Amsterdam Data Center Operators Concerned about Power Supply and Finding New Locations

Last year, total data center floor space in the Netherlands grew 20%, according to new research conducted by Pb7 Research and commissioned by branch organization Dutch Data Center Association. It is a strong increase compared to last year’s growth figure of 9%. Most of these data centers are located in the Amsterdam area and further strong growth is expected, but data center operators in the Amsterdam region are concerned about continuity in their power supply and finding new locations for their facility expansion plans.

The Netherlands is one of the world’s most important Internet and data hubs. Other important data hubs in Europe include London, Frankfurt and Paris. 72% of all data centers in the Netherlands are located in the Amsterdam area. Looking forward,

Pb7 Research continues to anticipate more strong growth in the market. As stated in the annual ‘State of the Dutch Data Centers’ report, in total they have identified plans for another 179.600m2 of data center space over the next 12 months. Most of the additions, 88%, are expected to occur in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA). It means that the importance of the AMA in the overall data center landscape in the Netherlands will increase even further. Last year, 71% of all data floor space was located in and around Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Almere, Aalsmeer, Haarlem, Hoofddorp/Schiphol, Purmerend).

Qualified Engineering Staff

The data center growth in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area does not come without its challenges. Access to power is an ongoing challenge for multi-tenant data centers in the AMA. Pb7 Research found that more than half of the data centers mention access to power as a key challenge for the next three years, as opposed to none of the data centers from other regions. In line with that challenge, AMA data centers are also very concerned about finding suitable new data center locations.

As a result, Pb7 Research sees initiatives emerge across the Netherlands to create new facilities or campuses that promise all the Dutch benefits, plus plenty of access to power. Finding new locations with a solid power infrastructure is not the only challenge for data center operators in the AMA market. Most multi-tenant data centers would struggle with finding and attracting qualified engineering staff. This is not just a challenge to data centers in the AMA-region by the way, but to data centers anywhere. Compared to last year, it is obvious according to Pb7 Research that the skills challenge has become much greater in the AMA region.

The full ‘State of the Dutch Data Centers’ report with the complete market study included can be downloaded here for free:

https://www.dutchdatacenters.nl/en/publications/dutchdatacenters2019/

The Dutch Data Center Association (DDA) is the trade organization of data centers in the Netherlands. The DDA expresses industry views on regulatory and policy issues. It facilitates and encourages members to implement operational improvements in the form of best practices. The DDA also promotes education and contributes to technical standards, which would enable the data center industry in the Netherlands and abroad to further distinguish itself.

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