Nine out of 10 companies in the European Union are planning to expand their data centre operations in 2013 or 2014, despite the supposed shift to cloud computing.
Some 88 per cent of respondents to a survey by data centre provider Digital Realty claimed that they would "definitely or probably expand their data centres" in the next year or two, while one-quarter claimed that they would definitely be expanding their data centre operations this year.
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The survey, of companies based in the UK, France, Germany and Spain with revenues in excess of £500m or €500m, also indicated that the UK is the epicentre of the EU data centre building boom.
The main reasons given for data centre expansion are, in order of importance, the need for security, disaster recovery, and power issues (the supply/reliability of power, and maintaining efficiency).
However, the trend is towards slightly more compact data centres, with an average size requirement of about 1,300 square metres, compared to 1,500 square metres a year ago.
Furthermore, despite the high cost of city centre locations (that has led to the development of alternative locations in low-cost places such as Iceland), established business centres remain the preferred location for new data centre developments, according to the survey, with London (29 per cent), Paris (24 per cent) and Frankfurt (21 per cent) the top choices.
Despite "continuing economic uncertainty in Europe, demand for data centre space remains strong," said Bernard Geoghegan, managing director, Europe, of Digital Realty. "It seems to suggest that adapting to these conditions and readying the organisations for a return of improved economic conditions can be well served through IT and the data centre.
He added: "Security and disaster recovery requirements remain at the forefront, particularly in light of recent global events, so it is critical for suppliers to demonstrate a strong pedigree in being able to deliver appropriate solutions."
Computing will be hosting the Data Centres 2013 Summit on Tuesday 24 September this year.
This one-day event is free to attend for qualifying applicants - but places will fill up fast. For more information, please see the Computing magazine website.
