Data Centers Have Returned as a Top Priority in the U.K.

By Ben Sullivan

Data centers have returned as a top priority in the U.K. IT space and are seen as the key to IT architecture, cloud plans and the moves to outsourced offerings.

The claim comes from consulting firm BroadGroup, which was speaking at the first-ever International Colocation Club, which took place in mid-December in Paris.

BroadGroup also said that 24 percent of U.K. data center space as a proportion of total space is now outsourced.

Pain Point

The findings come in contrast to those found by the firm a couple of years back, where CIOs regarded data centers as a pain point because of data growth, lack/cost power, old estates and previous lack of focus.

The objectives of the club meeting were to share and exchange ideas around market challenges and business experience in the co-location industry and allow Colocation players to meet with their international peers.

“Cloud means that procurement is no longer the reserve of data center specialists, even property people or led by specific applications, but by a broader IT infrastructure and cloud strategy,” said Steve Wallage, managing director of BroadGroup Consulting.

Presenting different strategic alternatives for co-location and cloud, BroadGroup believes in flexibility in the data center world.

“We are now seeing highly flexible or monthly deals and a move toward more dynamic on-demand offerings,” said Wallage.

The initiative was launched in France three years ago and with more than 30 companies as members, the Colo Circle—known as Cercle ColoC. Meeting twice a year at Schneider Electric, the leadership of co-location companies in France discussed the current business environment, and their perspective of the year ahead. While there were macroeconomic trends undermining France’s economy at present, co-location remained a strong business with acquisitions still in play and further expansion planned both within Paris, and across a number of business cities in the country.