Global ranking of countries as low-risk data centre locations revealed
HONG KONG, May 27, 2013 /PRNeswire/ -- For the third year running, Hong Kong has been ranked as the lowest-risk Asian destination to locate a data centre -- according to a report by international consultancies Cushman & Wakefield, hurleypalmerflatt and Source8.
The Data Centre Risk Index 2013 (DCRI) evaluates risks likely to affect the successful operation of data centre facilities in the 30 most important global markets.
Heidi Durrant, Head of Cushman & Wakefield's Data Centre Advisory Group in Asia Pacific said, "Data centre demand in the APAC is expected to continue to expand, driven by the economic dynamism of the region and the businesses' reliance on IT systems and the cloud. Traditional hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney are expected to remain the favoured locations for multinationals operating in the region; however, most local businesses are expected to look for in-country data centres that are geographically close to their main areas of operation rather than regional hubs."
John Siu, Managing Director of Cushman & Wakefield Hong Kong,said, "We have seen the rapid growth of the data centre market in Hong Kong over the last few years due to the increasing demand for high tier rack space from corporate end users. With the full support from the Hong Kong SAR Government, both local and international data centre service providers have increased their footprint in Hong Kong, in particular in the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate. We expect that the Government will receive positive feedback when the first piece of land in Hong Kong dedicated for high-tier data centre use in Tseung Kwan O is listed for sale by public tender later this year."
Data centres house business-critical IT systems -- any downtime has the potential to threaten an organisation's viability and impact significantly upon revenues and customer services. The aim of the DCRI is to help companies make informed investment decisions about where to locate their data centres to increase efficiency, lower costs and to develop strategies to mitigate anticipated risk.
In the report, factors such as energy and labour costs, internet connectivity, ease of doing business and the likelihood of natural disasters or political instability are all taken into consideration and individually weighted to reflect different risk levels.
The US maintains its place at the top of the DCRI and is considered the lowest-risk location for building and operating a data centre in the world. Specifically, it maintains a top-three position across the primary factors of energy cost, international bandwidth and ease of doing business.
The UK remains second globally in this year's table -- just behind the US -- but ranks as the highest-placed European country. The nation's high scores relating to international internet bandwidth and ease of doing business helped maintain its place above all other locations surveyed in Europe.
| Data centre risk index 2013 results | ||||
| rank | index score (rank 1 = 100) | country | 2012 ranking | change |
| 1 | 100 | United States | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 89.53 | United Kingdom | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | 82.29 | Sweden | 8 | 5 |
| 4 | 81.29 | Germany | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | 81.16 | Canada | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | 79.63 | Hong Kong | 7 | 1 |
| 7 | 79.47 | Iceland | 4 | -3 |
| 8 | 79.45 | Norway | 12 | 4 |
| 9 | 78.74 | Finland | 9 | 0 |
| 10 | 78.37 | Qatar | 6 | -4 |
| 11 | 77.11 | Switzerland | 10 | -1 |
| 12 | 76.26 | Netherlands | 14 | 2 |
| 13 | 74.59 | Korea, Rep. | 13 | 0 |
| 14 | 73.98 | France | 11 | -3 |
| 15 | 72.49 | Singapore | 17 | 2 |
| 16 | 68.96 | Malaysia | 19 | 3 |
| 17 | 67.43 | Poland | 22 | 5 |
| 18 | 67.09 | Ireland | 16 | -2 |
| 19 | 66.73 | Thailand | 15 | -4 |
| 20 | 65.55 | South Africa | 18 | -2 |
| 21 | 65.15 | Spain | 21 | 0 |
| 22 | 64.14 | Czech Republic | 25 | 3 |
| 23 | 62.70 | Australia | 23 | 0 |
| 24 | 61.56 | Russia | 24 | 0 |
| 25 | 58.91 | China | 26 | 1 |
| 26 | 55.12 | Japan | 20 | -6 |
| 27 | 52.01 | Mexico | 27 | 0 |
| 28 | 46.37 | Indonesia | 28 | 0 |
| 29 | 40.85 | India | 29 | 0 |
| 30 | 35.15 | Brazil | 30 | 0 |
Source: Cushman & Wakefield, hurleypalmerflatt and Source8
Notes to editors
Full list of DCRI risk categories:
About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield is the world's largest privately-held commercial real estate services firm. The company advises and represents clients on all aspects of property occupancy and investment, and has established a preeminent position in the world's major markets, as evidenced by its frequent involvement in many of the most significant property leases, sales and assignments. Founded in 1917, it has 253 offices in 60 countries and more than 15,000 employees. It offers a complete range of services for all property types, fully-integrated on a global basis, including leasing, sales and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, investment banking, corporate services, property management, facilities management, project management, consulting and appraisal. The firm has more than $4 billion in assets under management. A recognized leader in local and global real estate research, the firm publishes its market information and studies online at www.cushmanwakefield.com/knowledge . In Greater China, Cushman & Wakefield maintains eight market-leading offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Taipei. More information is available at www.cushmanwakefield.com .
About hurleypalmerflatt
hurleypalmerflatt are leading engineering consultants who deliver outstanding services to the built environment, worldwide. The firm is recognised as market leaders in mission critical engineering and innovators in energy and sustainability. hurleypalmerflatt designs complex environments that are business critical, such as data centres, trading floors and operational control centres. The company has been integral to the development of data centres throughout Asia Pacific, EMEA and the Americas, with clients including major global banks and international data centre developers and operators. For more information, please visit: www.hurleypalmerflatt.com
About Source8
Source8 is one of the world's leading advisers on the implementation of real estate, technology and risk management infrastructure and services. The firm's three core competencies, combined with a unique ability to operate securely in both stable and fragile markets, enable delivery of sector specific, fully integrated infrastructure solutions anywhere in the world. The Source8 Critical Infrastructure Division provides specific end-to-end services to support the strategy, planning, design and implementation of technical infrastructure and data centres for both business and government clients worldwide. The company brings an independent view, and pragmatic, executable advice to ensure that clients' technology infrastructure supports their strategic objectives in a secure and commercially robust manner. The company's advice and expertise is genuinely unique in that technology, real estate and risk management are brought together to provide clients with fully integrated solutions. For more information, please visit: www.source8.com.
