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In our present digital age, data centers power everything we do each day. With data centers, we can instantly read the news, send emails, shop online, make payments, track our package delivery or work remotely. The global data center network interacts to form the core engine of our digital economy. Its importance is even more apparent during the COVID-19 crisis and massive digital traffic influx. Businesses have transitioned to remote working, online retail provides our everyday necessities, and all our communication and social interactions are going online.
With growing consumer appetite for information, solid infrastructure and favorable Thailand 4.0 policies – we at Delta Electronics believe in Thailand’s potential to emerge as a data center hub for Southeast Asia.
Explosion in data volume and storage demand
Thailand’s mobile penetration rate is a staggering 134%, and 52 million people are active internet users who spend nine hours every day online. And with the current public health crisis, time spent online will only increase.
According to Google’s e-Conomy SEA 2019 report, Thailand’s has an internet economy value of USD16 billion, and this is predicted to increase more than three times to reach USD50 billion in 2025.
While data centers form the backbone of the digital economy, a sharp spike in demand can cause many more decision makers to realize the importance of reliable digital infrastructure in business and operational continuity.
In the present climate of growth, we expect to see continued development in Thailand’s large-scale government data centers, private sector cloud and colocation type data center businesses. Accelerating digital transformation in banking, telecommunication and e-commerce industries will create new value and opportunities throughout the data center supply chain.
Rise of hybrid data centers combining cloud and on-premise infrastructure
Over the years, we’ve seen a significant shift in the industry from company owned-and-operated data centers to more of outsourcing data center requirements to colocation operators. Global technology and cloud companies are migrating from large-scale data centers to independent operators to cope with the rapidly growing demands for cloud storage and computing, as well as to increase profit margin.
We see volume and security as the two major factors driving the development of data center infrastructure towards a more hybrid type which combines the pros and cons of both cloud and on-premise type data centers. Hybrid data centers leverage small-sized data centers for local processing and storage of confidential data, in cooperation with cloud data centers to store or process other kinds of non-sensitive digital data. This means data center requirements are evolving to suit the needs of multiple small-sized, on-premise data centers rather than a single large-scale centralized data center. This approach helps business to maximize flexibility while minimizing cost and maintaining competitiveness.
In a crisis like COVID-19, turnkey data center solutions and full service from experienced suppliers can help operators be better at anticipating catastrophic events and offer better resilience planning. This crisis is a good time for more businesses to examine the resilience of their mission-critical systems and consider contingencies and backup for their data centers.
5G, IoT and edge computing introduce new industry players
The recent 5G licensing in Thailand means much more than just getting faster mobile data, it will drive the IoT (Internet of Things) and form the backbone of new technologies like self-driving cars, smart city, or home and factory automation.
Smart manufacturing platforms require 5G technology to integrate with edge computing for field data processing. Data collected from field devices or sensors on the factory shop floor allow real-time remote processing and big data to inform decision making in control rooms. In order to implement edge computing to support 5G infrastructure in time, factory operators should consider prefabricated data centers due to their fast deployment and scale-out abilities.
IoT will also boost micro and colocation data centers that are alternatives for enterprise data centers. IoT devices are predicted to account for 50% of all networked devices by 2023. And half of all workloads will be run outside the centralized enterprise data center as early as 2021.
Data center opportunities in Thailand
In Southeast Asia, Singapore is known for its state-of-the-art data center industry with strong network connectivity, reliable power supply and conducive business environment. But now the city-state no longer issues new licenses for data centers because it has run out of land for such infrastructure.
After Singapore, Thailand looks very promising because its central location makes it ideal for expansion opportunities into neighboring countries. The country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) zone has incentives for investors, is located less than 30 kilometers from undersea cables and situated more than 100 meters above sea level to protect it from floods.
Overall, I see prefabricated data centers as a great choice to accelerate Thailand’s digital economy growth in the next couple of years. We support whichever data center type you choose with a wide array of choices for UPS ranging from small to large volume electricity backup, precision cooling, indoor and outdoor micro data centers, rack system and data center management software. Besides local design, installation and after sales service capability for these solutions, we can also build you complete highly reliable, ultra-efficient and excellent Total Cost of Ownership data centers for immediate success and gains far into the future.
With rising demand in Thailand and ASEAN for a more productive and convenient digital lifestyle, technology-driven IoT adoption and favorable incentives offering great return on investment – we believe it is now time to explore the best data center opportunities for you.
