A new report from consultants BroadGroup forecasts that
managed services will contribute markedly to revenues for data
centres, more than doubling between 2003 and 2007.
Data Centres Europe, says that that the market is now maturing
and by 2007 will be worth €745m by 2007. It says that new and
differentiated products and services are shifting the business
model away from basic colocation and web hosting. Specifically the
report views managed services as a major opportunity for Data
Centres.
Data centres’ growth is, according to the report, being fuelled
by a number of factors including a broadening of customer base, the
provision of managed services, regulatory requirements in the
financial services sector, and new conditions emerging for
investment in a market that is sufficiently tight to expand.
Business continuity and disaster recovery appeared as major
concerns for end users. The report also identified a key shift
towards utility computing.
However only a small number of Data Centres had so far invested
in blade servers, the technology leap required to open new markets
in which Data Centres were previously unable to compete. In
addition, in the managed services sector, BroadGroup suggests
competitive rivalry will emerge with integrators, who hold
strengths in customer relationships and architectural
solutions.