Networks Europe Nov-Dec 2017 | Page 15

OPINION 15 By Olha Benesyuk, Presales Manager, Flexenclosure www.flexenclosure.com The Nordic region is leading the race to become the world’s prime location for data centres Nordic governments are committed to attracting and developing the data centre industry and compete with one another by reducing related taxes, and providing start-up support. On top of which, the region’s political stability, skilled labour force, reliable grid infrastructure and abundance of electricity from renewable energy sources are all key factors promoting the Nordics’ as a premier data centre location. All that said, the biggest single factor that sets the region apart from its competitors is its cool climate. This is especially attractive for data centres, as it provides the option to cool the facilities with outside air almost year- round. The result is significantly reduced overall energy consumption and costs. The resulting improvement in power usage effectiveness, PUE, increases business competitiveness as it enables operators to provide cheaper services as well as delivering environmental benefits through a lower carbon footprint. Let’s look at three areas in particular that facilitate successful colocation data centre start-ups in the Nordics. Simplified site selection Finding a suitable site on which to build a data centre is typically a challenge in most parts of the world. Not so in the Nordics where many municipalities – in order to attract data centre companies to move there – will offer portfolios of potential sites specifically earmarked for data centre construction and with the necessary geotechnical surveys performed and power connection plans already in place. www.networkseuropemagazine.com