After two years, the “Fiberdays”, the biggest German trade fair on fibre and digital policy, will return to the RheinMain CongressCenter Wiesbaden (RMCC) from 14 to 15 June 2022. The event is organised by the German Broadband Association, BREKO, which represents over 410 member companies (including over 225 network operators). Together, they are responsible for 80 % of the competitive fibre deployment (FTTB/H) in Germany.
Distinguished key notes speakers include Daniela Kluckert, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus, the Hessian Minister for Digital Affairs, and Norbert Westfal, BREKO President and CEO of EWE Tel. A CEO-Panel will bring together Germany’s leading network operators. Over 200 national and international companies will be presenting their innovative products and services on over 10.000m² in two exhibition halls. Around 70 panel discussions, workshops, seminars, and presentations with over 150 speakers will cover a wide range of hot topics, from fibre deployment and Smart City to data centres, sustainability, civil engineering, 5G campus networks, open access solutions and among others. For the first time ever, a new “media hall” will open up new networking opportunities for network and TV channel operators as well as content providers. They will discuss the future of television and other related issues such as IPTV, Video-on-Demand, 5G and TV and individualised television. BREKO Managing Director, Dr. Stephan Albers sums it up, “For Fiberdays22, we have managed to put together a unique package of high-level panels, presentations on cutting-edge digital topics and workshops with real added value for practical application.” The full programme, an overview of all exhibitors, tickets for the fair and the Networking Night are available under https://www.fiberdays.de/. Join us and sign up now! "As founding and main partner of KickStart Europe, Unica Datacenters embraces and supports the power of bringing people together in one of the main datacenter hubs in Europe." What are some new developments and initiatives that are exciting for your organization in 2022? Unica Datacenters is designing and constructing a record number of data center projects in 2022. However, this year will also be a year of a record growth for our Maintain and Operate Services. By supporting the Operations organization of our data center customers, we operate as an extension of their teams or deliver high-skilled and specialized technical datacenter services. Luc Spin Vice Presidents Sales "Discussions within society, on topics such as power usage, sustainability and increasing demand for digitalization, drive innovation. Innovation helps us in our evolution." What are some new developments and initiatives that are exciting for your organization in 2022? What is exciting are the discussions around Energy transition, Sustainability and Circularity in combination with innovations in datacenters. The demand for data and innovation in processors are driving the discussion on consumption of energy and water, another way of cooling, and a better output product of data centers as in heat for the public. Richard Engelkes Sr. Market Advisor Construction Products & Services "Having real conversations during KickStart Europe, really helps us to understand how we can best help and add real value to this exciting industry." Which trends do you expect to see happening in 2022 and are relevant for your organization? We are seeing new trends in regards to intelligent power grid connectivity. There are several advantages, considering typically higher voltage creates a more reliable power supply. On MV level you need less copper and will have less losses. Additionally, this provides the ability to use a unique UPS like our HiPerGuard in combination with Energy Storage order to sell power back to the grid. Freek van Alphen Head of Data Center Solutions "A key part of our strategic plan for 2022 is to continue to provide delivery excellence for our clients in new geographies to the same exacting standards." Why is KickStart Europe an important industry event for you and your organization? It affords us the opportunity to meet with clients and discuss some key and critical success factors, learned from over 70 years’ contracting experience; from the importance of maintaining a strong safety culture to maintaining a zero snag mindset. Which resulted in us replicating successful and timely delivery of mission critical assets for our tier 1 clients across many geographies. Liam Kenny Managing Director "Every year KickStart Europe gives us a good start of the year. We speak to (new) business relations to see what we need to achieve in the coming year." What developments are inhibiting growth today and how do you see innovation or other solutions adapting to solve that problem? At the moment everyone is concerned about the climate. Climate neutrality, energy transition and circular economy are all part of this. All datacenters are largely portrayed negatively in the media. As an industry, we should respond to the negative publicity, and continue with all the developments in the industry. Wesley Caransa Real Estate Developer "KickStart Europe is uniquely positioned to bring together leading industry partners, to enhance our network and share knowledge, in order to accelerate the digital transformation." What developments are inhibiting growth today and how do you see innovative solutions adapting to solve that problem? The datacenter industry struggles with energy supply and the not always positive view of society of the sector is also a real problem. All players in this market should (more) actively market the benefits of data centers and its role as vital digital infrastructure. Arnoud de Ridder Director Digital Infrastructure "We’re joining Kickstart because it is the industry’s leading platform and provides an excellent opportunity to share thoughts and discuss opportunities with the market." What are some new developments and initiatives that are exciting for your organization in 2022? The importance of data centers and future realization of data centers has become even so clear in the last 1,5 years. It is clear that conflicting interests need to be managed. Having all stakeholders on board and participate at an early stage is important, and communication is key. Natascha Geraedts Partner "KickStart Europe gathers everyone who shapes how this industry will continue to evolve, where we all have a responsibility to make it happen." Which trends do you expect to see happening in 2022 and are relevant for your organization? Sustainability, energy efficiency, connectivity and recycling will be trends where we can have a positive impact on the ecological footprint with our products and solutions. It is our goal and ambition to share our knowledge and expertise to make a valuable contribution in this matter. In short, we aim to drive a cultural change in the world of Data Centers. Benjamin van Lent Sales Manager Solutions Europe "We look forward to working with our clients and supply-chain partners to deliver more sustainable solutions across the regions we operate." What developments are inhibiting growth today and how do you see innovation or other solutions adapting to solve that problem? At Mercury we live, work, and operate in the digital world. We are leaders in Modern Methods of Construction. Embedding digital technology across our operations is essential as we continue to deliver for our clients across key sectors. We continuously invest in digital transformation initiatives so that we can better connect our people and ultimately deliver better projects. Stephen Byrne Group Manager - Data Center Business Development "KickStart Europe brings together all the relevant parties in the data center industry, therefore STULZ sees this event as one of the most important of the year." What are some new developments and initiatives that are exciting for your organization in 2022? In 2022 we will focus more on our different chiller ranges to emphasize even more on efficient and sustainable cooling solutions. Cooling in general is developing rapidly and we are eager to supply datacenters with the most efficient and sustainable cooling solutions for their equipment. Carlo Brouwer Managing Director Stulz Group b.v. "KickStart Europe is an important strategic event for Schneider Electric, bringing together the sectors’ foremost thought leaders and decision-makers from across Europe to discuss the industry’s most pressing issues." What are some new developments and initiatives that are exciting for your organization in 2022? We’re excited about the development of new sustainability metrics specifically for data center operators. The landscape is changing; as our industry works towards Net Zero, it’s essential that sustainability metrics evolve to reflect this ambition, ensuring we remain honest, accountable, and measure our progress at every step. Rob McKernan Senior Vice President ITD Europe "We see great value in collaboration throughout the supply chain – energy suppliers, software and hardware vendors, data center infrastructure suppliers, and customers – to test, improve and bring to market sustainable data center solutions." Which trends do you expect to see happening in 2022 and are relevant for your organization? Besides energy efficiency and sustainability, the other current IT industry obsession is security. We are confident that, thanks to our expertise when it comes to the remote monitoring and management of server hardware, Legrand Data Center Solutions is taking an industry-leading role. Ralf Ploenes Vice President Legrand - Data Center Solutions Europe "At KickStart Europe we wish to start working more closely together with the industry to tackle climate change and achieve targets as set in Glasgow." What developments are inhibiting growth today and how do you see innovative solutions adapting to solve that problem? Huawei regards the data center industry as an enabler to achieve carbon neutrality. Optimizing energy efficiency in a full stack approach. Huawei believes in the integration of renewable energy production and large-scale energy storage directly to the data center layer one infrastructure. This is an important direction to strive for optimal use of energy resources. Hans Hekman West European Energy Solutions Amsterdam, June 1th, 2021 – On a summer Friday on July 12th, 2019, the Dutch data center industry was taken by surprise: a sudden moratorium from the Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer municipality was announced. The construction of new data centers within their borders was halted, pending new to-be-established policies. In close collaboration with the industry, represented by the Dutch Data Center Association (DDA), new policies were designed, presented and implemented in 2020. With a full year into the new policies, where does the Dutch data center industry stand? What effect did the moratorium have and what’s in store for the future? The moratorium made one thing clear: the Dutch data center industry was a victim of its own success. The industry was growing with double digits year after year, especially in the Amsterdam area, due to its international attractiveness. The market offers some of the best connectivity options, access to a skilled workforce, proximity to other key European markets and a favorable business environment for foreign direct investments. New policy The newly designed policies allowed the municipalities to bring sustainable growth to the sector. New projects may only be developed in designated areas, use multiple floors if possible, and meet strict criteria in terms of efficiency and sustainability, such as a PUE of 1.2 for new builds. For more on the policies, see our press release and webinar on the moratorium. The effects of the moratorium The new policies brought a clear path for sustainable growth in both municipalities. The industry greatly benefited from this clarity, as shown in the survey held by PB7 Research among DDA participants. The survey is published in the ‘State of the Dutch Data Centers 2021’, our annual market report (which can be freely downloaded here). The research shows that in 2020, the moratorium formed a significant challenge for MRA data centers. One year later, they have adjusted to the new regulatory reality: only 14% sees compliance with local laws and regulation as a key challenge, compared to 30% in 2020. Source: State of the Dutch Data Centers 2021 – Roadmap to Recovery, Dutch Data Center Association, June 2021 Despite the moratorium, the Amsterdam data center market still managed to introduce a high amount of new supply through 2020. Providers added 51MW, with an almost equal amount attributed to the wholesale and retail data center markets. And according to Penny Madsen-Jones, Research Director at CBRE, the Amsterdam market is expected to return to the 2019-post moratorium numbers. In the ‘State of the Dutch Data Centers 2021’ report, she anticipates a record of 71 MW in capacity to come online in 2021. Source: State of the Dutch Data Centers 2021 – Roadmap to Recovery, Dutch Data Center Association, June 2021
Remarkable growth in other Dutch regions An important effect of the moratorium was the growing demand in the Dutch markets outside Amsterdam. As more locations in which data center builds can take place are promoted, interest in the Dutch market returned quickly. For the coming years, PB7 identified new data center plans for 211.000 m2, significantly more compared to 2020, with more than a third of this data floor planned outside of the MRA region. Sustainability is key for sustainable growth Back in 2019, the moratorium has caused serious damage to the sector. Being the first to announce such a moratorium, Amsterdam sent a message to investors: data centers are not welcome here. However, two years later, Amsterdam has gained a whole new role in the global data center realm, with expertise on how it is considering the industry in terms of sustainability. With the new policies implemented, the data center hub has gained renewed attraction. We have seen recently that more governments, such as Singapore, Frankfurt, some regions in China and Ireland, have been forced to go down this road. By the time the issues elsewhere are solved, the Netherlands is likely to have more dedicated areas for data center development and policies that provide a clear path for industry growth. More sustainable data center builds are an undeniable part of our future. One example of this is the European Green Deal in the form of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, which requires data centers to be climate neutral in 2030. With the new sustainable policies, it makes sense that the Netherlands’ still beholds a promising future. We therefore don’t expect any Friday summer days’ surprises in the coming years. DDA publishes “State of the Dutch Data Centers 2021 – Roadmap to Recovery” Amsterdam – June 1 | Thanks to the high-quality digital infrastructure, the Dutch economy stayed afloat during the Corona-crisis. And those benefits remain important, also post-Corona: the World Economic Forum recently placed the Netherlands in the top 4 of countries whose economy is recovering rapidly after the Corona crisis, thanks to its strong digital economy. The market report “Roadmap to Recovery” from the Dutch Data Center Association (DDA) shows what that important digital foundation for our recovery will look like in the coming years. The Dutch Central Planning Bureau reported last month that it expects the amount of working hours from the home office to double, post-Corona. And McKinsey and IDC both showed in their “The Future of Work” reports that this accelerated digitization, initiated during the pandemic, will continue unabated. Growth expected in all regions The study “Roadmap to Recovery”, an initiative of the Dutch Data Center Association, Pb7 Research and CBRE, confirms this trend. Data center growth is taking place in all regions. DDA’s data centers participants expect growth in the coming years: an increase of 211,000 m2 of data floor, one third of which is outside the MRA. This is a 52% growth compared to the current data floor surface. The Corona crisis has accelerated this growth: in the annual survey among the DDA data center participants, almost a quarter (23%) indicated that revenue has increased for this reason. The research also shows that regional data centers are benefiting from the cost considerations of local companies, who no longer invest in their own on-premise locations. Instead, they opt for migration to a professional data center. Currently, the Netherlands has 184 colocation data center facilities. The data floor area increased by 6% in 2020 to 400,000 m2, of which 74% is located in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (MRA). Amsterdam as a European hub Analysis by CBRE, the second research agency of the report, shows that the Amsterdam hub is still very attractive: after a growth of 51 MW in 2020, the sector now expects to grow by 71 MW (this concerns connection capacity), a figure comparable to 2019. Another positive finding is that Amsterdam has acquired a leading position in the field of sustainable policy. In the long term, this offers opportunities for a sustainable, digital hub. This in comparison to, for example, Frankfurt, where they recently announced controls on future builds. Thanks to its strong connectivity, a skilled labor market and a location close to the economic hubs, Amsterdam retains its attractive position. Climate neutral by 2030 Recently there has been quite some attention for data centers in the Dutch media, with varying sentiment. Some articles, based on incorrect facts, have been corrected afterwards. An example is the report that data centers pose a danger to drinking water. It was later shown that this is by no means the case. The research from the report shows that 39% of the data centers in the MRA experience negative effects from this type of communication. At the same time, the growing media attention offers opportunities to show what the sector is already doing in terms of sustainability. For example, 88% of the energy purchased by the DDA participants is green, and the European sector was one of the first to sign a Pact with the EU European Green Deal. The report contains an extensive update on this “Climate Neutral Data Center Pact”. Download the report: The report can be freely downloaded from www.dutchdatacenters.nl/publications The KickStart Europe Conference releases its annual European Outlook report Amsterdam, January 28 2021 - For all of us 2020 has been an eventful year to say the least. For the data center industry, the pandemic has been a watershed moment: it has been the year in which it has proven its importance for our daily lives and economies - for the whole world to see and experience. Today, the KickStart Europe Conference, which was well attended last week with over 900 attendees, 400 digital meetings and 850 connections, releases its annual European Outlook. In the report you find the most important insights shared at the January conference, next to predictions on the near future regarding cloud, data centers, IT and business trends. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the digital infrastructure industry has shown its resilience and reliability. Digital transformation has become crucial for survival; something which the pandemic only accelerated even more. Governments and businesses around the world have seen the crucial part their digital infrastructure takes in their daily operations and the lives of their citizens. That means that IT infrastructure investments will not be impacted by the coming economic crisis following the Covid-19 crisis, expects Peter Vermeulen from PB7 Research, one of the contributors to the report. The other side of the coin is that ongoing regulations, more emphasis on (data) protection and portability and the use of power by data centers, is looked at more closely by businesses and governments. As a result of standing in the spotlights, the data center industry needs to step up their game regarding sustainability efforts and flexibility. No wonder that the European Data Centre Association EUDCA announced their self-regulatory ‘Climate Neutral Data Center Pact’ at the KickStart Europe conference. Climate change stays the biggest challenge of our time, even in times of a worldwide pandemic. KickStart Europe 2021: from Covid-19 to Sustainability to Edge Penny Madsen-Jones, CBRE’s EMEA Data Center Research Director, who spoke as keynote speaker at KickStart Europe 2021, also contributed to the report. She anticipates a lot of movement in 2021, both inside the FLAP Markets - with 400 MW already in planning, 2021 looks like it will be a record year for new supply - and outside FLAP, with built-to-suit providers entering new and emerging markets. Report available, including recordings The presentation of Penny Madsen-Jones, as well as the 10 expert panel sessions held at KickStart Europe are all recorded and available for review. Check out the European Outlook report for all the sessions! The report, with key insights into the data center and digital infrastructure industry, is freely accessible here. These following 5 predictions, from CBRE's Penny-Madsen Jones can be found in our newly released European Outlook report. For these and other predictions on data centers, cloud, business, IT and investments in the FLAPD markets: download here for FREE our European Outlook report! Five predictions for 2021 Build-to-suit and single let will continue to grow, and become more speculativeThere will continue to be a large interest in build-to-suit, however with a twist. The existing model will change: it’s going to be a bit more speculative. We’ve seen over the last few years that there are new built-to-suit-providers entering the market. Their key proposition is enabling access to new and emerging markets, and especially in those markets where it is a bit more complex for hyperscalers to do that themselves. We’ll start to see providers looking at these markets, trying to get ahead of the curve and increase speed to market. Hyperscalers will see new availability zones in existing markets and new markets to place availability zones. Prelets will continue to grow There are power constraints in some of the key availability zones such as Amsterdam and London. Secondly, there are land constraints in most availability zones as well. This will force hyperscalers to seek for new locations within these markets. And we expect prelets to continue to grow in these - and other - markets as well. Enterprises will look more strategically at colocation We expect to see a lot of enterprises that initially hit pause on their activity, actually push on with some of their deployments into colocation - most likely hybrid cloud and colo, in the coming year. Furthermore, they will be having quite different conversations with colocation providers in comparison to last year. Governments will consider the markets for redundancy and its power use During the Covid-19 pandemic, the market has proven its importance for the resiliency of a lot of the services that have kept us up and running. This has also put a spotlight on the industry in terms of ongoing regulation, and how we protect the resiliency and redundancy of the data center market. At the same time, there is and continue to be, an increased emphasis on the amount of energy use of the sector, and a stronger focus on sustainability initiatives. The face of retail colocation will continue to change - Providers will continue to consider flexibility and portability in some cases The face of retail colocation is really going to change. We are going to have a lot of providers in the market, particularly looking to attract many of the enterprises that are on a journey to cloud because of Covid-19. These enterprises will be considering more options for flexibility, and maybe even portability of services. This will lead to innovative - and reactive - business models regarding the way in which these retail colocation providers will engage with their customers. |
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