With the progress of digitalization, the spread of the cloud is progressing further.The research company Synergy Research Group has increased the entire collocation market in the data center by 7 % in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019, while profits from hyper -scale companies such as major cloud service providers are hole sales segments.It was 22 % and 9 % increased in retail segment, which was growing rapidly than other categories. [1]Movements in which the data center is changing into digital infrastructure has been described in the December 2018 issue of the magazine, but the environment over data centers has continued to change due to the progress of cloudization.In this article, I would like to overcome these movements and consider future movements.Finally, I would like to mention the effects of the new Coronavirus on the data center business.
Recent trends in the data center market
First, I would like to see recent trends in the data center market.
Even recently, major businesses have acquired data centers from other businesses.As a result, the business size and market share of major businesses are increasingly expanding.The most recent major movements of the acquisition are the acquisition of Digital Realty's InterXion and the acquisition of the data center of the Canadian telecommunications carrier in EQUINIX.
(Figure 1) Expanding by the acquisition of InterXion in Digital Reality (103 Data Center, 15 Cities in 11 countries) (Source: Digital Relaty Invester Presete 2020/5)
(Figure 2) Expanding by acquiring the data center of Bell Canada of Equinix (Source: Equinix presrease 2020/6/1)
Digital Realty announced in October 2019 that it will acquire the largest European data center operator INTERXION.The cost is $ 8.4 billion, and the two companies merge.The merger was completed in March 2020.As a result, the 53 data centers of InterXion entered Digital Realty, and on the number of data centers published by the two companies, Digital Realty has to overtake Equinix (Digital Realty is 275, Equinix is 211.Also based on investment materials for investors in May 2020).This also provided more than 2,000 InterXion customers to the Digital Realty customer basis.This means that Digital Realty, which has developed a business model centered on the hall sale, will enter the retail, approaching the Equinix model that develops collocation and interconnection.In addition, in September 2019, Cyrusone, a major US data center company, is considering selling, and it is reported that Digital Realty is interested.
Meanwhile, Equinix announced in June 2020 that it will acquire 25 data centers [3] in Canada in Canada.This will expand the platform in Canada, and more than 600 Bell Canada customers will be Equinix customers.Bell Canada is an Equinix platinum partner and combines Bell's network service and EQUINIX global platform to provide services to Canadian corporate customers.The company also has a global cloud service provider's ecosystem, "the world's largest hyper -scale company", a technology partner, and a global network service provider.
In addition, EQUINIX has developed and operated a hyper -scale data center by joint ventures (JV) in Europe and Japan as a business for cloud operators.This is targeted at hyper -scale companies such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba, and Oracle, and is called the "XSCALE" data center.The start of business in Europe was first announced in July 2019, and the next business in Japan was announced in April 2020.In Japan, new data centers for hyper -scale companies have been built in two locations in Tokyo and one Osaka, with a power capacity of about 138 MW at the time of completion.It ensures geographical redundancy in three places and responds to business continuity and disaster tolerance.The APAC announced the business in Japan earlier, but it is planned to be deployed in various parts of APAC in the future.The XSCALE Data Center is connected to Equinix data centers at each base.The joint venture is performed with GIC, a Singapore government fund, with 80%of GIC and 20%for Equinix in the XSCALE data center.
This is divided into the retail business that Equinix has been conducted, and provides a data center with large -scale abilities to hyper -scale companies, such as major cloud companies.Since the requirements for data centers of these companies are different from other users, such as general companies, the use of models that appeal to the know -how and the company's interconnecting without changing the traditional business model of Equinix., It can be said that it is to segregate while expanding.
Hyper -scale company movement
The data center market has a significant effect of hyper -scale companies such as major cloud service providers.While hyper -scale companies are major users of data centers, they sometimes build and own their own dedicated data centers.In addition, the service (the cloud is included in this) is enhanced the network and platform function.
Here, let's look at Google's movement.In September 2019, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai met with Finnish Prime Minister, investing 3 billion euros and plans to expand data centers throughout Europe in the next two years.As part of this, in 2020, it will invest 600 million euros in Hamina, Finnish.This plan includes the new Belgian Water Wind Power Project, the Denmark's 5 solar energy projects, two wind energy projects in Sweden, and two new wind energy projects in the company's domestic renewable energy capacity in Finland.Includes involvement in.Google makes such investments not only to strengthen the company's facilities, but also to promote the environment, enhance the image of green, and emphasize contributions to the European economy to monopoly and taxes.It seems that there is an aim to appeal to the coordination with Europe, which tends to conflict due to issues such as personal information management.
Meanwhile, in Asia, Google Cloud announced in February 2020 that it has opened the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) region in Seoul.The new soul region is called "ASIA-NORTHEAST3" and consists of three crowds zones.Google Cloud was a strategy that used the data center built by Google itself, but in order to quickly develop cloud rays, it has been switched to the use of a third -party facility in some areas, and it has been switching to the use of a third -party facility.Cloud rieson is built in this form.It has been reported that the Jakarta region, which was available in June 2020, was built in the same way.
Like Google, hyper -scale companies use their own data centers and use third -party use.From a hyper -scale company's point of view, building its own is more free to pursue economics and build and operate based on its own policy.The construction of an environmentally friendly data center is an example.However, even for hyper -scale companies, it is not always advantageous to build in -house in -house.If you want to provide services in places where there is high demand, or if you want to develop equipment in a specific area as soon as you want to provide facilities in areas where costs are low (low power costs, government preferential treatment, etc.).It may be more quick and economical to use a third party, a data center operator.
Strategic movement of data center operators
In the data center operator's movements, there are initiatives to enhance functions in their services as well as building, acquisitions and sales of data centers.
In January 2020, Equinix acquired Packet, a bear metal cloud provider.Packet is a startup founded in 2014, and offers a data center infrastructure that uses white box hardware and its own orchestration and management software, and provides services that automate physical servers and networks.At the time of the acquisition announcement, Mr. Zach Smith, the company's CEO, said that, unlike public cloud companies like AWS and Microsoft, the business is highly specialized in technology and needs to build a unique cloud in frustration.He said he was targeting a company.Packet is also said to enhance the function of providing service in EQUINIX edge, as Packet is also working on edge computing.
また、Equinixは2020年2月、オープンソース団体LF Edgeへの参加を表明した。LF Edgeは、Linux Foundationの傘下組織で、ハードウェア、シリコン、クラウド、オペレーティングシステムから独立した、オープンで相互運用可能なエッジコンピューティングのフレームワークを確立することを目的としている。Equinixの最高技術責任者（CTO）のJustin Dustzadeh氏は、「Equinixは、LF Edgeと共同で、増え続けるユースケースや多様な要件を含むエッジコンピューティング向けのオープンでクラウド中立なフレームワークの開発に取り組んでいる。Equinixは、ネットワークやクラウド、企業のエコシステムを対象とした、グローバルなデータセンターと相互接続プラットフォームとしてのユニークな立場から、私たちの経験と学習をコミュニティと共有することを期待している。仮想化、ソフトウェアデファインド、クラウドネイティブの技術を活用して、中立性、安全性、豊富な接続性を有し、クラウドに隣接したデジタル・インフラストラクチャーをエッジで提供するという私たちの役割が、LF Edgeに価値ある洞察を提供すると信じている」と述べている。EquinixはLF Edgeにプライムメンバーとして参加する。LF Edgeの既存のプライムメンバーにはAT&T、Baidu、Ericsson、富士通、HP Inc.Includes HPE, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Juniper Networks, MobileDgex (Deutsche Telekom subsidiary), nokia, and quallcomm Technologies, and also participate in NTT.
Equinix has traditionally enhanced functions related to Interconnection, which provides its own services as a platform, but it can be said that recent enhancement of edge computing efforts are also an extension.Regarding edge computing, AWS and Microsoft are also working in cooperation with telecommunications companies (for more information on edge computing trends, please refer to my manuscript in the March 2020 issue).Even as EQUINIX, which is the main business of data centers, it is seen that the use of crowds by companies to decrease relatively due to the progress of cloudization, and the preservation and processing of data will also be seen to the edge.I can't do that, but rather try to hit it aggressively.However, it leads to competing with some of the customers, Hyper -scale companies, and partner telecommunications carriers.
Impact of COVID-19
最後に、Impact of COVID-19についても触れておきたい。COVID-19は社会全体に大きな影響を及ぼしており、もちろんデータセンター業界も例外ではない。2020年6月の本稿執筆時点でも、Digital Realtyは、データセンターにアクセスできる人を、影響地域に過去14日以内に滞在しておらず、COVID-19の症状がない場合に限定している。同社では2020年3月に米国内3拠点で感染者の訪問があったとして消毒を実施している。また、Equinixは一時、フランス、ドイツ、イタリア、スペイン、英国で、政府指定の重要なインフラであるとのステイタスもしくは特別な許可を持つサービスクリティカルな顧客以外の、データセンターへのアクセスを禁止した。また、その他の地域でも、APAC以外では、アクセスを事前予約限定とした。執筆時点でも一部のデータセンターで入館制限を継続中であり、「Smart Hands」（データセンターでのサポートサービス）の利用を推奨している。このような動きが継続すると、顧客企業社員や契約先の技術者のデータセンターへの頻繁な立ち入りを前提としたシステムの構築、保守運用のあり方に影響が及ぶ可能性もある。
Prediction of future movements
In the cloud, data centers, and network infrastructure markets, businesses that provide various services and functions are intertwined in a complicated manner, and they are mutually, partners and competitors.Even as the market expands as a whole, companies are required to reduce the indispensable part of the digital business and provide high value, and companies that cannot do that will be swallowed by the waves of cost reduction competition.。
In addition, businesses related to ICT are required to consider the environment.The European Commission said in a new digital strategy that the data center needed to be "Climate Neutral" by 2030.In this strategy, it is clear that the ICT field needs to be greened, and the impact on the environment of this department has a significant impact, 5-9%of the world's total power usage and 2%or more of the total emission.According to the data center and communication, it is necessary to increase energy efficiency, reuse waste energy, and increase the use of renewable energy sources.[4] The data center could be neutral to the climate by 2030 and should be so.In fact, there are rising voices from ICT operators to consider the environment around the world.As I mentioned earlier about Google's initiatives, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, AWS, etc. are also working on the use of renewable energy and the energy efficiency of data centers.For example, Facebook is 1 in the company's data center Pue [5].It has been revealed that it is 11.In order to achieve such energy efficiency, data centers must also be efficient.That is, it is necessary to balance high functionality and environmental consideration.
Data center operators are exploring their superiority in collaboration with related companies, such as large -scale customers, hyper -scale companies, and partners who are also partners, and competing with some functions.Major businesses continue to have such complex relationships, pursue a network effect that enhances interconnection, gathering size economics, more customer and hyper -scale operators, and further digitalization.It will be highly functional accordingly.Among them, it is likely that movements such as large -scale acquisitions and sales will continue to appear.It is also necessary to consider the impact of the new colon virus.I would like to keep an eye on the trends of the infrastructure business that is essential for digital and cloud.
