German data centres to see healthy growth

BERLIN, GERMANY: A new report from TCL (Tariff Consultancy Ltd - data center Pricing Germany - 2014 to 2019 - analyses the growing market for data centers in Germany, the second largest market in Europe - with over 4,41,000 square metres of space in total - with stable and increasing rack space pricing.

The increase in pricing is taking place in spite of the increase in new German data center space. data center raised floor space capacity is set to increase by an average of 30,000 square metres per annum over the next five year period, with new data center space being introduced by specialist providers including Interxion, E-Shelter and T-Systems.

New developments are being led by wholesale and Premium data center build outs. Although the German data center market remains fragmented with facilities in most major cities, the largest city remains Frankfurt, which continues to account for 43 per cent of data center space in the country.

Average German standard retail rack space pricing is forecast to increase from Euro 762 per month (as of the end of 2014) up to Euro 805 (as of the end of 2019). The German market has a wide range of rack space pricing - " with rates ranging from Euro 351 per month up to Euro 1,899 per month. "

Premium priced data centers typically have a wide range of connectivity options and direct connection to the German Internet Exchange (DE-CIX) and can cater for a wide range of power densities, and are mainly based in the Frankfurt area.

But there remain a wide number of local data center facilities in each German city, which typically offer rack space pricing from Euro 300 up to Euro 400 per month lowering the market average. Although rack space pricing can be low, the local provider often charges an additional monthly charge (of around Euro 20 per 0.1 kW), which typically outweighs the monthly rental cost of the housing.

However, German data centers have seen the introduction of more rational pricing with the gradual decline in promotional pricing, which has increased the market average. The introduction of new high specification data center space is also being used to justify higher price points.