer chips to electricity in key data center markets is in higher demand than ever before. Disruption will likely be a minor nuisance over the next five years, as further supply chains are constructed, and vendors adjust manufacturing accordingly. Several key primary markets appear at the top of the list of capacity under development, with London surprisingly outpacing core U.S. markets of Northern Virginia and Silicon Valley, as land and power remain a bit more accessible than in many other primary European markets. Atlanta, Chicago, and Dublin each have 200 MW under construction as well, with Hong Kong, Phoenix, Singapore (despite the moratorium and due to the pre-approved Facebook project), and recently red-hot Jakarta following. Further mid-tier European and Asian markets are moving projects along in the planning stages, with the expectation of major growth in the coming five years.

London Northern Virginia Silicon Valley Atlanta Chicago Dublin Hong Kong Phoenix Singapore Jakarta Top Markets

24 / CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD