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OPINION
There’s nothing to suggest that the colocation
sector is at any greater risk than any other from
the potential upheaval caused by Brexit. The vast
majority of UK businesses will continue trading as
normal and new ones will join the ranks
The cloud
An upsurge in cloud computing has driven the success
of colocation with hyperscale cloud giants requiring vast
swathes of data storage. But colocation is proving to be the
ideal solution for organisations of all sizes, not just for these
cloud giants. Many businesses are looking to the cloud to
future-proof their activities, but most haven’t yet put all
digital resources into the cloud. They’re looking for a hybrid
solution combining cloud technology and locally-stored
servers and IT equipment – cue colocation.
What impact might Brexit have on colocation?
Relocation versus reshaping
We can only guess at the impact that Brexit might have, in
the same way we can currently only guess what shape Brexit
itself might take. While some companies might choose to
relocate their UK headquarters and take their data centre
requirements with them once the Brexit process has been
completed, it’s likely that companies who are serving the UK
market from other areas of Europe might end up moving in
to the UK to make it easier for them to do business here. So,
we may be looking at a reshaping of the data centre market
as opposed to a dramatic tectonic shift.
Pressure to remain competitive:
The UK is the largest market for data colocation space
outside the United States, and this is unlikely to change
www.networkseuropemagazine.com