Arcadis, a leading global design and consultancy for natural and built assets, has added regional heavyweights, UAE and Saudi Arabia, to the list of top 50 markets across six continents for companies to build data centres in the world. 

 

The US topped the Arcadis Data Center Location Index 2021 followed by Singapore and Japan, Sweden and Norway which took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively, whereas Denmark and the UAE were recognized in sixth and seventh spots, respectively.

 

The index includes 50 markets across six continents ranking optimal places to build data centers in the world. The index is based on each market’s performance across eight key criteria: GDP per capita, dealing with construction permits, price of electricity, energy security, cybersecurity, domestic market size, the number of mobile broadband subscriptions and mean download speed. 

 

Using the above-mentioned criteria, Arcadis data specialists divided these into supply and demand criteria and then both were combined with equal weighting (50/50). 

 

The individual criteria weightings were determined based on their assessment of the relative importance of each factor, said the statement from Arcadis. 

 

Weightings are set so that all factors have a material effect on the final index ranking. The final index value is a sum of weighted scores which have been collated from publicly available sources, it added.

 

According to Arcadis, the index aims to provide insights that can be used to guide the decision-making process about where to establish a new facility. Selecting the best location is a critical factor that helps determine how well a data center investment will perform, as well as making sure the undertaking will be resilient and sustainable in a particular community. 

 

Additionally, the report outlines a roadmap for the process of building a new data center and commentary on the significant current issues impacting the industry including climate change, the effects of Covid-19, and the growth of hyperscalers.

 

CEO Peter Oosterveer said: “Arcadis has the global scale and expertise to help accelerate the building of data center infrastructure that supports our digital lives. We help clients make the best location choices and other decisions that result in a solid, sustainable investment that benefits all stakeholders including the community."

 

It has partnered with clients across the entire data center construction process, delivering due diligence, project management, cost management, design, stakeholder engagement, and digital capabilities to help companies optimize the planning, building, operations and maintenance of a new facility, he noted. 

 

Natalie Sauber, Arcadis UK Market Intelligence Lead, said: "Our lives are increasingly moving online, leading to a surge in data creation and consumption. This, in turn, requires us to build a resilient and growing infrastructure."

 

"While each project will ultimately depend on a unique combination of factors, this index is meant to provide a starting point to help clients think through the decision criteria influencing the optimal location," he added.-TradeArabia News Service