The Asia-Pacific knowledge heart market is rising at a speedy tempo. Based on a latest report from Cushman & Wakefield, the area is on observe to overhaul the US as the most important colocation knowledge heart market earlier than 2030.
The Asia-Pacific Data Center Investment Landscape report confirmed that by the last decade’s finish, the APAC area is more likely to have round 24 GW of capability, in comparison with round 18 GW within the US.
From a rental perspective, this equates to annual colocation hire of roughly US$44 billion throughout Asia-Pacific in 2030.
With all eyes on the Asian knowledge heart market, we caught up with Serene Nah, managing director and head of the Asia-Pacific area for Digital Realty, to debate how the corporate is positioning itself on this quickly evolving panorama.
Digital Realty’s NRT14 knowledge heart in Inzai, Japan.
DCN: The APAC area is on observe to overhaul the US as the most important colocation market by the tip of the last decade. How does this timeline align with Digital Realty’s personal market intelligence?
Serene Nah: There may be an unprecedented surge in demand for AI, cloud computing, and 5G-enabled applied sciences within the Asia-Pacific market. In consequence, APAC has emerged as Digital Realty’s fastest-growing and highest-potential area.
To maintain tempo with this rising demand, knowledge facilities should evolve past conventional roles into dynamic connectivity hubs, integrating high-performance computing with seamless entry to various digital ecosystems.
This evolution is very essential in rising APAC markets, the place knowledge sovereignty necessities are reshaping how enterprises retailer, course of, and handle knowledge regionally in compliance with regional laws.
Sustainability additionally performs a defining position. The exponential development of AI workloads is accelerating the necessity for improvements corresponding to liquid cooling, AI-optimized {hardware}, and renewable-powered campuses.
As digital infrastructure turns into extra energy-intensive, our accountability to advance sustainable options turns into extra pressing. We’ve additionally launched our 2024 Impact Report that particulars how we’re advancing sustainable knowledge heart operations around the globe.
Digital Realty is dedicated to serving to companies and stakeholders within the area to embrace and handle these transformative shifts. Via continued funding in superior infrastructure, energy-efficient design, and resilient ecosystems, we assist prospects scale responsibly and keep forward of the curve.
Digital Realty’s MAA10 knowledge heart in Chennai, India.
DCK: With Malaysia anticipated to surpass Singapore because the fifth-largest APAC market round 2029, how is Digital Realty positioning itself to capitalize on this shift in regional dynamics, significantly given the regulatory challenges in Singapore versus rising alternatives in Malaysia?
SN: Singapore continues to be a cornerstone of Digital Realty’s presence in APAC. Its regulatory surroundings is among the many most mature within the area, with frameworks such because the Inexperienced Information Middle Roadmap and the upcoming Digital Infrastructure Act offering clear route for the event of sustainable and resilient knowledge facilities.
Coupled with its sturdy connectivity, business-friendly local weather, and deep expertise pool, Singapore stays a strategic hub for Digital Realty’s operations throughout APAC.
Past Singapore, the broader APAC area is a essential pillar of our world development technique. We preserve a powerful presence in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, and South Korea.
Every market contributes uniquely to our purpose of delivering dependable, interconnected, and sustainable digital infrastructure options that deal with our prospects’ evolving wants. Whereas we’re regularly evaluating alternatives to enter new markets, our growth is guided by a deliberate, long-term strategy. That is rooted in buyer demand and aligned with our strategic imaginative and prescient.
DCK: The report highlights that colocation will account for 86% of operational capability in APAC by 2030, in comparison with 61% within the US. How is Digital Realty adapting its enterprise mannequin to handle the completely different market buildings between areas?
SN: One problem with working in a various area like APAC is cross-border knowledge sovereignty. Every market in APAC presents distinctive and evolving regulatory necessities, creating a fancy panorama for enterprises.
With 77% of APAC companies adopting a distributed knowledge strategy, companies should adjust to a broad vary of native legal guidelines whereas sustaining operational agility.
At Digital Realty, we design our knowledge facilities as safe, interconnected hubs. This allows prospects to localize knowledge processing whereas preserving the cloud scalability and efficiency their workloads require.
On the identical time, surging demand for cloud computing and AI applied sciences is accelerating the necessity for real-time insights and ultra-low latency. We’re seeing the speedy emergence of ‘AI factories’, that are high-density, compute-optimized knowledge facilities designed to help AI-as-a-Service and inference workloads nearer to finish customers. These amenities additionally allow sovereign AI initiatives and hybrid deployments that emphasize compliance, knowledge privateness, and management.
Digital Realty sees this as a robust alternative to repeatedly evolve our infrastructure and options to satisfy these calls for throughout markets. Our world platform is incorporating superior capabilities to assist prospects unlock the complete worth of AI and cloud workloads by interconnected, sustainable, and future-ready knowledge heart environments.
For instance, we helped Japanese AI firm Turing speed up the event of its full driving automation system by deploying a robust GPU cluster at our NRT10 knowledge heart in Japan. Through the use of our high-density colocation providers, Nvidia DGX-ready setup, and superior cooling techniques, Turing lowered its AI mannequin coaching time from one yr to simply three months.
