Digital Realty Trust has revealed the results of a new study which shows that the majority (80 per cent) of European companies surveyed have plans to expand their data centre space in 2010 and see third parties as an integral part of their growth plans. Of those that plan to increase their data centre space, 79 per cent will use a partner, either for design and build (61 percent) or to lease space (32 percent) or both. Only 34 percent of respondents said they plan to undertake a data centre build themselves.  The research addressed large enterprises from France, Germany, Spain, the U.K. and Ireland, and reveals that data centres have remained a priority for organisations despite the challenging economy.

“Does it make sense for the vast majority of businesses to develop their own data centres? More broadly, does it make sense for them to develop what is effectively a unique data centre with their own design, set of vendors and specifications?” suggested Steve Wallage, Managing Director of BroadGroup.  “The advantages to businesses of working with a third party expert include initial savings such as build costs and time to market.  As important, longer-term benefits from partnering with a datacentre expert include lower operational costs, greater efficiencies and therefore lower power usage and costs, and improved useful lifetime for the facility.”
Additional key findings of the new study include: Nearly half (49 per cent) of respondents plan to expand in two or more locations.

Two in five (39 per cent) say they will use multiple strategies to expand their data centres, including using a design and build partner and the leasing of space from a wholesaler. This reflects the fact that many companies are building in multiple sites, or have complimentary strategies for building on a single site.
The most popular cities in which to site a new data centre remain consistent with the Company’s 2009 survey.  The top spot was taken by London (29 percent), followed by Paris (21 percent), while Frankfurt (19 percent) was again the third most popular location. IT and C-level executives are most likely to participate in selecting a partner for expansion. Furthermore, C-level executives tend to have the most influence on the final decision, followed by IT.

"It is a very promising sign that despite the economic downturn over the last year, companies are now looking to increase their data centre footprint. Our customers view their data centres as an integral part of the IT infrastructure and important for business expansion.   These survey results suggest that businesses are expecting to recover from the last year and grow in 2010,” said Bernard Geoghegan, Senior Vice-President at Digital Realty Trust who oversees International Operations. “It would seem that the majority of CIOs are planning on using a third party to benefit from the cost savings and expertise  achieved by outsourcing the design and build of data centres to specialists.”