Colocation data centers are booming in all major UK economic areas

The demand for space in colocation data centers continues to grow. This is stated by the latest "ISG Provider Lens ™ - Private / Hybrid Cloud - Data Center Solutions & Services UK colocation 2020", a study by the ISG Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global market research and consulting company in the Technology segment. The ISG study underlines that the colocation boom has long passed beyond the region around the DE-CIX Internet exchange hub in Frankfurt and has now reached all major economic areas in the UK. In addition to the colocation market, the new ISG provider Lens ™ illuminates three other market segments: Managed Services, Managed Hosting, and Managed Container as a Service.
35 server colocation UK providers currently operate 65 data centers in Frankfurt and offer a total area of ​​600,000 square meters. In addition, there are around 125 colocation data centers in other UK metropolitan areas or large economic areas. "Not only medium-sized companies but also many large customers want spatial proximity to the data centers," says Barbara Florschütz, managing director and partner at the ISG Information Services Group DACH. "In addition, edge computing for applications in the Internet of Things is now also playing a greater role." The large amounts of data generated on-site required low latency times of less than five milliseconds. "A remote cloud data center with response times of around 70 milliseconds cannot offer such performance," said Florschütz.
According to the ISG provider comparison, the colocation boom is not only supported by companies of all sizes, but also by service providers, integrators, and carriers. They install their network in the colocation centers so that direct connections can be made available in no time at "Meet me Rooms". Colocation data centers are often the backbone of hybrid cloud solutions.
The "ISG Provider Lens ™ - Private / Hybrid Cloud - Data Center Solutions & Services UK 2020"
Examined the capabilities of 24 providers in the "Colocation Services" market segment. The provider comparison lists CyrosOne, e-shelter, Equinix, Interxion, Itenos, PlusServer, QSC, and Telehouse as leaders.

Managed services

According to the new ISG Provider Lens ™ study, demand in the managed (cloud) services market segment has increased dramatically for both medium-sized and large companies. The sales growth of the providers has increased by leaps and bounds and is often in the double-digit range. Service providers are increasingly integrating public clouds into their range of services and increasingly aligning their services to specific industries. According to the ISG analysts, the market is primarily driven by new business ideas that companies implement at short notice and therefore have to make their workflows more flexible and scalable.

Managed hosting

Medium-sized companies usually opt for managed hosting offers at eye level and within reach. The service providers must communicate in the UK and know the specifics of the UK market. According to the ISG study, this applies even more when valuable and business-critical information is included. This applies in particular to the market for private/hybrid hosting analyzed in the study as well as the associated managed services. In general, the selection of a managed hosting provider for medium-sized and large customers follows simple rules. Customers are still looking for low prices as well as transparent and at the same time standardized, but still customizable contract models. The managed hosting providers are increasingly dismantling their data center properties.

A managed container as a service

The provider market for managed containers as a service is just beginning when it comes to service level agreements (SLAs), service descriptions, prices, and, above all, the orientation of the respective offer. The new ISG study revealed that it is primarily global service providers that offer containers as a managed service - mostly in the context of agile software development and DevOps. In addition, only a few providers have been Kubernetes certified so far. Another group of hosting providers looks at and markets containers from an infrastructure perspective. Application modernization, development, or migration play a subordinate role for them. These providers mostly focus on projects that see containers as a cheap and fast variant of hardware-abstracted hosting.

About ISG Provider Lens ™

The ISG Provider Lens ™ Quadrant series of studies is the only provider comparison of its kind that combines empirical, data-driven research and market analyzes with practice-based experience and observations from ISG's global consulting team. Companies receive a wealth of detailed data and market analyzes that make it easier for them to select suitable sourcing partners. ISG consultants in turn use the reports to check their own market knowledge and to advise ISG business customers. The study is currently examining global providers, particularly in Europe and Latin America, as well as in the United States, UK, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Brazil, and Australia / New Zealand. Additional markets will be added in the future. This website provides further information on ISG Provider Lens market research:
The ISG Provider Lens ™ series complements the ISG Provider Lens archetype studies, which are the first of their kind to evaluate providers from the perspective of certain customer segments.