UK business facing data hosting time bomb

Almost half of UK businesses employing between 500 and 1,000 workers will face significant server co-location demands in the coming year.

The finding comes from a survey of 200 senior IT decision makers conducted by OmniBoss for virtual network operator Adapt.

Power constraints caused by the development of London Cross Rail and the Olympic site, and a lack of new data centre construction in central London, are creating significant data burdens for medium-sized UK companies.

The finance and banking sectors are most in need of server co-location, according to the report, with 45 per cent of businesses forecasting an increase in requirements over the coming 12 months.

Respondents in these sectors cited strong organic growth, compounded by industry legislation such as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Sarbanes-Oxley, as the primary factors affecting data requirements.

Worryingly, 43 per cent of enterprises still have no contingency plan for addressing additional server co-location requirements.

"We have witnessed a shift in emphasis. Data centre capacity is no longer being driven by space alone, it is now about availability of power," said Peter Knight, chief executive at Adapt.

"In addition, significant consolidation of data centre operators, absorption of old capacity and a shortage of new sites being built mean that co-location now carries a scarcity value.

"With demand outstripping supply it is clearly not a buyers' market, meaning that the corporate sector will be under serviced."