Singapore amongst top 5 in global data centre pipeline

It was noted for its undersea cables and low risk from natural disasters.

Singapore counted amongst the top five data centre markets in the world with the largest pipeline under development, according to a report by Colliers International.

The city joins North Virginia, London, Dublin and Silicon Valley as the markets hailed for their good connectivity and a positive reputation amongst potential tenants.

In the overall data centre rankings, Singapore came in sixth place after primarily US cities: North Virginia, Silicon Valley, Dallas, Chicago, and New York/New Jersey, in that order.

Singapore was particularly noted for its undersea cable as well as its strong business climate that encourages developers to build up in the city.

Further, its location was also highlighted for being low risk from natural disasters, and in particular is risk-free from tornadoes and hurricanes. This reduces the risk of downing electrical grids and corresponding reliance to generators and backup systems.

Other markets that were noted to be low-risk from natural disasters include Paris, Dublin, Madrid, and Vancouver.

However, Singapore faces possible headwinds in the data centre market due to extreme land constraints from its small size. Its land size also meant that available space is also only under three hectares, said Colliers.

And smaller space equates to more expensive builds.

“With land cost increasingly becoming unaffordable in key markets around the world, multi-level data centre construction has become commonplace in Singapore, Hong Kong, Silicon Valley, and even in less constrained areas such as North Virginia and Montreal,” the report read.

“Multi-level developments will likely become the norm in further markets in the future, leading to differing construction and cooling patterns,” it added.

Singapore also counted amongst the top global markets in cloud availability, the report noted.